Midwestern State vs. UT Tyler
Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021 | 3:30 p.m.
D.L. Ligon Coliseum | Wichita Falls, Texas
Series: MSU leads 4-0
Listen | Watch | Live Stats
 
WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- Midwestern State goes for a Lone Star Conference crossover sweep of UT Tyler Saturday afternoon at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m.
 
CROWD RESTRICTIONS
Attendance for all weekend games at D.L. Ligon Coliseum is limited to 25 percent capacity. All tickets must be purchased online at MSUTicketsOnline.com. The will be no walk-up sales. All spectators are required to wear face coverings at all times and practice social distancing of at least 6 feet.
 
EVENT COVERAGE
The game streams live on the Lone Star Conference Digital Network. A video stream is available at the cost of $10 for a daily pass at LoneStarConferenceNetwork/msu. A complimentary audio stream is also available at the same site.
 
REAY TAKES THE REINS
Christopher Reay is in the midst of his first full season at the helm of his alma mater. He guided the Mustangs to a 4-6 mark over the final 10 games in 2019-20 serving in an interim role following Noel Johnson's leave of absence to continue her fight against ovarian cancer. His career coaching record stands at 8-8 (.500) heading into weekend play. Reay served as the top assistant for the previous 10 campaigns playing a hand in guiding MSU to three consecutive NCAA Division II South Central Regionals from 2012-15 as MSU claimed a Lone Star Conference regular and postseason tournament titles in 2012-13. Reay competed two seasons at Midwestern State in 2006-07 and 2007-08 after transferring from SMU helping MSU to an LSC postseason tournament championship and a regional semifinal appearance in 2007.
 
CONTINUING THE LEGACY
Dianna Jones takes over as the top assistant at Midwestern State. Jones was a key cog in the Mustangs' three runs to the NCAA Division II South Central Regionals and for MSU's Lone Star Conference championship squad in 2012-13. She earned first-team All-LSC honors as a senior after gaining honorable mention as a junior. She was the league's freshman of the year in 2012. Jones, who was a member of Waco Midway High's Class 4A title squad in 2009, served as an assistant coach at Temple College last season. She played professionally in Egypt, Mexico and El Salvador.
 
MUSTANGS TEAM NOTES
* Midwestern State moved into this week's edition of the D2SIDA South Central Region rankings at No. 7. The Mustangs own wins over No. 3 Texas A&M-Commerce (4-1) and No. 4 West Texas A&M (3-1). Lubbock Christian (4-0) tops the rankings followed by Western Colorado (6-1), TAMUC, WT, Colorado Mesa (7-2), Texas A&M International (5-1), MSU, Colorado School of Mines (5-2), Angelo State (0-0) and Black Hills State (5-3).
* Midwestern State extended its home court winning streak to six games with an 82-49 win over UT Tyler Friday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. It is MSU's longest winning streak under the dome since the Mustangs claimed six consecutive victories at Ligon Coliseum during the 2018-19 season. MSU's last loss came to Texas A&M-Commerce (92-77) on Feb. 13, 2020. The Mustangs have won eight of their last 10 on Gerald Stockton Court. MSU last won seven consecutive games under the dome from Nov. 18, 2014 through Jan. 7, 2015.
* Midwestern State drilled a program record 15 3-pointers in Friday's 82-49 win over UT Tyler. Sophomore Sheridan Bostic buried an individual single-game high seven treys, while Frances King, Shawnisay Millar and Morgan Lenahan hit two and Haevyn Risley and Eternity Jackson both had one. MSU previously hit 14 3-pointers in an 80-65 win at Tarleton State on Jan. 30, 1999. The 31 attempts from beyond the arc also matched a high mark previously set in a 92-60 victory against Lubbock Christian on Feb. 12, 1994. Prior to knocking down 15 triples on Friday, the Mustangs had accounted for 20 makes from beyond the arc in the previous five games.
* Midwestern State ranks fourth in the Lone Star Conference and 70th in NCAA Division II in rebound margin at +1.4. The Mustangs have out-rebounded the opposition in all four wins this season and are 7-1 with Christopher Reay as head coach when controlling the glass.
* Midwestern State rates third in the LSC and 22nd in NCAA Division II chasing down 14.5 offensive rebounds per game. The Mustangs tallied double-digit second-chance points in each of their four victories. MSU has amassed 82 second-chance points in six games this season for an average of 13.7 points per contest.
* Midwestern State ranks third in the LSC and 52nd nationally scoring 74.0 points per game. The Mustangs are on pace for their best scoring season since tallying 75.0 points per game in 2003-04.
 
MUSTANGS INDIVIDUAL NOTES
* Senior guard Morgan Lenahan leads Midwestern State in scoring ranking 13th in the Lone Star Conference at 14.4 points per game. She boasts a pair of 20-point performances including a season-high 25 points in a win over West Texas A&M, then booked 21 points in a victory over Texas A&M-Commerce. Lenahan snapped a run of four consecutive double-figure performances in Friday's win over UT Tyler, but threatened a triple double against the Patriots going for eight points and set season highs with eight rebounds and seven assists.
* Sophomore guard Sheridan Bostic broke out by tying a program record with seven 3-pointers on the way to setting new career highs in every category Friday against UT Tyler. She finished with 23 points, eight rebounds and two assists while going 7-for-12 from the 3-point arc. The explosion moved her into a second in the LSC shooting 50-percent from beyond the arc for the season (13-of-26). Bostic tied the school single record for made 3s previously set by Mica Schneider (Feb. 13, 2020), Andrea Buben (Jan. 14, 2009), Heather O'Neal (Jan. 30, 1999) and Trish Young (Jan. 30, 1992.).
* Sophomore guard Frances King efficiently scored 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting with two 3-pointers Friday against UT Tyler. She added five rebounds and five assists. King ranks third on the team scoring 11.0 points per game and is second in the LSC passing out 4.7 assists per game.
* Junior forward Haevyn Risley is the reigning LSC Defensive Player of the Week after making three steals and grabbing four rebounds -- saddled with four fouls -- while helping the Mustangs hold Texas A&M-Commerce to 2-of-15 shooting to spur a 17-2 run in the fourth period of an 85-82 win last weekend at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Risley, once again, played a key role in MSU's victory Friday night over UT Tyler going for seven points, 11 rebounds, four assists and a career-high five blocked shots. It was her second 10-plus rebound performance this season. She ranks second in the LSC pulling down 7.2 boards per game.
* Junior forward Shawnisay Millar notched her third straight double-figure effort in Friday's win over UT Tyler. She connected on 4-of-6 shots with a campaign-best two 3-pointers to close with 11 points. Millar is second on the team and 16th in the LSC in scoring at 12.3 points per game.
 
ABOUT THE PATRIOTS
UT Tyler was picked to finish 15th in the 2020-21 Lone Star Conference Preseason Poll. The Patriots posted a 3-23 mark in 2019-20 season and opened the 2020-21 campaign suffering series sweeps at the hands of Lubbock Christian and St. Edward's. UT Tyler scores 39.0 points per game and is on the short end of a -33.2 scoring margin per game. Seniors Kelsey Crouse and Azaria Reed paced the Patriots in their first appearances of the season Friday night with 15 and 12 points, respectively. Veteran coach Jeannette Mosher is 16-39 (.291) in her third season at the helm at UT Tyler. She boasts a 456-250 record (.646) in 27 seasons as a collegiate head coach. She was 407-146 during a 20-year run at D3 SUNY Cortland (.736) and 33-65 (.337) in four seasons at D3 Alfred.
 
ABOUT THE SERIES
Midwestern State and UT Tyler meet for the fifth time on the hard wood Saturday afternoon at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. The Mustangs won the previous four meetings including all three games played in Wichita Falls -- 64-60 on Feb. 15, 2020, a 95-36 on Dec. 19, 2018 and 82-49 on Friday night.
 
UP NEXT
Midwestern State battles Texas Woman's in a Lone Star Conference crossover series next week at Kitty Magee Arena in Denton. Tip time for Friday's game is set for 5 p.m., while the Mustangs and Pioneers are slated for a start time of 3 p.m. on Saturday.