MIDWESTERN STATE (11-5, 11-5 LSC)
at UT PERMIAN BASIN (5-12, 4-12 LSC)
Game 2: Saturday, Feb. 27 – 2 p.m.
Falcon Dome (Odessa, Texas)
All-Time Series: MSU leads 10-3
 
ODESSA, Texas – After the win on Thursday night, the Mustangs look to take the sweep of UT Permian Basin in the final game of the regular season. MSU travels to Odessa, Texas to take on the Falcons in Falcon Dome on Saturday, Feb. 27. Tip-off slated for 2 p.m.

FIVE STORY LINES
 
1 |  In this week's Lone Star Conference match-ups, the Mustangs look to keep claim a home playoff game from the point rankings. Before Saturday's game, Midwestern State sits at third in the ranks with a 3.906 rate. The top eight teams advance to the LSC Postseason Tournament set for campus sites from March 2-7. The rating system is an average of points earned per game in a graduated system considering your opponent's record ranging from three points for a home win against a sub-.250 team to seven points for a win against a team with better than a .750 record on the road. A team receives 0-2.5 points in a loss. After Thursday's win, the best the Mustangs can finish is third with 3.941 rate and that is if they win the game against UT Permian Basin on Saturday. If the team loses, they can still place third, but only if West Texas A&M beats Lubbock Christian on Saturday.
 
2 |  Midwestern State currently sits at third in the Lone Star Conference West Division with a 3-2 record. West Texas A&M is right above on the table, going 5-2 in West Division play after a big loss at Lubbock Christian (42-68). Lubbock Christian will attempt to pull off the sweep of West Texas A&M to claim the division title. MSU has a chance to gain second if WTAM loses on Saturday.
 
At 11-5, MSU is perfect at home for seven games in the regular season. The team put away seven this year and adds three from last season for a 10-0 home win streak. The streak started against UT Tyler on Feb. 15, 2020, with a 64-60 victory. The last game added to the mark was Thursday's battle against UT Permian Basin (61-47). On the road, the squad is 4-5 for the season, dropping points at Cameron (52-75), West Texas A&M (60-78), Lubbock Christian (54-84), Oklahoma Christian (49-65), and Texas A&M-Commerce (110-81). The theme here is that all five of these teams are over .500 and UTPB sits at .294. The Mustangs have a good shot at going five and five on the road this season.
 
3 |  Rebounds are a key successor for the Mustangs with the team sitting fourth in the LSC thanks to their +3.6 rebound margin. The margin ranks 60th in NCAA Division II of the 217 teams ranked. When out-rebounding the opponents, the team is 9-1 for the season and totaled eleven games with a positive margin. However, Midwestern State is 1-4 when they have a negative margin. Per game, MSU has 40.6 rebounds (650 total), which is second best in the conference and 63th in the nation. UT Permian Basin ranks 8th in the LSC with a +0.9 rebound margin, but sits third with 634 season total rebounds. Alexus Quaadman leads them with 6.4 boards per game and her 2.7 offensive boards per game is fifth best in the Lone Star. The sophomore recorded 12 points and 15 rebounds in the Thursday game.

Guard Haevyn Risley leads the team in total rebounds and rebounds per game with 102 and 6.4. With these numbers, she ranks at eighth in the LSC for total rebounds and 12th for rebounds per game. The senior garnered seven rebounds against UTPB, but sophomore Mandy Withey grabbed the most with 13. She now moves into second on the team for 6.0 boards per game and has 15 blocked shots this year.

4 |  The offensive duo of Frances King and Morgan Lenahan are a force to reckon with. Lenahan averages 15.3 points per game and tallied double figures in 13 of 16 games this season. In the last three games, the senior guard put up 20+ against Angelo State, Texas A&M Commerce, and UT Permian Basin. Collectively the two have scored 421 of the team's 1099 points this season. King has gone for 11.1 points per game with eight double figure games. The guard continues to lead the Mustangs in assists for the season (62) which earns her second best in the conference. She also ranks 47th in NCAA Division II. King goes for 4.2 assists per game, which is third in the LSC and 46th nationally. Last season, she averaged 3.1 assists per game for the whole season.
 
5 |  The series against Permian Basin will be one of free throws galore. MSU ranks third in the Lone Star in both free throw attempts (306) and made throws (212). Lenahan tops the Mustangs with an 80 percent free throw percentage (42/52) and is seventh in the LSC. UTPB is fifth in team attempts and makes with 277 and 195. Midwestern State is 5-2 when making more FTs than their opponents, while the record is 5-3 when at a higher percentage. The Mustangs were eight of 14 (57%) from the line while the Falcons totaled 7 from 16 throws (43%).

HEAD COACH CHRISTOPHER REAY is almost to the end 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 15-11 (.577) heading into this week's games. 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.
 
THE SERIES WITH THE FALCONS
  
Midwestern State and UT Permian Basin meet for the 14th time, with the first match starting the series in 2006. The Mustangs grabbed five straight from '06 to 2013. The last competition between the two teams was Dec. 5, 2019 at the Falcon's nest. MSU dropped points in the 62-74 downer. Midwestern State is 7-1 at home against UTPB, but sits at 3-2 when on the road. The team leads the conference series 4-3, beginning in 2017. As the last regular season game, the two teams battle to finish the 2020-21 season strong.

  
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