MANKATO, Minn.   —  The Minnesota State women’s basketball team (18-4, 14-4 NSIC) takes to the road for its final regular season road series this weekend as it travels to the University of Upper Iowa (7-18, 4-14 NSIC) and Winona State (18-7, 12-6 NSIC), both prove to be pivotal contests with four regular season games remaining. The Mavericks currently sit second in the south division as well as second overall in the NSIC standings, MSU sits one game behind Concordia-St. Paul and holds a one game advantage over Augustana in both standings.

Looking Back: The Mavericks extended their win streak to seven games as they downed Bemidji State (69-59) and Minnesota, Crookston (85-78) earning their 13th and 14th wins respectively on the circuit. MSU was led by junior Ali Wilkinson who averaged 16 points and 6.5 rebounds. Junior Steffaney Thomas added a spark for the Mavericks earning her third career start. Thomas netted a career-high 13 points on Friday, then posted a new career-high 15 points on Saturday evening. Thomas finished the weekend averaging 14.0 points and 3.0 rebounds.  

A Little on the Peacocks:  The University of Upper Iowa Peacocks enter the contest with a 7-18 record and a mark of 4-14 on the circuit. The Mavericks defeated the Peacocks at Taylor Center on Dec. 8, 81-57. In their last outing against the Peacocks, the Mavericks were paced by Ali Wilkinson who recorded 24 points and 17 rebounds, 10 of which were on the offensive end. The Peacocks were led by Whitney Kieffer who finished one rebound shy of a double-double, netting 21 points and recording nine rebounds. UIU is under the direction of Carol Russell who is in her third season.

Scouting Winona State: Winona State has recorded an 18-7 record with a mark of 12-6 in the NSIC.  The Mavericks defeated the Winona State 76-68, in Mankato on Dec. 7. Junior Ali Wilkinson once again paced the Mavericks, earning a double-double with 31 points and 10 rebounds while going a perfect 10-of-10 from the charity stripe. Winona State was led by Becca Friestleben who recorded 28 points and five rebounds. Winona State is coached by Scott Ballard.

Join the Club!: Junior forward Ali Wilkinson has recorded 974 career points, she is 26 points short of netting her 1,000 career-point, Wilkinson would be the 20th student-athlete in program history to join the 1,000 point club. Lisa Walters (’84-’88) scored the most points in program history, she netted 2,072 career-points.

Turning the table: MSU currently leads the NSIC in turnover margin boasting a +6.18 advantage over its opponents. The Mavericks forced then eighth-ranked Augustana to commit 26 turnovers while only committing 10, owning a +16 turnover margin on Jan. 26 at Taylor Center.

Tremendous Turnovers: Through 22 games this season the Mavericks have turned the ball over 336 times, compared to 483 by their opponents, owning a +147 margin in the turnover column. In Taylor Center the Mavericks own a +86 turnover ratio and have committed 164 turnovers compared to 250 by their opponents. In nine games away from Taylor Center, MSU has turned the ball over 156 times and has forced 186 by its opponents.

Earning it from the Stripe: The Mavericks finished the first half against Minnesota Duluth 1-of-5 (20%) from the charity stripe, since then MSU has converted on 140-of-176 (79.5%) of its shots from the free-throw line over a four and a half game span.

In the Polls: The Minnesota State University women’s basketball team has received some love in the USA Today Division II Top-25 coaches poll. The Mavericks started receiving votes in the week one poll and have been ranked as high as No. 20. MSU is currently receiving votes in the latest edition of the poll.

Week        Pos.
Preseason    -
Week 1        RV (10)
Week 2        RV (27)
Week 3        RV (39)
Week 4        RV (95)
Week 5        RV (88)
Week 6         24
Week 7        20
Week 8        RV (19)
Week 9        RV (20)
Week 10      RV (23)

High-Powered Match-Up: The Minnesota State University women’s basketball team is currently ranked second in the NSIC in scoring offense, averaging 76.0 points per contest, the Mavericks are ranked 12th in the nation in the same category. Glenville State leads the nation in scoring, averaging 96.3 points per game.

It’s Good!: The Mavericks have been shooting the ball efficiently during the 2012-13 campaign, as they are leading the NSIC in field goal percentage converting on 42.4% of their shots from the floor, MSU currently sits 44th in the nation in field goal percentage.

Effectively Efficient: Ali Wilkinson leads the Mavericks with 18.0 points per game which is the second-best in the NSIC and ranks her 34th in the nation in scoring average. Wilkinson is currently connecting on 55.6% of her shots which is the 11th best in the nation and second best in the NSIC.

Battle of the Bigs: In the previous match-up it was the battle of the bigs as Wilkinson netted 24 points and 10 rebounds, Upper Iowa’s Whitney Kieffer finished with 21 points and nine rebounds. Kieffer and Wilkinson are the top two scorers in the league posting 18.6 and 18.5 points respectively in NSIC contests.

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