WICHITA FALLS, Texas – Midwestern State returns home hoping to end a four-game slide as it hosts Texas A&M International on Thursday night. Tipoff at D.L. Ligon Coliseum is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

Midwestern State (5-15, 2-12) completed a three-game road trip with a 79-55 loss at UT Tyler on Monday night. The Mustangs fell behind 14-0 but rallied to within three points of the Patriots by halftime. UT Tyler hit 10-of-14 shots in the third quarter to take a 57-41 lead into the fourth period.

Kerbie Cash finished with 19 points and eight rebounds for the Mustangs, and the sophomore from Wylie, Texas has scored at least 15 points in eight of her last nine games. Veonce Powell scored in double figures for the sixth straight game as she poured in 17 points and dished out three assists for the Mustangs.

Cash is the leading scorer for MSU and fourth in the Lone Star Conference with 16.5 points per game. She is fifth in the league and leading the team with 7.5 rebounds per game. 

Midwestern State is second in the league with 15 offensive rebounds per contest and is pulling down 37.8 total rebounds per game, which is seventh most in the LSC.

Macie Upshaw and Cash are both grabbing more than 2.5 offensive rebounds per outing and are fifth and sixth in the league respectively.

Upshaw is second on the team with 6.3 rebounds per game, and she is averaging nearly a block per game. The freshman from Round Rock, Texas, has the ninth-most blocks in the LSC with 17. Midwestern State is fifth in the league with 2.7 blocks per game.

The Mustangs are second in the conference and 30th among NCAA Division II programs with 12 steals per game. Cash leads the team and is third in the league with 2.2 steals per game. The Mustangs are forcing 21 turnovers per game, which is fourth best in the Lone Star Conference.

Cash and Ta'Leeyah Glynn are leading the team in steals. Cash swipes the ball from the opposition 2.2 times per game, and Glynn is averaging 1.9 steals. 

Midwestern State is attempting the third-most free throws in the conference with 24.4 per game, which is 12th-most in the country. MSU is ninth in the nation with 16.9 free throws made per outing, which is second in the LSC. The Mustangs are fifth in the conference with a 71.3 percent conversion rate from the foul line.

Cash is 103 of 134 from the free-throw line (.739), sitting third in the LSC in both attempts and free throws made. The sophomore from Wiley, Texas, has the 10th-best free-throw percentage in the conference.

Midwestern State is averaging 64.8 points per game, while opponents are scoring 68.5 points per outing.

TEXAS A&M INTERNATIONAL (12-8, 9-5) 

Midwestern State is 4-4 in its all-time series with the Dustdevils, ending a three-game losing streak in the series with a 63-47 victory in Laredo, Texas, last season.  Kerbie Cash had 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting, and she grabbed seven rebounds in the victory. The Mustangs are 3-2 when hosting the Dustdevils, who won their last visit to D.L. Lion Coliseum, 76-68, in February of 2024.

The Dustdevils had a four-game winning streak halted with a 72-68 loss to St. Edward's on Saturday. TAMIU held a 39-36 halftime lead over the Hilltoppers, who outscored the Dustdevils 20-13 in the fourth quarter to pull out the victory in Laredo. 

Jayden Smallwood scored 17 points against St. Edward's and is the leading scorer for the Dustdevils with 13.2 points per game. Aaliyah McMillan is scoring 12.4 points per game, and Bridgette Tello is adding 10.6 points per outing. Racheal Emmanuel, Carmen Morcillo and Angelique Morgan are all scoring more than nine points a game for TAMIU.

Smallwood also leads the team with 3.9 assists and 2.4 steals per game.

The Dustdevils force 22 turnovers per game, which leads the league, and its plus-3.6 turnover margin is fifth best in the LSC.

Morcillo is the second-best 3-point shooter in the LSC, shooting 37.4 percent (58 of 155) from beyond the arc.  She has hit the second-most 3-pointers in the conference and has the second-most attempts. She is seventh in the nation with 2.9 3-pointers per game.

Texas A&M International is the fifth-highest scoring team in the LSC with 65.8 points per game, and its opponents are scoring 65.3 points per contest.

The Dustdevils are the third-best rebounding team in the LSC with 39.1 rebounds per outing, and they lead the league with 15.1 offensive rebounds per game.

Racheal Emmanuel is the second-leading rebounder in the conference with 9.6 boards per game., including five offensive rebounds per outing, which is fourth most among NCAA Division II rebounders. Dacia Jones is seventh in the league with 2.6 offensive rebounds per game.

Only Midwestern State attempts more free throws than TAMIU in the LSC.  Texas A&M International shoots 23.8 free throws per game, and the Dustdevils are scoring nearly 16 points a game from the free-throw line, which is a 67 percent conversion rate — ninth in the conference.

Morgan, a 5-7 senior from Killeen, Texas, leads the conference with 34.1 minutes per game.

Midwestern State hosts Texas A&M-Kingsville for Military Appreciation Day on Saturday at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. The first 2500 fans in attendance will receive a camouflage towel. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.