Women's Basketball | 12/13/2017 1:48:00 PM

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The Minnesota State University Moorhead women's basketball team will battle No. 12 ranked Northern State in a pivotal Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference game on Friday at 6 p.m. in Aberdeen, S.D. It is the first meeting of the season between the two NSIC North rivals.

MSUM and Northern State will meet for a 64th time with the Wolves leading the series 47-26.  The Dragons swept the series in 2016-17, winning 51-44 in Aberdeen and 69-66 in Moorhead. Northern State's last win was on Dec. 19, 2015 in Aberdeen by a 60-59 score.

MSUM (6-2, 3-1 NSIC) split at home last weekend, falling to Minnesota Crookston, 69-65 on Friday before beating Bemidji State, 70-47 on Saturday.  Senior forward Drew Sannes had back-to-back double doubles to lead the Dragons on the weekend.

Sannes leads MSUM at 13.3 points and 9.8 rebounds per game and also leads with 13 blocked shots. Junior guard Jacky Volkert leads the Dragons at 13.3 points and 5.1 assists per game.  Sophomore forward Megan Hintz averages 11.4 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. Senior guard Cassidy Thorson averages 11.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game while also leading with 21 three-pointers.

As a team MSUM scores 71.8 points per game and shoots 41.0 percent from the field.

On defense MSUM allows 59.2 points per game. MSUM outrebounds its foes 44.4-34.0.

Karla Nelson is in her 18th season as the MSUM head coach with a record of 308-184.

About Northern State
Northern State, ranked No. 12 in the latest WBCA D2 Coaches Poll, is 8-1 overall and 4-0 in the NSIC. The Wolves swept at home last weekend, beating Bemidji State 65-55 and Minnesota Crookston 75-50, thanks to 49 combined points from senior center Miranda Ristau.

Ristau leads Northern State at 18.0 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. Senior forward Jill Conrad averages 11.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Jessi Marti averages 9.3 points per game. Sophomore guard Brianna Kusler averages 3.1 assists per game while Alexis Tappe leads with 13 steals.

As a team Northern State shoots 46.9 percent from the field, including 39.2 percent from three-point range.  The Wolves score 76.1 points per game and allow 61.3. They have a 45.1-31.9 edge in rebounds.

Curt Fredrickson is in his 39th season as Northern State's head coach with a record of 828-301.

The matchup
Friday's contest will feature two of the best rebounding teams in the NSIC. Northern State leads at 45.1 rebounds per game while MSUM is third at 44.4. Northern State leads in rebounding margin at +13.2 while MSUM is second at +10.4.

Fredrickson and Nelson are two of three NSIC coaches to have 300 wins at their current school along with Dave Krauth of Augustana. Fredickson is the longest-tenured NSIC coach with Krauth second and Nelson third.

MSUM will host Northern State four days later in a rematch to conclude the season series.

More on MSUM
National Rankings
MSUM is ranked in the top 50 nationally in individual and team categories:
Individuals
--Freshman guard Lauren Fech is 25th in the nation in assist to turnover ratio (2.50) while junior guard Jacky Volkert is 45th (2.16)
--Volkert is 33rd in the nation at 5.1 assists per game
--senior forward Drew Sannes is 15th nationally at 8.0 rebounds per game
Team Rankings
As a team, MSUM is ranked..
--eighth in in defensive rebounds per game (8.0)
--10th in rebound margin (10.4)
--13th in turnovers per game (12.6)
--19th in assist to turnover ratio (1.25)
--27th in free-throw percentage (77.9)
--28th in rebounds per game (44.4)

Sannes Closing in on Milestones
Senior forward Drew Sannes is closing in on a pair of career milestones. She is second all-time at MSUM in blocks with 189, trailing only Jessica Fesenmaier, who has 210. Sannes is also at 997 career points for her Dragon career and is three away from becoming the 22nd Dragon women's player to surpass the 1,000-point plateau for her career. She was the NSIC Player of the Year in 2016-17 and 2017-18 NSIC Preseason Player of the Year.

Thorson at No. 2 in Threes, Closing In on Record
Senior guard Cassidy Thorson now has 169 three-pointers, which is second-most in MSUM history. She leader Marisa Yernatich by 28 as of Nov. 28.  Thorson, an All-NSIC second team selection a year ago, is also third in attempts at MSUM.  She also isn't far from the 1,000-point milestone as she currently sits at 813 points.

Three-Point Record Falls
MSUM was on fire from three-point range at Minot State on Dec. 2, hitting 16-of-29 (55.2 percent) in the 85-64 rout of the Beavers. That mark set a new single-game record with 16 threes, topping the previous mark of 15 set against Bemidji State in Jan. 2015. Senior Cassidy Thorson and freshman Kiley Borowicz each hit 6 threes in the win.

Volkert Barely Misses Triple Double
Junior guard Jacky Volkert narrowly missed out on recording the first triple-double in Dragon women's basketball history in the 69-65 loss to Minnesota Crookston on Friday.  She had 12 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in the game and was one assist away from the triple double. It was her first double-double of the season and third of her career.

Double-Double Times 2
MSUM had two double-doubles in the 70-47 win over Bemidji State on Saturday. Senior forward Drew Sannes had 21 points and 12 rebounds -- her 18th career double-double -- while sophomore Megan Hintz had 19 points and 10 rebounds for her first career double-double.

Nelson Back for 18th Season
Three-time NSIC Coach of the Year Karla Nelson returns for her 18th season as the Dragon head coach. MSUM has had 17 straight winning seasons under Nelson, who won her 300th game last February. Nelson has a 308-184 record at MSUM. Allison Swenson is her in 10th season as an assistant coach while Brenna Rollie is in her first year as an assistant.

Well Taken Care of
MSUM was the NCAA Division II statistical champion in 2016-17 for fewest turnovers per game. The Dragons finished the year at 11.4 turnovers per game to lead all of Division II in that category. MSUM finished the season with 331 turnovers in 29 games. This year MSUM continues to take good care of the ball, averaging 12.6 turnovers per game, which is 13th-best in the nation.

No Place Like Home
MSUM finished 12-1 at home in 2016-17, with the only loss coming to Minnesota Duluth on Jan. 20. Since the beginning of the 2014-15 season, MSUM is 35-8 (.844) at Nemzek Hall.