Women's Basketball | 12/27/2017 2:43:00 PM

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The Minnesota State University Moorhead women's basketball team resumes Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play on the road this weekend. The Dragons will play Minnesota State at 4 p.m. on Saturday in Mankato, Minn., and wrap up the weekend against Concordia-St. Paul on Sunday at 2 p.m. in St. Paul, Minn.

MSUM and Minnesota State will meet for a 42nd time with the Mavericks leading the series 26-15.  CSP leads the all-time series with MSUM 20-17. The Dragons beat both teams in 2016-17.

MSUM (7-3, 4-2 NSIC) rallied from a nine-point second-half deficit to defeat No. 12 Northern State, 64-61 in overtime on Dec. 19.  Junior guard Jacky Volkert had 21 points for MSUM while sophomore forward Megan Hintz had 13.

Volkert leads MSUM at 12.9 points and 5.3 assists per game. She also has a team-best 14 steals. Senior forward Drew Sannes averages 12.2 points and 9.4 rebounds per game while Hintz averages 10.7 points per game. Senior Cassidy Thorson is averaging 10.3 points per game and leads with 25 three-pointers.

As a team MSUM scores 70.3 points per game and shoots 39.7 percent from the field.

On defense MSUM allows 60.4 points per game. MSUM outrebounds its foes 42.8-36.5.

Karla Nelson is in her 18th season as the MSUM head coach with a record of 309-185.

About Minnesota State
Minnesota State is 4-7 overall and 2-3 in the NSIC. The Mavericks have won three in a row, including a 69-52 win over Palm Beach Atlantic on Dec. 19.

Claire Ziegler leads MSU at 10.5 points per game. Logan Anderson averages 9.5 and Claire Jordan at 8.7. Ziegler leads at 6.3 rebounds per game while Anderson leads at 2.1 assists per game. The Mavericks are averaging 63.8 points per game and are shooting 37.0 percent from the field.

The Mavericks allow 69.6 points per game and outrebound their foes 40.2-36.5.

Emilee Thiesse is in her sixth season as the Minnesota State head coach with a record of 98-58.

About Concordia-St. Paul
Concordia-St. Paul is 4-7 overall and 1-4 in the NSIC. The Golden Bears beat Palm Beach Atlantic, 63-58 on Dec. 18.

Anna Schmitt leads CSP — and the NSIC — at 21.8 points per game. She is the only Concordia player to average in double figures. Ellie Gess is at 9.8 points per game. Lindsay Dorr averages 8.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game while Schmitt leads at 2.5 assists per game. CSP scores 61.5 points per game and shoots 38 percent from the field.

The Golden Bears are being outrebounded 39.4-31.5 and allow 69.0 points per game.

Amanda Johnson is in her second full season as the CSP head coach with a record of 32-27.

More on MSUM...
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 11.4 turnovers per game, which is third-best in the nation. The Dragons are 11th in assist to turnover ratio at 1.34.

National Rankings
MSUM is ranked in the top 50 nationally in individual and team categories:
Individuals
--junior guard Jacky Volkert is 14th in assist/turnover ratio (2.65) and 31st in assists per game (5.3)
--freshman guard Lauren Fech is 17th in assist/turnover ratio at 2.58
--senior forward Drew Sannes is 17th nationally at 8.0 defensive rebounds per game
Team Rankings
As a team, MSUM is ranked...
--third in turnovers per game (11.4)
--11th in assist to turnover ratio (1.34)
--18th in in defensive rebounds per game (31.0)
--45th in rebound margin (6.3)
--47th in free-throw percentage (75.7)

Sannes Hits 1,000, Chases Blocks Record
Senior forward Drew Sannes reached a career milestone in the Dragons' 69-65 loss at Northern State on Dec. 15. Sannes scored six points and surpassed 1,000 points for her career. Sannes is the 22nd Dragon women's player to reach the milestone. She is second all-time at MSUM in blocks with 191, trailing only Jessica Fesenmaier, who has 210. 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 176 three-pointers, which is second-most in MSUM history. She leader Marisa Yernatich by 22 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 840 points.

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 Dec. 9. 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 309-185 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.

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.

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 36-8 (.844) at Nemzek Hall.