Women's Basketball | 3/6/2018 4:03:00 PM

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The Minnesota State University Moorhead women's basketball team will open NCAA tournament play on Friday against No. 10-ranked Central Missouri at 2:30 p.m. at the Elmen Center in Sioux Falls, S.D. It is a rematch of last year's first-round game, which Central Missouri won 56-45.

MSUM is the No. 7 seed while Central MIssouri is the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Central Region.

MSUM and Central Missouri will meet for a third time with the Dragons leading the all-time series 2-1. The last meeting was in 2017 in the NCAA tournament.

In the 2017 meeting, MSUM led 22-20 at halftime but endured a cold stretch to start the second half as the Jennies went on a 14-0 run to take a 34-22 lead.  Jacky Volkert led MSUM with 22 points while Drew Sannes had 17.

The Dragons (23-5, 19-3 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference) fell to Sioux Falls, 59-56 in the quarterfinals of the NSIC/Sanford Health tournament on Feb. 25. Drew Sannes led the way with 18 points.

Sannes leads MSUM at 13.8 points and 9.0 rebounds per game while leading with 50 blocks. Volkert leads MSUM at 13.7 points and 5.4 assists per game, while sophomore forward Megan Hintz is averaging 11.7 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.  Senior guard Cassidy Thorson is averaging 10.4 points per game and leads with 70 three-pointers and 29 steals.

As a team MSUM scores 71.4 points per game and shoots 41.3 percent from the field.  On defense MSUM allows 60.1 points per game. MSUM outrebounds its foes 43.6-33.8 and leads the NSIC in rebound margin.

Karla Nelson is in her 18th season as the MSUM head coach with a record of 325-187.

About Central Missouri
The Jennies (24-3) are the MIAA regular season champions after going 18-1 in league play during the regular season.

Paige Redmond leads UCM at 16.1 points and 3.9 assists per game while Morgan Fleming averages 13.0 points per game. Megan Skaggs averages 11.3 points per game. Kayonna Lee leads at 8.4 rebounds per game and also has a team-best 41 blocks.

Central Missouri averages 73.5 points per game and  allows 57.6. The Jennies outrebound their foes 35.9-33.9.

Dave Slifer is in his 14th season as the UCM head coach with a record of 275-139. He has more than 650 career wins as a collegiate head coach.

MSUM in the NCAA tournament
The Dragons are making their fifth NCAA tournament appearance in the Karla Nelson coaching era. They are 1-4 in the tournament since 2004-05.

2016-17 Central Missouri 56, MSUM 45 (1st round)
2008-09: MSUM 67, Nebraska-Kearney 54 (1st round)
               Minnesota State Mankato 59, MSUM 39 (semis)
2006-07: North Dakota 98, MSUM 66 (1st round)
2004-05: St. Cloud State 79, MSUM 57 (1st round)

Sannes and Volkert First Team All-NSIC; Thorson 2nd
Senior Drew Sannes and junior Jacky Volkert were both named to the All-NSIC First Team in women's basketball,. In addition senior guard Cassidy Thorson was named to the All-NSIC Second Team.

Sannes picked up the second first-team all-conference honor of her Dragon career. In 22 NSIC games Sannes averaged 13.6 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. Sannes had seven double-doubles during conference play and scored in double figures in 17 of 22 games.

Volkert earned first-team All-NSIC honors for the first time in her Dragon career. In 22 conference games Volkert averaged 14.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game. Volkert also shot 83.5 percent (96-of-115) from the foul line in league play.

Thorson was named to the NSIC All-Conference second team for a second straight year. She averaged 10.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. She led the Dragons with 60 three-pointers in conference play. She scored in double figures in 11 conference games.

Thorson in the Record Books
Senior guard Cassidy Thorson is the new three-point career record holder for Dragon women's basketball. She hit seven 3-pointers in the 86-84 overtime win over Wayne State on Jan. 13 to set the record. Thorson now has 222 three-pointers and is the only Dragon women's player ever to surpass 200 threes in her career.  Thorson reached another milestone on Feb. 16 against Minnesota Duluth, surpassing 1,000 points for her Dragon career.

In a Sharing Mood
Junior guard Jacky Volkert set the MSUM single-season assists record in the loss to Sioux Falls. She now has 152, breaking the previous mark of 149 held by Dragon Hall of Famer Rosalie Hayenga. She is second in the NSIC at 5.6 assists per game, a total that is ranked 18th in the nation this season. Volkert is 16th in assist-to-turnover ratio.  The Arden Hills, Minn., native is now sixth in school history with 348 career assists. The all-time career leader at MSUM is Krista Opheim who has 488.

Doubled Up
MSUM has recorded 16 double-doubles this season, led by nine from senior forward Drew Sannes. Sophomore forward Megan Hintz has five double-doubles while junior guard Jacky Volkert has two. Volkert was one assist away from the first-ever triple-double in Dragon program history against Minnesota Crookston on Dec. 8.

Senior Success
The three seniors on the Dragon roster -- Drew Sannes, Cassidy Thorson and Shannon Galegher -- have enjoyed unmatched success in their MSUM careers. The record for the Dragons during that time is 89-19 (.831). That stretch includes back-to-back NSIC regular-season championships in 2016-17 and 2017-18, three straight NSIC North Division titles and two trips to the NCAA tournament in 2016-17.