Midwestern State vs St. Edward's

Thursday, Jan. 6 – 5:30 p.m.
D.L. Ligon Coliseum (Wichita Falls, Texas)
All-Time Series: MSU leads 14-7
 
WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- Midwestern State (5-5, 0-1 LSC) plays host to St. Edward's (8-4, 1-0 LSC) in a Lone Star Conference showdown Thursday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.
 

SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS

In their first conference contest of the year, St. Edward's notched a 71-67 win over Angelo State. They are one of five teams in the LSC to stand undefeated in conference play.
 
Sophomore Lauren Catherman leads the Hilltoppers with 11.7 points per game and 21 steals on the year. The guard shoots 56 percent from the field and adds 46 percent shooting from range. At the line, Catherman knocked down 13 of 18 attempts. She averages 2.1 rebounds and has 21 assists in 12 starts. Against Angelo State, the Lubbock, Texas, native posted 12 points going six of 12 from the field. Catherman recorded a career-high 22 points in the team's Dec. 16 loss against Texas A&M International.
 
Senior Sammie Dufek tops St. Edward's with 6.3 rebounds per game. Her 75 total boards sits 14thh in the Lone Star Conference. She averages 6.8 points and registered 12 steals. Dufek leads the LSC with 36 blocks and three blocks per game to rank fourth and fifth in the nation. The center is 30-60 from the field and 22 of 28 from the charity strip. She landed 13 points and three blocked shots in the win versus ASU. The Flower Mound, Texas, native had a season-high 18 points in the Dec. 4 victory over Southwestern (TX) and a career-high six blocks versus Schreiner (Dec. 2).
 
Junior Taylor Cockerill sits first for SEU with 39 assists with seven coming against Arlington Baptist (11/19). She also averages 10.1 points and 5.1 boards. The guard is 46 of 58 from the line, both statistics ranking third in the Lone Star Conference. Cockerill landed 12 points against the Belles, going four of six from the charity stripe. The Waverly, Neb., native registered 21 points in the 74-59 win over Huston-Tillotson (11/16).
 
Senior Morgan Gary and Sophomore McCall Hampton round out the starting five for St. Edward's. Gary averages 9.1 points and five rebounds. The forward led with 18 points against Angelo State and added two steals. She totals 19 assists and 14 steals. McCall recorded 4.4 points and 4.3 boards per game. In addition, the forward owns 13 assists.

BLOCKBUSTER

Midwestern State continues their reign on blocks through the first ten games of the season. MSU ranks 22nnd in Division II and third in the conference with 53 stopped shots while the average of 5.3 per game sits 14thh and first respectively. Hannah Reynolds added two blocks in the team's fall at UT Tyler on Sunday. She totals 26 stops on the season to rank 14thh in the NCAA and third in the LSC. The senior's 2.89 blocks per game sits sixth in the nation and second in the Lone Star. Reynolds continues her ownership of Midwestern State's all-time leading blocker with 181 career checks and a 1.8 average over 103 games.
 

THE BIG THREE

In addition, Reynolds is one of MSU's top scorers, averaging 8.4 points per game. The graduate senior is 34 of 84 from the field to shoot around 40 percent on the season. She has only been to the free-throw line 13 times, but has knocked down eight opportunities. Reynolds holds 67 points on the year with 15 coming in the Ashbrook Classic against Adams State (11/13). The 6'4" forward gains a team second-best 6.3 boards per game with 40 coming on the defensive end. Against UTT, Reynolds collected nine points and four rebounds in her 32-minute performance.

Morgan Lenahan is also a force for the Mustangs, averaging 12.4 points per game. On Sunday versus the Patriots, the graduate senior posted 12 points and four rebounds for the Mustangs. The guard shoots 88 percent at the charity strip to take third in the LSC and 31stt in Division II. Her 54 free throw attempts and 43 makes each rank sixth in the conference. She leads Midwestern State with 6.6 rebounds and her 5.5 defensive rebounds per game land seventh in the LSC. Lenahan owns 20 steals over ten starts. The Haddonfield, N.J., native posted a season-high 28 points and nine rebounds at Oklahoma Christian (12/02).
 
Frances King continues her stand as the leading scorer for MSU this season. The sophomore averages 13.6 points per game with a career-high 25 points posted against Texas Wesleyan (11/28). Against UT Tyler, she gained five points and four assists. The guard averages four helpers per game, which ranks third in the Lone Star Conference. King gained eight assists versus Adams State (11/13) for a season-high. The Rockdale, Texas, native registered 44 makes from the floor and shoots 80 percent from the line. She adds 3.6 boards per game and 16 steals in 33.86 average minutes.
 

HEAD COACH

Christopher Reay is in his second season at the helm of his alma mater. In the shortened COVID 2020-21 season and his first year at the reins, Reay guided the Mustangs to an 11-7 overall record while going 11-5 in Lone Star Conference play. The team finished fifth in the standings and reached the quarterfinals in the postseason tournament. In addition, Reay led MSU 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 20-18 (.526). Reay served as the top assistant for 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.
 

ABOUT THE SERIES

Midwestern State holds the series with 14 wins and 7 losses against St. Edward's. The most recent victory picked up in the 2020-21 season on Feb. 8. Five Mustangs registered double-digit points in the 74-67 win, including a 15-point and 14-rebound performance by Haevyn Risley. Morgan Lenahan added 13 points and 8 assists. This was the team's first conference win over the Hilltoppers since SEU joined the Lone Star Conference in 2019. St. Edward's picked up a conference W in January of 2020 by 86-74. MSU is 8-1 against SEU at home since their first meeting in 1990.
 

UP NEXT

D.L. Ligon Coliseum hosts the Lone Star Conference match-up between Midwestern State and St. Mary's on Saturday, Jan. 8. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. with ticket and streaming information available online.