WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- Midwestern State faces the second-highest scoring team in the Lone Star Conference as UT Permian Basin completes a four-game road trip with a stop at D.L. Ligon Coliseum on Saturday afternoon. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.

The Falcons have won back-to-back games following their 52-49 victory at Cameron on Thursday night and improved to 12-3 overall with a 7-2 conference record. Midwestern State has lost back-to-back games for the first time since a 70-67 setback at St. Mary's on Dec. 6. The Mustangs are 4-12 overall with a 4-6 record against Lone Star Conference opponents.

Zarria Carter (17.3 ppg) and Kertisa Amos (15.4 ppg) are primary scorers for the Mustangs, and they are the fourth and seventh leading scorers in the conference.

Carter is ninth in the LSC with a shooting percentage of 47.6, and Amos is shooting 39.3 percent from the field, which is 14th among league shooters.

Carter scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds on Thursday night as MSU fell to Angelo State, 93-71. Nikki Green came off the bench and scored a career-high 23 points in the loss. The junior guard hit four of her first six shots and had nine points in the first quarter against the Rambelles.

Green, who is averaging 9.7 points per game, is 13 of 29 (44.8 %) from 3-point range over her last six outings. The Mustangs are 28 of 76 (36.8%) from beyond the arc in their last six games as a team.

The Mustangs are averaging 65.5 points per game and allowing opponents to score 75.3 points per game.

Carter is the leading rebounder in the LSC and seventh in the nation with 11.1 rebounds per game. The 6-1 junior from Mansfield, Texas, has posted eight double-doubles this season and has tied Ashley Ingram of Texas Woman's for the most in the LSC this season. Alisha Little of Colorado State – Pueblo leads NCAA Division II with 13 double-doubles this season.

Makayla Coy, who is averaging 9.3 points per game, is the second-leading rebounder for the Mustangs with eight boards per game. Amos is grabbing 6.6 caroms per contest.

Midwestern State is second in the conference with 39.44 rebounds per game and leads the league with 16.1 offensive rebounds per game, which is 15th among NCAA Division II programs.

Carter, Coy and Amos are among the top-seven offensive rebounders in the conference. Carter leads the league with 4.9 offensive rebounds per game. Coy is third in the conference with 3.4, and Amos is seventh with 2.7 offensive boards per game.

Catalina Cortez is ninth in the LSC with 3.3 assists per game and boasts the second-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the league at 2.48.

The Mustangs are averaging 13.9 turnovers per game, which places them second in the conference, and they are fifth in the league with a plus-2.38 turnover margin.

Midwestern State leads the all-time series with UT Permian Basin, 11-6, but the Falcons have won three of the last four meetings, including an 80-50 victory in Wichita Falls last season. Avalon Munoz finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for UTPB, which improved to 2-7 all-time at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Holly Hemmeline was the leading scorer for UTPB with 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field, including 6-of-14 shooting from 3-point distance.

Fifth-year senior guard Kamryn Lemon, who played six games at Oklahoma and two games for Long Beach State before joining the Falcons, is averaging 13 points a game for UTPB.

"I call it the 'Lemon Show.' They're 1-4 low, and Lemon's going to go," Midwestern State head coach Brenita Jackson said. "She's going to come right at you. We better be ready to guard Lemon, or she's going to try to have a career night on us."

Lemon is 10th in the conference with 3.2 assists per game. Munoz is averaging 3.1 assists per game and Andreea Mancha is responsible for 2.8 helpers per contest. The Falcons are third in the league with 15.1 assists per game.

UT Permian Basin is averaging 72.4 points per game, and only Texas A&M International is scoring more in the LSC with 82.3 points per game.

Opponents of the Falcons have been limited to 62.4 points per game, which is the sixth-best scoring defense in the conference.

The plus-10 scoring margin is fourth-best in the league.

Makala Bingley was the leading scorer for UTPB in its win over Cameron on Thursday. Bingley was 6 of 18 from the field and scored 17 points, and Mancha pitched in 14 on 4-of-10 shooting from the field. The Falcons outrebounded the Aggies, 32-27, in a game that featured four ties and seven lead changes.

Alexus Quaadman, who had eight rebounds at Cameron, is the second-leading rebounder in the conference with 10.9 boards per game. Quaadman is also averaging one block per game for UTPB.

UT Permian Basin is sixth in the LSC with 37.07 rebounds per game, and second behind Midwestern State in offensive rebounding with 14 offensive boards per game.

Quaadman is pulling down 3.9 offensive rebounds, and only Carter of the Mustangs averages more in the LSC. Quaadman leads the conference with 7.1 defensive rebounds per game.

Rae Boothe is in her seventh season with the Falcons, who have tied the school record for best start through 15 games. Last season, UTPB finished with a 13-15 record, and Boothe is 61-112 (.353) during her time in Odessa.

Jackson is in her first season leading Midwestern State and boasts a career record of 56-24 (.700) after two highly successful campaigns at Texas Wesleyan, where she won 80 percent of her games (52-13).

Jackson played collegiate basketball at Southeastern Louisiana helping the Lions to Southland Conference East Division title in 2006-07 earning all-conference and all-academic honors as a senior. She is married to Kevin Jackson, assistant coach for the Mustangs.

Midwestern State visits Arkansas-Fort Smith on Thursday. Tip-off at the Stubblefield Center is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

--MSUMustangs.com--