Women's Basketball | 1/25/2017 2:35:00 PM
Live Audio/Video
Live Stats (SMSU)
Live Stats (USF)
Game Notes (pdf)
MOORHEAD, Minn. — The No. 16-ranked Minnesota State University Moorhead women's basketball team continues conference play this week with a pair of road games. The Dragons will face Southwest Minnesota State at 6 p.m. on Friday in Marshall, Minn., and conclude the weekend at Sioux Falls at 4 p.m.
The Dragons (16-2, 13-1 NSIC) lead the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference by two games over Sioux Falls and Winona State heading into this week's action, and are in command of the NSIC North with a four-game lead over Minnesota Duluth.
MSUM will face SMSU for an 80th time with the Mustangs holding a 42-37 series lead. The Dragons have won four straight in the series including a 75-45 rout of the Mustangs in Moorhead last season. The Dragons will meet USF for a sixth time and lead the series 4-1. USF's only win came on Jan. 16, 2015, a 76-71 overtime victory.
Live stats, live video and audio can be found at msumdragons.com.
About the Dragons
The No. 16 Dragons enter the week at 16-2 overall and 13-1 in the NSIC after splitting at home last weekend. MSUM lost to Minnesota Duluth, 71-59 before beating St. Cloud State, 95-69 on Saturday.
Cassidy Thorson averaged 22.5 points per game on the week for MSUM.
Junior forward
Drew Sannes leads MSUM at 15.6 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, while junior guard
Cassidy Thorson averages 14.9 points per game. Sophomore
Jacky Volkert averages 11.4 points per game and leads with 81 assists. Senior guard
Natalie Van Wyhe leads the NSIC in assist-to-turnover ratio and leads the Dragons with 24 steals.
The Dragons allow 56.1 points per game, second-best in the NSIC. Teams are shooting only 37.9 percent against the Dragons this season, including just 31.2 percent from three-point range. MSUM outrebounds its foes 36.7-30.8.
Karla Nelson is in her 17th season as the MSUM head coach with a record of 294-179 at the school.
About SMSU
SMSU is 2-16 overall and 2-12 in the NSIC. The Mustangs have lost three in a row, including home losses to Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota State last weekend.
Lauren Hedlund leads SMSU at 13.0 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. Caleigh Rodning averages 12.1 points per game while Taylor Holicky is at 9.8. Taylor Silva averages 4.3 assists per game and leads with 22 steals.
The Mustangs are scoring 60.6 points per game and are shooting 38.8 percent from the field. SMSU allows 74.5 points per game and teams are shooting 43.5 percent from the field against the Mustangs this season.
Tom Webb is in his first season as SMSU's head coach with a record of 2-16.
About Sioux Falls
The Cougars are 15-3 overall and 11-3 in the NSIC. USF will face Northern State on Friday prior to facing MSUM. The Cougars' six-game winning streak ended with a 62-51 home loss to Concordia on Jan. 21.
Senior Sam Knecht leads USF at 14.0 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. No other Cougar player averages in double figures, although three players — Kaely Hummel (9.7), Madi Robson (9.6) and Brooke Smith (9.3) average more than nine points a game. Robson averages an NSIC-best 5.6 assists per game while Knecht averages 2.3 blocks per game.
The Cougars score 66.3 points per game and shoot 39.9 percent from the field. They allow 54.6 points per game — best in the NSIC — and outrebound their foes by a slight 38.9-38.4 average.
Travis Traphagen is in his eighth season as the USF head coach with a record of 144-79.
