Midwestern State vs. Texas Woman's
Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021 | 3 p.m.
Kitty Magee Arena | Denton, Texas
Series: MSU leads 39-26
No Audio Stream | Watch | Live Stats
 
DENTON, Texas -- Midwestern State goes for a Lone Star Conference crossover sweep of Texas Woman's Saturday afternoon at Kitty Magee Arena. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m.
 
CROWD RESTRICTIONS
No spectators are permitted at Kitty Magee Arena.
 
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 10-8 (.556) 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 up one spot to No. 6 in this week's D2SIDA South Central Region rankings. The Mustangs own victories over No. 3 West Texas A&M and No. 4 Texas A&M-Commerce. Lubbock Christian tops the poll followed by Western Colorado, WT, TAMUC, Texas A&M International and MSU.
* The Mustangs extended their winning streak to four games which is the longest since MSU claimed four consecutive victories from Nov. 30-Dec. 19, 2017. Midwestern last won five straight games during the 2014-15 season.
* Midwestern State extended its home court winning streak to seven 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 seven consecutive victories at Ligon Coliseum from Nov. 18, 2014 to Jan. 7, 2015. MSU's last loss came to Texas A&M-Commerce (92-77) on Feb. 13, 2020. The Mustangs have won nine of their last 11 on Gerald Stockton Court.
* Midwestern State erupted to hit combined 24 3-pointers in last weekend's sweep of UT Tyler at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. The Mustangs connected on just 20 triples over the previous five games this season. MSU drained a program record 15 3-pointers in Friday's 82-49 win over the Patriots o the strength of Sheridan Bostic's individual program single-game record of seven triples. The Mustangs followed with nine 3-pointers in a 75-60 win over UT Tyler on Saturday.
* Midwestern State leads the Lone Star Conference and 33rd in NCAA Division II in rebound margin at +6.6. The Mustangs have out-rebounded the opposition in all six wins this season and are 9-1 with Christopher Reay as head coach when controlling the glass.
* Midwestern State rates third in the LSC and 35th in NCAA Division II chasing down 14.1 offensive rebounds per game. The Mustangs tallied double-digit second-chance points in five of their six victories. MSU has amassed 104 second-chance points in eight games this season for an average of 13 points per contest.
* Midwestern State ranks third in the LSC and 42nd nationally scoring 73.3 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 12th in the Lone Star Conference at 13.9 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 scored in double figures in six of eight games this season and is coming off of a team-high 13-point effort Friday against Texas Woman's.
* Sophomore guard Frances King broke out of a scoring slump with a pair of double-figure efforts in last weekend's wins over UT Tyler. She combined to connect on 14-of-22 shots (63.6 percent) with four 3-pointers. She tallied 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting on Friday before going for 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting on Saturday. King ranks second in the LSC dishing out 4.6 assists per game. She has recorded at least four assists in each game this season.
* Junior forward Shawnisay Millar ranks third on the squad averaging 10.9 points per game. She scored in double figures four times this season including a campaign and career high of 18 points against Texas A&M-Commerce. Millar ranks fourth in the league in both free throw makes (28) and attempts (38) and is 16th in the LSC in free throw percentage (73.7).
* Junior forward Haevyn Risley boasts averages of 7.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game while shooting 71.8 percent from the floor (28-of-39). The active defensive minded performer ranks eighth in the LSC in rebounds per game, ninth in blocked shots per game (1.1), and 19th with 13 steals.
* Seniors Hannah Reynolds and Kityana Diaz returned to the Midwestern State lineup in Friday night's win at Texas Woman's. Reynolds came off of the bench to score 12 points and grab four rebounds in 20 minutes, while Diaz went for 10 points and six rebounds in 22 minutes in a reserve role.
 
ABOUT THE PIONEERS
Texas Woman's stands to compete its first round of scheduled games of the season against Midwestern State. The Pioneers suffered through seven COVID-19 related postponements with their only game against Texas A&M International after the Dustdevils two-game set against MSU were postponed. The Pioneers fell to TAMIU, 60-55. UTEP transfer Jordan Jenkins led TWU with 17 points in the season opener against the Dustdevils. She forms a one-two punch with fellow D1 transfer Kendall Lentz from Stetson. Senior forward Ma'K'La Woods is the Pioneers top returning scorer at 11 points per game in 2019-20, while junior Macy Wilkerson tallied 11.3 points per game as a freshman in 2018-19. Beth Jillson boasts a 187-181 record (.508) in her 14th season at the helm in Denton.
 
ABOUT THE SERIES
Midwestern State and Texas Woman's meet for the 46th time on the hardwood Saturday afternoon at Kitty Magee Arena. The Mustangs own a 39-26 lead in the series which dates back to the 1975-76 season. The Mustangs have won five of the last eight matchups including a 67-51 win on Friday night. MSU is 21-11 all-time against the Pioneers at Kitty Magee Arena.
 
UP NEXT
Midwestern State takes on LSC West Division leading Lubbock Christian in a home-and-home series. The Mustangs and Lady Chaps battle Wednesday, Jan. 27 in Lubbock at 5:30 before squaring off in a rematch at D.L. Ligon Coliseum on Saturday, Jan. 30 at 3:30 p.m.