Women's Basketball | 12/15/2015 6:19:00 PM

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The Minnesota State University Moorhead women's basketball team concludes the pre-Christmas portion of its schedule on Saturday at Northern State. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. at Wachs Arena in Aberdeen, S.D.

MSUM continues to receive votes in the WBCA/Division II poll. The Dragons received 23 points in the latest poll released on Tuesday.

The game will be broadcast online live online at msumdragons.com with Steve d'Eustachio on the call.

MSUM will face Northern State for a 71st time with the Wolves leading the series 46-24. The Dragons beat the Wolves, 66-59 on Nov. 24 in Moorhead, with junior guard Morgan Banasik recording 18 points and a game-high four steals for MSUM, while junior Heather Strese finished with 14 points and six rebounds.

About MSUM
MSUM is 7-1 overall and 4-1 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference after splitting at home last weekend. MSUM fell to St. Cloud State, 65-59 on Friday before rebounding with a 61-53 win over Minnesota Duluth on Saturday. Senior forward Savanna Handevidt averaged a double-double for the week to pace MSUM while senior forward Heather Strese averaged 13.5 points a game.

Junior guard Morgan Banasik leads MSUM at 17.1 points per game, and also leads with 18 steals. Strese averages 14.4 points per game and leads at 8.1 rebounds. Handevidt averages 12.1 points per game. Freshman guard Jacky Volkert leads with 22 assists in eight games.  MSUM is averaging 72.4 points per game as a team. The Dragons are shooting 40.8 percent from the field, 31.5 percent from three-point range and 70.5 percent from the free-throw line.

MSUM is allowing 65.9 points per game and is outrebounding its opponents, 40.2-38.4.

Karla Nelson is in her 16th season as MSUM head coach with a record of 264-172 at the school.

About Northern State
The Wolves are 7-3 overall and 3-2 in the NSIC. They won a pair of home games last weekend, beating Minnesota Duluth, 71-62 and St. Cloud State, 71-68. Northern trails St. Cloud State and MSUM by one game for the lead in the NSIC North Division.

Four Northern players average in double figures: sophomore Jill Conrad, (12.0), senior Devon Brecke (11.8), senior Lauren Deadrick (11.1) and junior Paige Waytashek (10.1).  Deadrick leads at 9.9 rebounds per game while Brecke averages 3.4 assists. Deadrick also has 14 blocked shots this season.

The Wolves are scoring 65.6 points per game and are shooting 42.5 percent from the field. They are shooting 27.4 percent from three-point range. On defense, Northern surrenders 59.9 points a game. In rebounding, the Wolves outrebound their foes 42.1-30.4.

Curt Fredrickson, the longest-tenured head coach in the NSIC, is in his 37th season as the Wolves' head coach with a record of 780-288 at the school.

MSUM Notes
—MSUM shares the NSIC North Division lead with St. Cloud State with a 4-1 mark.
—Banasik ranks 11th in Division II in minutes played per game at 37.0.
— Banasik is 30th in Division II at 43 free throws made.
— Handevidt has recorded four straight games with double-digit rebounds and has double-doubles in three of the Dragons' last four games. She set career highs for points (22) and rebounds (14) against UMD.
— Sophomore guard Cassidy Thorson scored a career-high 15 points against St. Cloud State (12/11/15).
— MSUM is looking for its first win in Aberdeen since beating the Wolves 66-54 on Dec. 1, 2012.
— Sophomore forward Drew Sannes has moved into the top 10 in career blocks at MSUM; she is 10th with 65 blocks and just two away from eighth place.
--Strese has scored in double figures in seven of the Dragons' eight games this season.