WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- Midwestern State returns home after splitting two road games last week and seeks a season sweep over UT Permian Basin on Thursday night before facing Angelo State at D.L. Ligon Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.

The Mustangs and Falcons tipoff at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, and the Rambelles take the floor at 1 p.m. on Saturday to face MSU.

Midwestern State (11-12, 9-8) is coming off a 52-50 loss at Western New Mexico as Kerbie Cash posted her ninth double-double of the season with 12 points and 14 rebounds. Emillia Steele was the leading scorer for the Mustangs with 15 points. Zarria Carter was limited to 16 minutes due to foul trouble and finished with eight points and five rebounds in the loss.

The Mustangs have won seven of their last 10 games and are 9-3 at home this season.

Midwestern State is tied with West Texas A&M for eighth place in the conference standings, trailing UTPB and Eastern New Mexico by one game. The Mustangs are two games behind Texas A&M-Kingsville for fifth place. The top-eight teams qualify for the LSC Championship at Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas, on March 6.

Carter leads the conference in scoring (20.5 ppg), rebounding (11.1 rpg) and steals (2.3 spg). She has the second-best field goal percentage (54.6%). Carter is 183-of-335 from the field, and no one in the conference has converted more field goals or put up more shots than the 6-1 senior from Mansfield, Texas.

Carter is the 10th-leading rebounder in the country and the 11th-leading scorer. Carter leads the league with 14 double-doubles this season, and only three players in NCAA Division II have more double-doubles — Emily Chmiel of East Stroudsburg, Alisha Little of Colorado State-Pueblo and Michelle Kozicki of West Chester.

Carter is 105-of-143 (73.4%). from the free-throw line. She has made the second-most free throws and has the most attempts in the LSC. She has the ninth-best free-throw percentage in the conference.

Cash, a 6-2 freshman from Wylie, Texas, is the eighth-leading rebounder in the LSC with 7.6 boards per game, and she is the 12th leading scorer in the league with 13 points per game. In conference games, she averages 14.7 points and 8.5 rebounds.

Cash has also been productive at the free-throw line, hitting 87-of-123 (70.7%). She has the fifth-most made free throws in the LSC and the third-most attempts. Her free-throw percentage is 14th in the league.

The Mustangs have the most free-throw attempts per game in the conference with 21.7 and are shooting 69.2 percent (346-of-500) from the free-throw line as a team. The Mustangs have the second-most made free throws in the LSC with 15 per game.

Midwestern State is second in the league with 41.8 rebounds per game, which is 27th in the nation, and MSU is grabbing 14.8 offensive rebounds per game, which is third in the conference and 29th among NCAA Division II programs.

The Mustangs are scoring 63.3 points per game and holding their opponents to 63 points per game.

Carisa Cortez is dishing out three assists per game, which is ninth in the conference.

Midwestern State is forcing the fifth-most turnovers in the conference at 18.4 per game, and the Stangs are second in the league with 10.5 steals per game.

Carter leads the LSC with 53 total steals. Calyssa Sevier is sixth in the conference with 40 steals. Cash is 16th with 36 steals, and Emillia Steele is 23rd in the league with 32 steals.

The Mustangs are holding opponents to 39 percent shooting from the field, which is eighth-best in the LSC. Opponents are only shooting 27.5 percent from 3-point range, which is the fifth-best 3-point percentage defense in the LSC.

Midwestern State is blocking 2.2 shots per game, and Carter is averaging 0.9 blocks per game, which is eighth in the league.
 

UT Permian Basin

Midwestern State leads the all-time series with the Falcons, 12-8, and snapped a four-game losing streak in the series with a 62-57 victory at UTPB Gym Complex on Jan. 18.

Carter finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds in the last meeting with UTPB, and Steele poured in 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field. Alyssa Hutterer hit 3-of-6 shots from beyond the arc en route to 11 points, and Carisa Cortez scored 10 points, sealing the victory with a pair of free throws.

The Falcons stymied Cash, who was 1-of-11 from the field and scored just two points. Cash had a season-high eight assists and also grabbed eight rebounds in the first road win of the year for MSU.

UT Permian Basin is making its 11th appearance at D.L. Ligon Coliseum and has only won three times as the visitor in the series. The Falcons first win at MSU was an 82-78 overtime triumph in January of 2017 as the rallied from a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter.

UT Permian Basin hit 18 3-pointers at D.L. Ligon Coliseum last season and defeated the Mustangs, 90-62, and Morgan Helgesen was 6-of-10 from long range on her way to a 22-point performance as UTPB earned its second straight win under the dome.

Two years ago, Avalon Munoz of UT Permian Basin recorded the first triple-double in the Lone Star Conference in five years, as the Falcons soared past Midwestern State, 80-50. Munoz finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for UTPB.

UT Permian Basin arrives in Wichita Falls this year with a 12-11 overall record and is 10-7 in conference play. The Falcons have lost their last two games on the road at West Texas A&M, 72-62, and at Eastern New Mexico, 71-66. UTPB is 4-5 as the visiting team this season.

The Falcons are the third-highest scoring team in the league with 69.4 points per game, and opponents are scoring 62.3 points per contest.

Taysha Rushton is the third-leading scorer in the conference with 16 points per game, and she shoots 37.8 percent from the field (125-of-331). Rushton has taken the second-most field goal attempts in the LSC. She is also sixth in the conference with 3.3 assists per game.

Munoz leads UTPB and is third in the LSC with 3.9 assists per game. Munoz is second in the league with a 1.84 assist-to-turnover ratio, and Rushton is sixth with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.23.

Khiara Flugence is the sixth-leading rebounder in the conference with 7.6 boards per game for the Falcons, who are seventh in the LSC with 37.4 rebounds per game. UTPB is fourth in the league with 13.4 offensive rebounds per game, led by Flugence, who grabs 3.5 caroms off the offensive glass for the second-best average in the LSC.

UTPB is second in the conference and 16th in the nation with 25.7 attempts from 3-point range per game, and the Falcons shoot 31.3 percent from long range, which is the sixth-best 3-point shooting percentage in the league.

Rushton leads the LSC with 59 total 3-pointers and 2.57 per game for UTPB. Makala Bingley is adding 1.7 3-pointers per game and is 10th in the league with 39 successful attempts from beyond the arc.

The Falcons force the most turnovers in the LSC and boast the best turnover margin. Opponents commit 19.6 turnovers per game against UTPB, which has a plus-4.9 turnover margin. The Falcons are fifth in the league with 9.6 steals per game, led by Rushton and Munoz. Rushton has 42 steals and Munoz has 40 total takeaways for the Falcons.
 

Angelo State

Angelo State leads the all-time series with Midwestern State, 43-33, and has won 14 of the last 18 meetings, including an 84-71 victory at Junell Center on Jan. 16.

Majik Esquivel scored 31 points on 10-of-16 shooting and hit 5-of-9 shots from 3-point range in the first encounter this season. Madi Lumsden added 19 points, and Madeline Stephens scored 13 points as the Rambelles shot 47 percent, including 11-of-26 (42.3%) from beyond the arc.

Four players scored double figures for Midwestern State at Angelo State last month. Carisa Cortez and Zarria Carter each finished with 12 points, while Kerbie Cash and Trinidi King each scored 11 points. Cash was the game's leading rebounder with 12 boards, and Carter pulled down 10 rebounds despite being hampered by foul trouble, which limited her to 20 minutes of action.

Midwestern State is 23-15 when hosting the Rambelles, but the Mustangs last home win against Angelo State came in February of 2021, when MSU rolled to an 81-62 victory as Morgan Lenahan scored 29 points for the Mustangs.

The Rambelles won their last visit to D.L. Ligon Coliseum, 93-71, as Tayjanna McGhee-Pleasant scored 29 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Angelo State, which shot 57.6 percent from the field. Carter had 20 points and 10 rebounds in the loss for MSU.

Angelo State entered this week with a 16-7 overall record and a 12-5 conference record after defeating West Texas A&M, 66-59, in Canyon, Texas. The Rambelles play at Lubbock Christian before visiting the Mustangs.

The Rambelles are the second-highest scoring team in the conference with 70.8 points per game, and they hold opponents to 62.4 points per game. The plus-8.4 scoring margin is fifth-best in the LSC.

Stephens leads a balanced attack with 13.3 points per game, while Esquivel scores 13, and Keniah Williams pitches in 11.7 points per game.

Angelo State is the leading rebounding team in the LSC with 43.2 rebounds per game.

Stephens and Williams are second and fifth respectively among conference rebounders. Stephens pulls down 9.4 rebounds a game, and Williams grabs 8.8 caroms per game.

The Rambelles lead the league with 4.1 blocks per game, led by Williams and Stephens. Williams leads the league and is 14th in the nation with 48 total blocks, which is more than two blocks per game. Stephens is fifth in the LSC with 23 total blocks, which is one block per game.

Opponents are shooting 34.9 percent against Angelo State, which has the third-best field goal percentage defense in the conference.

Angelo State forces more than 18 turnovers a game, which is sixth in the conference, and the Rambelles are seventh in the league with 8.7 steals per game. Stephens has the fourth-most steals in the LSC with 45.

Esquivel and Lumsden are the most prolific 3-point shooters for the Rambelles. Esquivel is sixth in the league with 2.1 3-pointers per game, and Lumsden is 13th with 1.5 per contest. Esquivel has the seventh-best 3-point percentage in the LSC at 31.5 percent.

As a team, Angelo State shoots 31 percent from 3-point range, which is seventh-best in the conference. Opponents are only shooting 27.5 percent from long range against the Rambelles, who are fourth in the league in 3-point percentage defense.

Addy Burns leads Angelo State with 2.7 assists per game, and she also leads the team with a 72.9 percent conversion rate from the free-throw line, where the Rambelles are fourth-best in the LSC at 75.3 percent. Angelo State only attempts 12.6 free throws per game, which is 12th in the LSC.

Midwestern State takes its final road trip to Texas A&M-Kingsville and Texas A&M International next week before wrapping up the regular season at home against Lubbock Christian on Feb. 27.