Women's Basketball | 1/3/2018 12:34:00 PM

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The Minnesota State University Moorhead women's basketball team begins a pivotal four-game homestand this weekend. The Dragons will host Minot State at 6 p.m. on Friday and the University of Mary at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

MSUM and Minot State will meet for a 26th time with the Dragons leading the series 20-5. The Dragons beat the Beavers 85-64 on the road in December.  MSUM and Mary will meet for a 41st time with the Dragons leading the series 27-13. The Dragons beat U-Mary 64-54 in December.

MSUM (9-3, 6-2 NSIC) swept on the road last weekend, beating Minnesota State 81-64 and Concordia-St. Paul 66-60. Junior guard Jacky Volkert led MSUM with 24 points against MSU while Cassidy Thorson and Kiley Borowicz led MSUM with 15 points apiece in the win over CSP.

Volkert leads MSUM at 13.5 points and 5.7 assists per game. She also has a team-best 15 steals. Senior guard Cassidy Thorson is averaging 11.3 points per game and leads with 33 three-pointers. Senior forward Drew Sannes averages 11.3 points and 9.4 rebounds per game while sophomore forward Megan Hintz averages 10.3 points per game.

As a team MSUM scores 70.8 points per game and shoots 40.1 percent from the field.

On defense MSUM allows 60.7 points per game. MSUM outrebounds its foes 43.0-36.7.

Karla Nelson is in her 18th season as the MSUM head coach with a record of 311-185.

About Minot State
Minot State is 6-6 overall and 3-5 in the NSIC after recording home wins over St. Cloud State (61-58) and Minnesota Duluth (71-67) last weekend. Holly Johnson averaged 22 points per game in the two wins for Minot.

Johnson leads Minot at 15.5 points per game while Kristal Flowers averages 11.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. Madison Wald averages 10.8 points per game while Kari Clements leads with 2.7 assists a contest. Minot State scores 65 points per game and shoots 40 percent from the field.

Minot State outrebounds its foes 41.7-32.0 and allows 64.6 points per game on defense.

Mark Graupe is in his first season as the Minot State head coach with a record of 6-6.

About Mary
Mary is 6-8 overall and 2-6 in the NSIC. The Marauders split at home last weekend, beating Minnesota Duluth 65-51 before losing to St. Cloud State 65-56.

Gabbie Bohl leads Mary at 18.2 points per game while Cassie Askvig is averaging 14.0 and a team-best 9.7 rebounds per game. Lauren Rotunda averages 10.3 points per game and leads with 3.5 assists per game. Mary scores 65.8 points per game and shoots 40.9 percent from the field.

The Marauders allow 60.1 points per game and outrebound their foes 40.1-36.1.

Rick Neumann is in his sixth season as the Mary head coach with a record of 82-80.

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 11.5 turnovers per game, which is fourth-best in the nation. The Dragons are 10th in assist to turnover ratio at 1.36.

National Rankings
MSUM is ranked in the top 50 nationally in individual and team categories:
Individuals
--junior guard Jacky Volkert is 12th in assist/turnover ratio (2.72) and 19th in assists per game (5.7)
--senior guard Cassidy Thorson is 23rd in threes attempted (33), 35th in threes made (33) and 43rd in threes per game (2.75)
--senior forward Drew Sannes is 176h nationally at 8.0 defensive rebounds per game
Team Rankings
As a team, MSUM is ranked...
--fourth in turnovers per game (11.5)
--10th in assist to turnover ratio (1.36)
--10th in in defensive rebounds per game (32.0)
--16th in fewest turnovers (138)
--29th in free-throw percentage (76.9)
--41st in threes per game (7.9)
--43rd in rebound margin (6.3)

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 36-8 (.844) at Nemzek Hall.