WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- Midwestern State returns to D.L. Ligon Coliseum for the first time in 19 days and hosts St. Mary's for the Lone Star Conference home opener on Sunday afternoon. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.

The Mustangs have dropped their first three conference games on the road against teams ranked among the top 25 in the nation. No. 19 Lubbock Christian, No. 2 Texas Woman's and No. 18 UT Tyler all earned victories over the Mustangs, who are 2-7 overall.

Midwestern State outscored UT Tyler in the second half, 32-28, and was within four points in the final two minutes but fell, 63-56, in their last outing at Herrington Patriot Center on Dec. 6. Senior forward Zarria Carter led all scorers with 23 points, and freshman Kerbie Cash posted her second career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds for MSU.

Carter leads the conference in scoring and rebounding. The native of Mansfield, Texas, is averaging 19.8 points and 11.7 rebounds per game for the Mustangs. She is second in the nation with six double-doubles through the first nine games of the season. Carter is the 14th-leading scorer among NCAA Division II players and the second-leading rebounder.

Cater also has the second-best field goal percentage in the LSC, hitting 52.9 percent of her shots. She is 74-of-140 from the field, leading the conference in field goals and attempts.

Cash is the second-leading scorer for Midwestern State with 10.3 points per game, and she is also the second-leading rebounder with 6.1 boards per contest.

Carter and Cash are both among the LSC top-10 in free-throws made and attempted. Carter is 30 of 49 (61.2 percent), and Cash is 31 of 41 (75.6 percent). Cash has the seventh best free-throw percentage in the league.

The Mustangs are third in the league with 42.1 rebounds per game, which is 46th in the nation, and they are grabbing 15.7 offensive rebounds per game, which is second in the conference and 25th among NCAA Division II programs.

Carisa Cortez and Catalina Cortez have combined for 3.9 assists per game, and the Stang Gang is scoring 56.4 points per game.

The Mustangs are the fourth-best team in the league with 10.4 steals per game, and they are forcing the seventh-most turnovers in the conference with 17.2 per game.

Carter leads the conference with 21 total steals and 2.3 steals per game. Calyssa Sevier has 13 steals, Alyssa Hutterer has taken the ball away from an opponent 11 times, and Cash has 10 steals. Emillia Steele has at least two takeaways in each of her last three games and has nine steals this season.

Midwestern State is holding opponents to 63.6 points per game, which is the ninth-best scoring defense in the LSC. Opponents are shooting 38.9 percent from the field against the Mustangs and only 25.9 percent from beyond the arc, which is the fourth-best 3-point percentage defense in the conference.

St. Mary's won its last meeting with the Mustangs in San Antonio last season, 70-67. Carter had 33 points, nine rebounds and three steals in the game for Midwestern State.

The Mustangs have won seven of their last 10 meetings with the Rattlers and lead the all-time series, 17-6. MSU is 10-3 when hosting St. Mary's, which lost its last visit to D.L. Ligon Coliseum in double-overtime, 82-81. Neither team has a player on its roster that played in that game two years ago.

St. Mary's fell to 2-1 in conference play with a 71-43 loss against Lubbock Christian on Thursday night at Rip Griffin Center. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Rattlers, who are 6-3 overall this season with a 2-1 road record.

Freshman Christin Callens is the leading scorer and rebounder for St. Mary's with 16.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. Callens has scored double figures in her first nine collegiate games for the Rattlers. She is the fourth-leading scorer in the LSC, and the 5-11 swingman from Houston is shooting 54.5 percent (55 of 101) from the field, which leads the conference and is 32nd in the nation.

St. Mary's is scoring 61.1 points per game and holding opponents to 60.3 points per game.

The Rattlers are grabbing the fifth-most rebounds in the LSC with 39.7 per game, and they have the second-best rebounding margin in the conference at plus-6.9.

St. Mary's is the best shot blocking team in the conference and 33rd in the nation with 4.2 blocks per game. Raynne Malik is second in the league with 15 blocks. Imani Ivery has the 10th-most blocks in the LSC with seven. The Rattlers set a school record with 12 blocks in a 63-38 win over Sul Ross State on Dec. 7.

Midwestern State is back under the dome on Tuesday afternoon as St. Edward's visits the Mustangs. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.