WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- Midwestern State has a three-game winning streak following its 75-55 win over West Texas A&M, but the Mustangs face another stern test on Saturday as Lubbock Christian makes its 17th appearance at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Midwestern State (3-9, 3-3) was impressive during its 75-55 win over West Texas A&M on Thursday night. Senior
Kertisa Amos finished with 19 points, nine rebounds, six assists, and four steals; while senior
Makayla Coy (19 points, 13 rebounds) and junior
Zarria Carter (13 points, 11 rebounds) added double-doubles.
Amos has scored between 14 and 19 points in eight of 10 games this season. She leads the Mustangs and ranks fifth in the LSC in scoring at 16.2 points per game.
Carter notched her third consecutive and fifth double-double of the season. The junior from Mansfield, Texas, ranks eighth in the LSC in scoring at 15.1 points per game and is second in rebounding, pulling in 10.8 per game.
Coy is averaging 10.3 points and 10.8 rebounds per game following her second double-double of the season.
Nikki Green is heating up for the Mustangs. The junior from Dallas has scored in double figures in four of six games since taking on a reserve role. She is averaging 14.4 points per game as MSU's sixth woman and is coming off a 13-point performance against WT. Green hit 6-of-10 shots in the victory on Thursday.
Catalina Cortez is ninth in the LSC with 3.2 assists per game and third in the league with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.17.
The Mustangs own the fourth-best turnover margin in the LSC at plus-2.0. MSU is forcing 16.9 turnovers per game and is third in the league with 14.9 turnovers committed per contest.
In its six conference games, the Mustangs are averaging 67.7 points per game and holding opponents to 68.7 points.
Midwestern State is third in the conference with 39.5 rebounds per game and leads the league with 16.5 offensive boards per game, which is 14th among NCAA Division II schools.
The Mustangs are making 15 free throws per game on 21.25 attempts, and both numbers rank fifth in the conference.
Carter is 58-of-69 (84.1 percent) at the foul line. She is fourth in the league in both attempts and made free throws. Her free-throw percentage is fifth-best in the conference.
Amos has 22 steals this season and is averaging 2.2 steals per game. The Mustangs are eighth in the league with 8.6 steals per contest.
Midwestern leads the all-time series with the Lady Chaps, 23-11, including a 14-2 record at D.L. Ligon Coliseum, but Lubbock Christian has won the last seven meetings.
Last season, the Lady Chaps defeated MSU, 61-37, in Wichita Falls, outscoring the Mustangs in the third quarter, 21-3. Midwestern State shot 20.4 percent from the field and was outrebounded, 43-38.
Lubbock Christian (9-3, 4-1) has won back-to-back games and improved to 4-1 on the road with a 63-48 victory at Cameron on Thursday night.
The Lady Chaps used a 17-0 run to defeat the Aggies in their first game against an opponent from the West Division of the LSC. Grace Foster finished with 18 points and nine rebounds. Maci Maddox added 13 points and dished out five assists. Audrey Robertson finished with 10 points in the victory. Lubbock Christian connected on a season-high nine 3-pointers in the game.
Lubbock Christian is holding opponents to 57.7 points per game, which is the second-best scoring defense in the league. The Lady Chaps are scoring 65.3 points per game.
Foster is the third-leading scorer in the LSC with 17.8 points per game, and she leads the Lady Chaps with 6.5 rebounds per game.
Foster was named as the Co-Preseason Player of the Year in the LSC. Last season, Dave Campbell's Texas Basketball recognized Foster as the Non-Division I All-Texas Most Valuable Player and as a First Team All-Texas (Non-Division I) selection following her sophomore season in which she also claimed All-America honors by the WBCA and the D2CCA.
The junior forward from Childress, Texas led the team with 16.4 points per game (third in the LSC) and a university single-season record 311 rebounds (led the region and ranked 14th nationally) en route to claiming LSC Player of the Year and D2CCA South Central Region Player of the Year honors.
The Lady Chaps return all five starters from last season, when they finished the campaign with a 24-11 record and went 16-6 against LSC opponents. Lubbock Christian was a South Central Regional Finalist.
Steve Gomez has 509 wins and 146 losses in his 21st season as the head coach at Lubbock Christian, winning three three NCAA Division II national championships.
Midwestern State is headed to the Land of Enchantment next week. The Mustangs visit Western New Mexico on Thursday. Tip-off at Drag's Court in Silver City, New Mexico, is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CST.
--MSUMustangs.com--
