Mankato, Minn. --- The Minnesota State women's basketball team will host its last homestand of the season this weekend, as the Mavericks will play host to Winona State and Upper Iowa. MSU will take on WSU on Friday at 6 p.m., before it square's off with UIU on Saturday at 4 p.m.
 
Earlier this Week: The Mavericks suffered their first home loss of the season on Tuesday night, to Concordia-St. Paul by the score of 86-73. 

The Mavericks shot 35% from the field in the game and were able to hit nine three-pointers, but the Golden Bears were able to shoot 51% for the game and shot 23-29 from the charity stripe.

Scouting the Warriors: Winona State enters the contest with a 17-5 overall record and a 13-5 NSIC record. The Warriors head coach Scott Ballard is in his 11th season at the helm. Friday's matchup between the Warriors and Mavericks, will mark the 50th all-time meeting between the two programs. MSU currently holds a 34-15 record against WSU.

The last time the Warriors and Mavericks played each was earlier this season on Dec.13, 2014, in Winona, Minn. WSU got the better of MSU that day by the score of 73-62, as the Warriors were able to nail nine three-pointers in the win.

This season, the Warriors are averaging 67.9 points a game, while giving up just 57.8 points a game, which places them third in the NSIC in scoring defense.  WSU is shooting 43% from the field, which is good enough for third in the conference and is second in the NSIC in three-point field goal percentage with 37%.

The Warriors have three players this year averaging double figures in points.  Leading the way is junior guard Alexis Foley, as she is averaging 11.3 points a clip and also leads the team with 2.8 assists a game. Sophomore center Kayla Timmerman is putting up 11.1 points and a team-leading 6.5 rebounds a game, along with leading the Warriors with 41 blocks on the year. Rounding out the trio is junior guard Connor Nagle, as she averages 10.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists, along with a team-leading 41 made threes on the season.'

Also averaging just shy of double-digits is sophomore guard Tara Roelofs, who is putting up 9.5 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists. In the meeting earlier this season between the Mavericks and Warriors, Foley, Nagle and Roelofs, combined for 56 of the Warriors 73 points in the game.

Scouting the Peacocks: Upper Iowa enters the week with a 6-16 overall record and a 4-14 in conference record. The Peacocks are coached by Carol Russell, who is in her fifth season at the job. Saturday's matchup will mark the 16th all-time meeting between the two schools, as the Mavericks own a perfect 15-0 record over the Peacocks.

The last time these two teams played each other was from earlier this season on Dec. 12, 2014, in Fayette, Iowa. In the game both, MSU and UIU owned leads of nine, and the game saw seven lead changes and seven ties. The game would eventually go into overtime, as the Mavericks would eventually squeak past the Peacocks for an 80-75 overtime road victory.

In the win, the Mavericks shot 21-23 from the charity stripe and managed to outscore the Peacocks in the paint, 42-24, and off the bench, 26-14.

This season, UIU is putting up 67 points a game and its opponents are averaging 76 points a game, which places last in the NSIC. The Peacocks rank second in the conference in free-throw percentage, shooting 77% from the line. UIU also has a -1.5 rebounding margin, along with a -3.8 turnover margin.

The Peacocks are led by senior forward Lauren Buck, who is averaging a double-double this season, with 15.8 points and 11.4 rebounds a game. Coming into the week, Buck ranks seventh in the NSIC in scoring and first in rebounding.

A few other key players for UIU are a pair of seniors in guard Lindsay Carroll and center Olivia Winkler. Carroll is averaging 13.1 points and 3.5 assists a game, while she also ranks fourth in the conference in free-throw percentage, shooting 84% from the line. Winkler is averaging 11.8 points and 4.9 rebounds a game, and also leads the  NSIC in field-goal percentage, shooting 57%  (116-201) from the field.

800-Point/500-Rebound Club: After notching 12 points in Tuesday's loss to Concordia-St. Paul, senior forward Jamie Bresnahan became the 13 member to join the 800-Point/500-Rebound club at MSU. For her career, the Edina, Minn. native has accumulated 807 points and 580 rebounds as a Maverick.

Potent Offense: The Mavericks rank third in the NSIC in scoring offense, averaging 73.9 points a game.

Team Rebounding: MSU sits in fifth  in the NSIC this week in total rebounds, as the Mavericks are averaging 40.3 boards a game. 

Three-Point Shooting: MSU places third in three-point percentage coming into the week, shooting 36% from behind the arc. The Mavericks also sit in fourth in the conference in made threes per game with 7.5 a game. 

Dropping Dimes: The Mavericks currently rank fifth in the NSIC in assists per game, with 15.39 a game.

Board Game: Senior forward Lexie Ulfers currently ranks tenth in the NSIC in rebounds per game with 7.0 a game. 

From Deep: Senior guards Aubrey Davis and Ashley Olson both find themselves in the top-three in the NSIC in three-point field goal percentage this week. Davis currently qualifies for first in the conference, shooting 44% (42-94).  In the last five games Davis is shooting 54% (13-24) from behind the arc. Olson falls in second this week in three-point percentage, shooting 40% (50-125). Olson also places fourth in the NSIC in made three-point field goals per game with  2.2, while Davis ranks seventh with 2.0 a game.

Assisting the Way:  Senior guard Aubrey Davis finds herself currently second in the NSIC in assists per game with 4.6, after tallying five more assists in Tuesday's loss to Concordia-St. Paul

Block Party: senior forward Lexie Ulfers currently sits in third in the NSIC in block shots per game with 1.9.

Pick Pocketer: Senior guard Aubrey Davis finds herself in the top-ten in the NSIC in steals per game this week as she is tallying 1.9 a game.

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