Midwestern State vs. Texas A&M-Commerce
Sunday, Jan. 20, 2021
D.L. Ligon Coliseum | Wichita Falls, Texas
Series: MSU leads 43-27
Listen | Watch | Live Stats
 
WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- Midwestern State battles Texas A&M-Commerce in a non-conference matchup Sunday afternoon at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 2 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.
 
SCHEDULE CHANGES
Midwestern State was originally slated to take on Western New Mexico in non-conference matchups on Sunday and Monday at D.L. Ligon Coliseum, while Texas A&M-Commerce was set for a two-game series at Rip Griffin Center against Lubbock Christian on Friday and Saturday. All four games were wiped out due to COVID-19 concerns. Instead, the Mustangs and Lions play a single game Sunday in Wichita Falls.
 
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 6-8 (.429) 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 extended its home court winning streak to four games with an 87-80 win against West Texas A&M in overtime last week. It's the longest home winning streak since the Mustangs claimed six consecutive victories at D.L. 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 six of their last eight under the dome.
* Midwestern State ranks third in the Lone Star Conference and 16th in NCAA Division II averaging 15 offensive rebounds per game. The Mustangs grabbed at least 10 offensive boards in three of four games this season and average 8.8 second-chance points per game.
* Midwestern State ranks 11th in the LSC with a -6.8 rebound margin this season, but the Mustangs have outrebounded the opposition in two of the four games. MSU has won those two games and are 5-1 with Christopher Reay as head coach when controlling the glass.
* Midwestern State ranks fifth in the Lone Star Conference scoring 69.2 points per game. The Mustangs are on pace for their best scoring season since tallying 70.2 points per game in 2014-15.
* Midwestern State connected on a season-high five 3-pointers at Cameron (12/12) and against West Texas A&M (1/2), but have struggled from beyond the arc shooting 21.1 percent for the season. The Mustangs have shot less than 30 percent from the arc in 19 of its last 32 games dating back to the 2018-19 season finale against Tarleton State in the LSC Postseason Tournament.
* Midwestern State ranks eighth in the Lone Star Conference and 75th in NCAA Division II limiting the opposition to a 32.3 percent success rate from beyond the arc. This is nothing new for the Mustangs, who limited the opposition to 27.9 percent in 2019-20, 30.2 percent in 2018-19 and 29.1 percent in 2017-18.
 
MUSTANGS INDIVIDUAL NOTES
* Senior guard Morgan Lenahan scored in double figures in each of her last three games to up her scoring average to a team leading 12.8 points per game. She poured in a career-high 25 points in an 87-80 overtime win over West Texas A&M. Lenahan flanked the game with matching 12-point efforts against Cameron and another double-figure performance versus WT.
* Junior forward Haevyn Risley rates second in the Lone Star Conference and sixth in NCAA Division II boasting 71.4 field goal percentage. She is coming off of a pair of efficient efforts against West Texas A&M going 7-for-8 for 14 points on Saturday before hitting 6-of-7 shots for 12 points on Monday. Risley leads the team and is 11th in the LSC pulling down 6.5 rebounds per game.
* Junior forward Shawnisay Millar ranks second on the team scoring 11.3 points per game. The Prestonpans, Scotland native leads the LSC with 27 free throw attempts getting to the charity stripe nearly seven times per game.
* Sophomore guard Frances King ranks second in the Lone Star Conference and 42nd in NCAA Division II dishing out 4.8 assists per game. The Rockdale native notched at least four assists in each game this season with a high of six in the season opener at Cameron.
* Sophomore forward Mandy Withey delivered a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds in her first start of the season Saturday against West Texas A&M. She ranks fourth in the LSC and 30th nationally swatting 1.75 shots per game. Withey boasts two blocked shots in each of her last three games.
 
ABOUT THE LIONS
Texas A&M-Commerce was picked to finish third in the 2020-21 Lone Star Conference Preseason Poll despite rolling to a 28-3 mark last season. The Lions earned the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Division II South Central Regional before the tournament was canceled due to the pandemic. A&M-Commerce is off to a 4-0 start this season with sweeps over St. Mary's and St. Edward's with an average margin of victory of 16.7 points per game. The Lions boast four players averaging in double figures including sophomore Dyani Robinson (21.0 ppg), sophomore DesiRay Kernal (16.8 ppg), senior Juliana Louis (11.0 ppg) and senior Chania Wright (10.3 ppg). Jason Burton boasts a 120-62 record (.659) in his seventh season as head coach at Texas A&M-Commerce.
 
ABOUT THE SERIES
Midwestern State and Texas A&M-Commerce meet for the 71st time on the hardwood Sunday afternoon at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. The Mustangs own a 43-27 edge in the series which dates back to the 1976-77 season, but the Lions have won the last five meetings and nine of the last 10. MSU's last win came by a 69-66 count on Dec. 2, 2017 at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Midwestern State is 24-9 all-time against Texas A&M-Commerce under the dome. The Lions have won in their last two trips to Wichita Falls, but have never won three straight on MSU's home court.
 
UP NEXT
Midwestern State battles UT Tyler Friday and Saturday in a Lone Star Conference crossover series at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.