Women's Basketball | 12/9/2015 4:06:00 PM

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The Minnesota State University Moorhead women's basketball team returns home to face a pair of  Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference foes this week. MSUM faces St. Cloud State at 6 p.m. on Friday and Minnesota Duluth at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

MSUM continues to receive votes in the WBCA/Division II poll. The Dragons received 27 points in the latest poll released on Tuesday.

Both games will be televised live on WDAY'Z Xtra with Steve d'Eustachio and Jared Bledsoe on the call. Check local listings for channel availability in your area.

The Dragons will meet St. Cloud State for a 53rd time with the Huskies holding a 32-20 lead in the all-time series. The two teams split a year ago with each winning at home. MSUM and UMD will meet for an 80th time with the Bulldogs holding a 49-30 lead in the series. The Dragons swept UMD in 2014-15.

About MSUM
MSUM is 6-0 on the season after beating Minot State (81-72 in overtime) and Mary (62-61) on the road last week. Junior guard Morgan Banasik averaged 22.5 points in the two wins for MSUM while senior forward Savanna Handevidt had two double doubles.

Banasik leads MSUM at 19.0 points per game, and also leads with 15 steals. Junior forward Heather Strese averages 14.7 points per game and leads at 8.2 rebounds. Handevidt averages 12.2 points per game. Freshman Jacky Volkert leads with 17 assists in six games.  MSUM is averaging 76.5 points per game as a team. The Dragons are shooting 42.6 percent from the field, 31.5 percent from three-point range and 72.1 percent from the free-throw line.

MSUM is allowing 69.0 points per game and is outrebounding its opponents, 40.8-36.3

Karla Nelson is in her 16th season as MSUM head coach with a record of 263-171 at the school.

About St. Cloud State
The Huskies are 3-3 overall and 3-0 in the NSIC entering the week.  They won a pair of games at home last weekend, beating Bemidji State, 64-38 and Minnesota Crookston, 70-67.

The Huskies, who average 62.8 points per game on offense and shoot 38.7 percent from the field,  are led by scoring by seniors Lexy Petermann and Karissa LeCaptain, who average 13.7 points per game each. Chelsea Nooker averages 11.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game.  LeCaptain leads at 8.3 rebounds while Nooker averages 4.3 assists per game.

On defense, SCSU allows 64 points per game and teams are shooting 37 percent against the Huskies this season.  St. Cloud State out rebounds its foes 43.8-34.3.

Lori Fish is in her eighth season as St. Cloud State's head coach with a record of 111-88 at the school.

Minnesota Duluth
Minnesota Duluth, which faces Northern State prior to facing MSUM, has won three in a row, including wins over Minnesota Crookston (71-65) and Bemidji State (81-79, 3 OT) at home last week.

Junior Allyson Harris leads UMD at 15.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, while junior Kenzie Kane averages 10.8 points per game. Samantha Kozlowski leads with 16 total assists while Kane has nine steals.

UMD averages 58.2 points per game and has struggled from the field, shooting 33.2 percent, including 22.2 percent from three-point range. On defense, the Bulldogs allow 66.3 points per game and are being outrebounded by a 45.8-39.3 total.

Mandy Pearson, a Concordia College graduate, is in her first season as UMD's head coach with a record of 2-4.

MSUM Notes
—MSUM is 6-0 to start the season for the first time since 2009-10.
—Junior guard Morgan Banasik ranks 17th in Division II in minutes played per game at 37.0.
— Banasik is second in the NSIC at 19.0 points per game and third in steals per game (2.5).
— The Dragons are averaging 76.5 points per game in total offense, which is 30th-best in Division II and third-best in the NSIC.
— With two wins at home this weekend, MSUM would start 8-0 for the first time since 2009-10.