MOORHEAD, Minn. -- The MSUM men's and women's basketball teams will ring in 2023 with a pair of road match-ups against St. Cloud State on Saturday and Minnesota Duluth on Sunday. The games will be played a 1 p.m. (women) and 3 p.m. (men) both days.

The games were originally scheduled for December 16 and 17, but were later rescheduled and eventually postponed due to weather and travel conditions in the area. 

The Brief: Women

The Dragon women sit at 6-3 on the season with a 3-2 NSIC mark. MSUM is currently fourth in the NSIC North Division standings, but have played one less game than every other team in the division. Mariah McKeever leads the Dragons with 15.2 points per game on a 43.6 percent shooting clip. Two other Dragons in Peyton Boom and Natalie Jens average in double figures for MSUM. McKeever and Boom lead the team in rebounds per game with 7.2 as the Dragons snare 41.2 rebounds per game as a team. That mark is second-best in the NSIC to only Minnesota State Mankato (41.5). MSUM leads the conference in rebounding margin, however, as they grab just over nine more rebounds per game compared to opponents. 

MSUM leads the NSIC in overall defense, only surrendering 55.6 points per game to opposing teams. That mark is in the top 20 in the entire country currently. The Dragons are also best in the league in opponent field goal percentage. So far this season, teams have shot just 36.2 percent against MSUM.

The Brief: Men

The MSUM men field a 9-2 record and are currently on a six-game winning streak with a 4-1 conference ledger. MSUM sits in second place in the NSIC North Division behind Minnesota Duluth. Lorenzo McGhee leads the team with 14.9 points per game followed closely by Jacob Beeninga, who is averaging 14.8 points per game. Aside from McGhee and Beeninga, the Dragons have two other double figure scorers in Gavin Baumgartner and Jaden Stanley-Williams. Junior Dane Zimmer leads the charge on the glass, averaging 6.8 rebounds per contest for a Dragons team that collects over six more rebounds per game compared to their opponents. 

MSUM is currently second in the conference in scoring defense, only giving up 67.2 points per game. The Dragons are best in the league in scoring margin, though, as they have outscored opponents by nearly 13 points on average this season.

Ringing In The New Year

This weekend will be the first time since the 2017-18 season that the Dragons have played on New Year's Eve. MSUM took on Concordia-St. Paul on the final day of 2017 with the Dragons splitting the two games in St. Paul. The MSUM women defeated the Golden Bears 66-60 behind three players in double figures in Megan Hintz, Cassidy Thorson and Kiley Borowicz. The Dragon men fell 72-62 that evening with four players scoring in double figures. 

Up The Ranks

Gavin Baumgartner continues to see his name rise in MSUM's record books. With 1,660 career points, the senior stands alone as the sixth all-time leading scorer in MSUM history, 20 points shy of passing Aaron Lien and Greg Duke for fifth on that list. Ralph Western holds the school record for career points, scoring 2,015 points between 1988 and 1992. Baumgartner is also climbing the school's all-time assist ladder. With 337 career assists, Baumgartner is three assist shy of passing Western for third all-time in MSUM history. The school record is held by Tanner Kretchman, who dished out 562 assists from 2014 to 2018.

Here Comes The Boom

Peyton Boom collected her second NSIC North Division Player of the Week honor on December 12 after a pair of stellar performance against Bemidji State and Minnesota Crookston which included her third double-double of the year. Boom's 1,198 career points leave her two points shy of passing Dana Weibel on MSUM's all-time scoring list. The senior has made 500 total field goals in her career, 15 more would crack the top 10 in school history. 

Worth Noting...

Junior forward Dane Zimmer is closing in on 1,000 career points, currently sitting at 788 points for his Dragon career. Now 212 points short of cracking that milestone, Zimmer has scored 788 points on a 62.6 percent shooting clip. As it stands, that would be a new school record for best career field goal percentage which is currently held by Isaac Sevlie (60.5 percent). 

Senior Lorenzo McGhee is also nearing the 1,000-point milestone. McGhee's 756 points as a Dragon leaves him 244 points shy of 1,000 with 17 regular season games remaining in 2022-23. Last season, the Decatur, Geo., native scored a career-best 377 total points. In order to reach 1,000, McGhee would have to best that mark and score at least 408 total points this season. To date, he has scored 164 points in 2022-23.

Karla's Quest

Head coach Karla Nelson is closing in on her 400th career win. With six wins so far this season, Nelson currently sits at 391 career wins in her 23-year tenure. MSUM has 17 scheduled regular season games remaining in 2022-23. 

A Bergy Homecoming

For the first time as a head coach, MSUM's Tim Bergstraser will take on his alma mater, St. Cloud State. A native of St. Cloud, Bergstraser played for the Huskies on their Final Four team in 2009-10 where he played in 34 games that season. In 2011-12, the Dragon head coach garnered All-NSIC Second Team honors after averaging 12.8 points and a team-best 7.5 rebounds per contest. Bergstraser finished third in the conference in total rebounds that season. The current MSUM head coach also spent time as a student assistant coach at St. Cloud State.

Know Your Enemy

St. Cloud State

The St. Cloud State women are 7-3 so far this season and are 4-2 in conference play, putting them at second place in the North Division. They are led by Jada Eggebrecht and Katrina Theis, who are averaging 14.5 and 14.3 points per game respectively. Theis leads the team with 8.2 rebounds per game as well. The Huskies are third in the NSIC in team defense, surrendering 56.2 points per game to opponents. Lori Fish is in her 15th season at the helm of St. Cloud State.

Under first-year head coach Quincy Henderson, the Husky men are 5-6 this season with a 2-4 NSIC mark. They currently sit in seventh place in the NSIC North Division and are led by Matthew Willert, who is scoring a team-best 14.7 points per game. Tommy Chatman and Luke Taylor add 13.9 and 11.3 points per game respectively for the Huskies. Chatman leads the team with 5.2 rebounds per contest. St. Cloud State is second-best in the NSIC in steals, averaging 7.1 per game.

Minnesota Duluth

At 9-2 overall and 6-0 in the NSIC, Minnesota Duluth is currently leading the NSIC North Division race early in conference play. The Bulldogs are ranked 25th in the D2SIDA poll. Brooke Olson leads the Bulldogs with 18.7 points per game, which is currently leading the entire NSIC. Ella Gilbertson adds in 10.2 points per game for Minnesota Duluth while Olson leads the team with 6.5 rebounds per game. The Bulldogs are second in the NSIC behind MSUM in team defense, giving up 56.2 points per game. Mandy Pearson is in her eighth season as head coach of Minnesota Duluth.

Led by former Dragon assistant coach Justin Wieck, the Bulldog men are 10-2 overall and sit atop the NSIC standings with a perfect 6-0 conference record. Minnesota Duluth is currently ranked 21st the NABC Coaches Poll and 15th in the D2SIDA poll. Drew Blair leads the way with 21.8 points per game, which is second-best in the NSIC. Minnesota Duluth has three others averaging double figures in Charlie Katona, Austin Andrews and Jack Middleton. Andrews averages a team-best 7.8 rebounds per game for the Bulldogs. Minnesota Duluth leads the NSIC in total scoring, averaging 84.7 points per game. The Bulldogs are also second in the conference in team field goal percentage with a 49.2 percent shooting clip. Wieck is in year five at Minnesota Duluth.