Women's Basketball | 1/10/2018 1:20:00 PM

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The Minnesota State University Moorhead women's basketball team concludes a four-game homestand with matches against two of the top teams in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference this week. MSUM will host No. 11 Augustana at 6 p.m. on Friday and then host Wayne State (14-4) at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

The Dragons will meet Augustana for a 25th time with the Vikings leading the series 16-8. MSUM and Wayne State will meet for a 38th time with the Wildcats holding a 20-17 lead. The Dragons beat both teams on the road a year ago.

The Dragons (11-3, 8-2 NSIC) opened the homestand with wins over Minot State (72-69) and Mary (67-56) to run their winning streak to five games.  Senior forward Drew Sannes had 17 points in the win over Minot while junior guard Jacky Volkert had 20 points in the victory over Mary.

Volkert leads MSUM at 13.9 points and 5.6 assists per game. She also has a team-best 18 steals. Sannes averages 11.6 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, while sophomore forward Megan Hintz is averaging 11.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Senior guard Cassidy Thorson is averaging 10.5 points per game and leads with 36 three-pointers.  

As a team MSUM scores 70.6 points per game and shoots 40.4 percent from the field.  On defense MSUM allows 60.9 points per game. MSUM outrebounds its foes 42.5-36.5.

Karla Nelson is in her 18th season as the MSUM head coach with a record of 313-185. Saturday's game against Wayne State will be her 500th as Dragon head coach.

About Augustana
No. 11-ranked Augustana is 14-0 and 10-0 in the the NSIC. The Vikings rolled to double-digit wins over Concordia-St. Paul (85-66) and Minnesota State (79-60) at home last week to extend their season-opening winning streak to 14 games.

The Vikings, who lead the NSIC at 83.6 points per game scored, have four players average in double figures: senior guard Logan O'Farrell (14.1), senior guard Presley O'Farrell (13.6), janitor center Shelby Selland (11.1) and senior center Paige Peterson (10.9). Logan O'Farrell is at 6.1 rebounds per game while junior Lynsey Prosser leads at 4.2 assists.

As a team the Vikings shoot 46.1 percent from the field. On defense they allow 62.7 points per game and outrebound their foes 38.4-37.1.

Dave Krauth is in his 29th season as the Augustana head coach with a record of 591-254.

About Wayne State
Wayne State if 14-4 overall and 8-2 in the NSIC. The Wildcats, who face Northern State prior to facing MSUM, have won four in a row, including home wins over Concordia-St. Paul (72-47) and Minnesota State (92-73) last weekend.

The Wildcats are a balanced team with eight players averaging at least six points per game, led by Paige Ballinger (11.6) and Maggie Schulte (10.6). Erin Norling averages 9.2 points per game. Schulte leads at 6.6 rebounds per game  while Halley Busse leads at 3.3 assists per game.

WSC averages 77.1 points per game and allows 62.7. The Wildcats outrebound their foes 38.3-37.1.

Chris Kielsmeier is in his 10th season as the Wayne State head coach with a record of 226-69.

More about 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 11.9 turnovers per game, which is sixth-best in the nation. The Dragons are 12th in assist to turnover ratio at 1.31.

National Rankings
MSUM is ranked in the top 50 nationally in individual and team categories:
Individuals
--junior guard Jacky Volkert is 15th in assist/turnover ratio (2.72) and 17th in assists per game (5.6)
--senior guard Cassidy Thorson is 44th in threes attempted (44), 50th in threes made (33) and 47th in threes per game (2.7)
--senior forward Drew Sannes is 27th nationally at 8.0 defensive rebounds per game while also being 46th in blocks per game (1.9).
Team Rankings
As a team, MSUM is ranked...
--sixth in turnovers per game (11.9)
--ninth in fewest turnovers (138)
--12th in assist to turnover ratio (1.31)
--18th in in defensive rebounds per game (31.0)
--22nd in free-throw percentage (76.9)
--41st in rebound margin (6.2)

Sannes Hits 1,000, Chases Blocks Record
Senior forward Drew Sannes surpassed 1,000 career points in the Dragons' 69-65 loss at Northern State on Dec. 15. Sannes is the 22nd Dragon women's player to reach the milestone and currently ranks 19th in school history with 1,026 points. She is second all-time at MSUM in blocks with 197, 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.

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 38-8 (.826) at Nemzek Hall.

Hintz Hits 2 Double-Doubles
Megan Hintz recorded her second double-double of her career, and the season in the Dragons' 72-69 win over Minot State on Jan. 5. Hintz had 15 points and 10 rebounds in the game. She is second on the team in double-doubles behind senior teammate Drew Sannes, who has four.

Selensky Makes Debut
After missing the first 10 games with an injury, sophomore guard Kourtney Selensky made her regular-season debut against Minnesota State on Dec. 30. She scored a career-high 11 points in the win, and followed with seven points in the win over CSP. In four games Selensky is averaging 7.0 points per game.

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 311-185 record at MSUM. Allison Swenson is in her 10th season as an assistant coach while Brenna Rollie is in her first year as an assistant.

Thorson at No. 2 in Threes, Closing In on Record
Senior guard Cassidy Thorson now has 189 three-pointers, which is second-most in MSUM history, trailing only record-holder Marisa Yernatich, who has 197.  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 890 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.