SAN ANGELO, Texas -- Shorthanded Midwestern State is on the road to face Angelo State at the Junell Center on Saturday afternoon. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.

With four games remaining, Midwestern State (6-18, 6-12) is one game behind three teams tied for the eighth and final berth in the Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament. Texas A&M Kingsville, Cameron and Arkansas-Fort Smith are all 7-11 in conference play. TAMUK visits the Mustangs on Feb. 22, and MSU travels to Cameron for the season finale on Feb. 29.

Angelo State (18-8, 12-5) has won three of its last four games after dismantling Cameron on Thursday night, 88-52. Keniah Williams had a career night for the Rambelles with 19 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks in the victory at Junell Center. Sawyer Lloyd posted her sixth double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Lloyd also had six assists and two steals for the Rambelles. Madeline Stephens also had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Midwestern State only had eight players suited out for Thursday night's game at UT Permian Basin, and the Falcons earned a 73-56 victory in Odessa. Holly Hemmeline scored 18 points, hitting four 3-pointers. Alexus Quaadman logged her ninth double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds.

Zionna Barbee paced the depleted Mustangs with a season-high 10 points off of the bench. The sophomore from Tacoma, Washington, grabbed five rebounds and made two steals. Junior forward Zarria Carter added nine points and five rebounds, while sophomore Catalina Cortez connected on 3-of-8 shots with a trey to also score nine.

Junior guard Nikki Green poured in 23 points, and junior forward Zarria Carter posted a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds, but Angelo State shot 57.6 percent from the field and had four players score in double figures on its way to a 93-71 victory over Midwestern State at D.L. Ligon Coliseum on Jan. 18. Tayjanna McGhee-Pleasant finished with a game-high 29 points for the Rambelles. Stephens finished the night with 22 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, four blocks and two steals. Lloyd had 17 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, one block and one steal in the victory. Landry Morrow contributed 12 points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals, helping Angelo State outscore the Mustangs in transition, 32-10.

Midwestern State is scoring 65.5 points per game this season, and opponents are scoring 75 points per game against the Mustangs.

Carter is leading Midwestern State and is third in the Lone Star Conference with 16.5 points per game, and she is the leading rebounder in the conference with 11 rebounds per game, which is 10th in the nation among NCAA Division II players. The 6-1 junior from Mansfield, Texas, was held to nine points and five rebounds at UTPB.

Amos is the eighth-leading scorer in the LSC with 14.8 points per game, and she sits 18th in the conference with six rebounds per game. The 5-9 swingman is ninth in the conference with two steals per game. Amos had eight points, five rebounds and five steals in the first meeting with Angelo State.

Coy, who is scoring 9.5 points per game for the Mustangs, is the ninth-leading rebounder in the conference with 7.7 boards per game. Coy scored a career-high 33 points against Tampa earlier this season. Coy hit the game-winning shot in a 76-74 victory at Oklahoma Christian with 15 seconds remaining. The 5-11 senior from Jarrell, Texas, had eight point and eight rebounds in the loss to UTPB on Thursday.

Catalina Cortez has the best assist-to-turnover ratio in the LSC at 2.52 and leads the Mustangs with three assists per game. Cortez is playing 31.1 minutes a game.

Green is the third-leading scorer for Midwestern State with 9.8 points per game. Green is 35 of 118 from 3-point range (.297) this season. The 5-6 junior from Dallas (Richardson HS) hit five 3-pointers in a game for the second time this season and scored 29 points against Eastern New Mexico last week. She has scored 20 or more points three times during the campaign. Green played a season-high 33 minutes against Eastern New Mexico and shot 60 percent from the field.

Midwestern State is the second-best rebounding team in the LSC with 38.9 rebounds per game. The Mustangs lead the conference and are 27th among NCAA Division II programs with 14.8 offensive rebounds per game.

Carter is hitting 81.9 percent of her free throws, which ranks third in the league, and she has attempted the fouth-most free throws in the LSC with 127. As a team, MSU is shooting 20 free throws per game, which is fifth-most in the conference, and has the eighth-best free-throw percentage at 73 percent.

The Mustangs have the fewest turnovers in the LSC with 13.7 per game and are eighth in the league with a 0.76 assists-to-turnover ratio. MSU forces 14.6 turnovers and the plus-0.87 turnover margin is eighth-best in the conference.

Angelo State leads the all-time series with Midwestern State, 42-32, and has won the last four meetings, including an 85-65 victory at Junell Center last season. The Mustangs are 7-27 all-time when visiting the Rambelles.

Angelo State is averaging 69.92 points per game and is allowing opponents to score 64.42 points per game.

McGee-Pleasant is the fifth-leading scorer in the conference with 15.5 points per game and is fourth in the league with 8.8 rebounds per game.

Lloyd is averaging 14.9 points per game, which is seventh in the LSC, and she is second in the conference with 5.3 assists per game. Lloyd is also pulling down 6.7 rebounds per game and grabs 2.4 steals per game.

Stephens is averaging 13.1 points and is the seventh-leading rebounder in the conference with eight rebounds per game.
Angelo State leads the league with 41.88 rebounds per game and is the best defensive rebounding team in the LSC with 29.6 per game.

The Rambelles are second in the conference and ninth in the nation with 17.6 assists per game. They also have the best assists-to-turnover ration in the conference at 1.07, which is 26th in the nation.

Alesha Ellis is in her third season as the head coach at Angelo State, where she is 59-28 (.678). Ellis arrived in San Angelo after eight seasons at Wayland Baptist, where her record was 189-52 (.784). In 11 seasons as a head coach, Ellis is 248-80 (.756).

Ellis played for Hall of Fame coach Marsha Sharp at Texas Tech and is eighth all-time on the Texas Tech career scoring list with 1,571 points. She is married to Andy Ellis, assistant coach for the Rambelles and a former Texas Tech men's basketball player.

Brenita Jackson is in her first season leading Midwestern State and boasts a career record of 58-30 (.659) after two highly successful campaigns at Texas Wesleyan, where she won 80 percent of her games (52-13). Jackson coached junior college basketball for five seasons. She was 69-78 at Lon Morris, Cisco and San Jacinto combined. Jackson led the Ravens to a 23-7 record in her second season at San Jacinto after the team went 3-25 in the 2013-14 campaign.

Jackson played collegiate basketball at Southeastern Louisiana helping the Lions to the 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, and they are proud parents of their daughter, Kylee.

Midwestern State begins its final homestand of the season against Texas A&M-Kingsville on Thursday. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
 

--MSUMustangs.com--