WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- Midwestern State returns home Thursday evening to face UT Permian Basin for the second time this season. The Falcons outpaced the Mustangs at UTPB Gym Complex in Odessa last month, 80-70. The Mustangs seek a measure of revenge in the rematch at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
 

MIDWESTERN STATE (5-18, 3-14) vs. UT PERMIAN BASIN (10-13, 7-10)

Thursday, Feb. 9 | 5:30 p.m.
D.L. Ligon Coliseum | Wichita Falls, Texas

Series History | Midwestern State leads, 11-5

LAST MEETING | Midwestern State's Natalie Stice matched a program single-game record with seven 3-pointers on the way to a career-high 29-point performance, but Avalon Munoz scored 31 points for UT Permian Basin in an 80-70 victory at UTPB Gym Complex last month. Munoz was 8 of 19 from the floor and hit 14 of her 16 free throws. Munoz also dished out eight assists in the victory. Holly Hemmeline buried five 3-pointers to finish with 17 points for UTPB. Alexus Quaadman pitched in 10 points and 10 rebounds for the opportunistic Falcons, who made a season-high 21 steals while frustrating the Mustangs into 27 turnovers. UTPB amassed a 30-8 edge in points off turnovers. MSU senior Eternity Jackson was a perfect 3-for-3 from the floor with a pair of 3-pointers while going 2-for-2 from charity stripe to total 10 points.

LAST TIME OUT | Midwestern State staged a furious fourth-quarter rally after falling behind by 17 points, but Western New Mexico held on for a 64-62 victory at Drag's Court on Saturday afternoon. Midwestern State took an early 6-0 lead in the first quarter and led 13-9 when Dyamon Griggs hit a pair of free throws with 4:23 to play in the period. By the end of the first quarter, Western New Mexico had taken a 19-15 lead as Sydney Wright made back-to-back 3-pointers for WNMU at the end of the period. Delaney Cook capped a 13-0 run in the middle of the second quarter with a 3-pointer for WNMU, which took a 35-19 lead with 4:12 to play in the first half. Midwestern State closed the half on a 9-1 run and trailed at intermission, 36-28. Midwestern State was 4 of 13 from the field in the third quarter and fell behind, 51-37. Griggs was 3 of 5 from the field, including a deep 3-pointer with six seconds remaining, and she scored 11 of the MSU Mustangs' 25 points in the final period. Griggs was 4 of 5 at the free-throw line in the fourth quarter. Natalie Stice scored five points in the fourth quarter, and Mandy Withey had four points and four rebounds in the final period, as MSU outscored WNMU over the final 10 minutes, 25-13. Griggs was the leading scorer for Midwestern State with 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Griggs recorded her seventh double-double of the season. Stice was 6 of 17 from the field and scored 14 points for the Mustangs. Stice has scored double figures in 16 games this season. Senior forward Mandy Withey finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds for MSU, recording her third double-double of the campaign. Senior guard Eternity Jackson played a team-high 34 minutes for the Mustangs and reached double figures for the third-straight game, scoring 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting. Junior guard Sydney Wright of WNMU led all scorers with 20 points and was 5 of 8 from 3-point range.

TRACKING THE MSU MUSTANGS | Midwestern State is 4-8 at home this season…MSU was 1-3 in a recent four-game homestand…Mustangs have a four-game losing streak overall… Christopher Reay is in his third full season as the head coach at MSU and is 34-44 (.436), including the final 10 games of the 2019-20 season…Mustangs are 24-13 at home under Reay (.649)…Midwestern State is 2-2 against UTPB in the Reay era…MSU is 7-1 all-time when hosting the Falcons… MSU is sixth in the league, scoring 67.3 points per game — and 16th in the LSC, surrendering 74.7 points per game…-7.4 scoring margin is 15th in the LSC…Stice leads the Mustangs and is 13th in the league with 12.9 points per game… Dyamon Griggs is 16th in the conference with 12.0 points per game….Jordan Mathis shoots 58.5 percent, and Griggs is hitting 50.0 percent of her shots from the field…Mustangs are 12th in the LSC, shooting 37.6 percent from the floor…MSU opponents are shooting 41.8 percent from the field, which is 16th in the league…MSU is 113 of 388 (.291) from 3-point range, which is the ninth-best percentage in the conference…Mustangs are 11th in the league with 4.9 made 3-pointers per game…Opponents are shooting 33.4 percent from beyond the arc, which is 16th in the conference…Stice is 39 of 127 (.307) from 3-point distance …Stice is ninth in the conference in made 3-pointers and seventh in attempts…Sheridan Bostic is 28 of 88 (.318) from 3-point range, and has the 25th-most made 3-pointers in the conference… Midwestern State is 386 of 539 (.716) in free-throw shooting — eighth-best free-throw percentage in the LSC…Mustangs are second in the league and fifth in the nation with 16.78 made free throws per game…MSU leads the conference with 23.43 free-throw attempts per game, which is sixth-most in the nation…Griggs is 86 of 120 from the foul line (.717) and has the fifth-most made free throws in the LSC, and she has the fourth-most free-throw attempts…MSU is averaging 11.3 assists per game, which is 11th in the LSC… Eternity Jackson has 48 assists to lead MSU…Midwestern State is fifth in the conference with 39.35 rebounds per game and third in the LSC with 14.0 offensive rebounds per game (40th in the nation)…-0.4 rebounding margin is 11th in the conference…Mandy Withey is eighth in the league with 7.8 rebounds per game and 12th in the LSC with 2.4 offensive rebounds per game…Griggs is ninth in the conference with 7.3 rebounds per game and fourth in the LSC with 2.7 offensive rebounds per game…Withey is sixth in the LSC with 179 total rebounds, and Griggs is eighth with 168 total rebounds…MSU leads the conference and is 14th in the nation with 4.6 blocks per game…Withey is second in the conference and 24th in the nation with 37 blocks (1.61 blocks per game)…Yasmine Sifaoui is 11th in the LSC with 23 blocks (1.0 block per game)…MSU is 11th in the conference with 7.3 steals per game…Stice leads the Mustangs with 34 steals (1.48 per game)…MSU commits 19.6 turnovers per game — 14th-most in the LSC…Mustangs force 16.70 turnovers per game, which is 10th in the league…-2.87 turnover margin is 13th in the conference…Mustangs are called for 22.3 fouls per game —16th in the conference…

SCOUTING UT PERMIAN BASIN | UTPB is 4-8 on the road this season and opened its four-game road trip with back-to-back losses to West Texas A&M, 72-65, and Lubbock Christian, 70-50…UTPB has won three of its last five encounters with MSU, but four of those meetings were in Odessa…Falcons have lost their last three visits to D.L. Ligon Coliseum…Falcons last win in Wichita Falls was an 82-78 overtime triumph against the Mustangs in January of 2017…Rae Boothe is in her sixth season as the head coach at UTPB and is 46-107 (.301)…UTPB is 19-57 (.250) on the road under Boothe, who is 4-5 against Midwestern State since the 2017-18 season…UTPB is eighth in the LSC with 65.7 points per game, and the Falcons are yielding 64.1 points per game, which is 12th in the conference…+1.5 scoring margin is ninth in the league…Andrea Mancha is the leading scorer for UTPB with 12.6 points per game, but she has not played since a 73-60 loss to Lubbock Christian on Jan. 5…Avalon Munoz, who scored 31 points against MSU last month, is averaging 10.8 points per game…Holly Hemmeline averages 10.0 points per game…Falcons are shooting 35.3 percent from the field, which 14th in the conference…Opponents shoot 40.4 percent against UTPB, and that is 12th in the LSC…Falcons are 176 of 614 (.287) from 3-point range…UTPB averages 11.0 assists per game, which is 13th in the league…Munoz is fourth in the conference and 30th in the nation with 100 assists (4.3 assists per game)…UTPB leads the conference and is 16th in the nation with 26.7 3-point attempts per game…UTPB is 12th in the 3-point shooting percentage among LSC schools, but the Falcons make 7.7 3-pointers per game, which is second in the league and 44th in the nation…Hemmeline is 61 of 210 (.290) from 3-point range…Hemmeline leads the nation in 3-point attempts, and is 15th in the nation — tops in the LSC — in made 3-pointers…UTPB is 360 of 487 (.739) at the free-throw line…Falcons are fifth in the conference in free-throw percentage and fifth in the league (25th in the nation) with 21.17 free-throw attempts per game…Opponents shoot 30.2 percent from 3-point range, which is 11th in 3-point percentage defense among LSC programs…Falcons are third in the conference and 12th in the nation with 15.65 made free throws per game… Munoz is 95 of 121 (.785) from the free-throw line, which is the eighth-best free-throw percentage in the LSC…Munoz is third in the conference and 27th in the nation with 95 made free throws, and she has the third-most free-throw attempts in the conference with 121, which is 31st-most in the nation…Alex Quadmann is 80 of 119 (.672) at the foul line — fifth in the conference in free-throw attempts and sixth in made free throws…Falcons are 12th in the league with 34.74 rebounds per game, but they are fourth in the conference with 13.7 offensive rebounds per game…-3.8 rebound margin is 15th in the LSC…Quadmann leads the conference with 9.4 rebounds per game (35th in the nation) and 3.3 offensive rebounds per game (47th in the nation)…Quadmann is second in the conference and 20th in the nation with 216 total rebounds…UTPB is ninth in the league with 2.3 blocks per game…Quaadman is sixth in the conference and 54th in the nation with 28 total blocks…Quaaman averages 1.22 blocks per game, which is seventh-best in the LSC…UTPB leads the LSC and is 15th in the nation with 12.0 steals per game…Munoz is third in the league and 28th in the nation with 55 steals (2.39 steals per game)…Falcons have three other players in the top-20 for steals in the LSC…Quadmann is 14th with 39, Morgan Helgesen is 17th with 37, and Hemmeline is 18th with 36…UTPB leads the conference and is 21st in the nation, forcing 22.04 turnover per game…Falcons are seventh in the league with 17.0 turnovers committed per game…+5.04 is the best turnover margin in the LSC and is 25th in the country…UTPB is 14th in the conference with 20.0 fouls per game…

UP NEXT | Midwestern State takes on Angelo State at D.L. Ligon Coliseum in a Lone Star Conference matchup. The game is scheduled to begin Saturday at 1 p.m.