ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Midwestern State begins a new era with
Drew Coffman at the helm as it plays three games in three days at the D2CCA Tip-Off Classic at Nicholson Arena. The Mustangs tip off the season against No. 21-ranked Western Washington of Friday night at 7 p.m. CT before facing the hosts from Central Washington on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. CT. The final game is Sunday morning against Montana State Billings at 11 a.m. CT.
Coffman makes his debut as the head coach after being hired in April. The Midwestern State alumnus is the 13th head coach in the history of Midwestern State women's basketball. Coffman coached the Decatur girls' basketball team to back-to-back Class 4A state championships in each of the past two seasons.
Coffman, who scored more than 17 points per game at Midwestern State in the 2006-07 season, has coached boys and girls high school basketball for 20 seasons and has a career record of 476-146 (.765).
Calyssa Sevier,
Caelyn Williams and
Raeleigh Villanueva are the three players returning from last year's squad that finished the season 9-17, winning four of its final six games under the direction of interim head coach Kyra Seggewiss.
Coffman has 11 newcomers on the roster, including
Bralyn Peck, who scored over 2,000 points and collected over 1,000 rebounds at Decatur under Coffman's guidance. Peck is one of four first-year players on the Mustangs.
Payten Conde is a senior transfer from Southwestern Oklahoma State, where she averaged 8.5 points and nearly three assists per game. Conde started all 26 games for the Bulldogs and averaged 34 minutes per game. The 5-10 guard shot 32.3 percent from the field overall (71-of-220) and 30.5 percent from beyond the arc (36-of-118). She hit 91.7 percent of her free throws (44-of-48) last season.
Victoria Barrera is a 5-8 junior guard that transferred to MSU from Eastern New Mexico, where she appeared in 27 games with five starts as a sophomore and averaged 2.2 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. She shot 38.7 percent from the field overall (41-of-106) and 33.3 percent from 3-point range (19-of-57). Barrera hit 75 percent of her free throws (24-of-32) for the Greyhounds last year.
Peyton Stellato is a 5-10 junior guard that came to the Mustangs from St. Mary's, where she appeared in 11 games for the Rattlers as a sophomore. She averaged 2.2 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game last season. As a freshman. Stellato played in 24 games with 18 starts at Angelo State, averaging 2.6 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists for the Rambelles.
Junior forwards
Elina Syniakova,
Panagiota Kalogirou and
Mallory Jackson all matriculated at junior colleges before arriving at Midwestern State. Junior guard
Maiya Wesley was also a junior college player before joining the Stang Gang.
Midwestern State has not played Western Washington since 2015, when the two schools played in the at the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic, and WWU prevailed, 65-45.
The Vikings are ranked No. 21 in the nation and are picked to win the GNAC after finishing first last season with a 25-8 overall record and posting a 15-3 record in conference. WWU lost to Montana State Billings in the GNAC Championships title game, 66-61, but defeated Point Loma 74-50 in the opening round of the NCAA West Region Championships. Cal Poly Pomona edged the Vikings, 57-54, end the WWU run in the tournament.
The Mustangs are playing Central Washington for the first time in program history, and the Wildcats are picked to finish in the GNAC.
CWU finished last season with a 25-7 record overall and was 14-4 in conference games. The Wildcats hosted their first-ever West Region Championship where the 'Cats found their way back to their second-straight Sweet 16 where they fell to Cal Poly Pomona, 57-51.
Midwestern State is also meeting Montana State Billings for the first time. The Yellowjackets were 20-15 last season with a 9-9 record in conference. The were the first No. 6-seed in conference tournament history to win the GNAC Championship.
Cassie Chestnut is the reigning GNAC Freshman of the Year after leading the team scoring, rebounding, and blocks last season. Chesnut averaged 13.6 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.6 blocks, and 1.4 steals last season.
Midwestern State hosts Texas Wesleyan for the home opener on Nov. 10 at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
