MANKATO, Minn.   —   Minnesota State faces its first Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference opponents this weekend when it takes to the road for games against No. 4 Wayne State and Augustana.

Undefeated Non-conference: Last week the Mavericks wrapped up the non-conference portion of their schedule when they defeated Waldorf College, 88-46 Monday night before knocking off UW-Eau Claire, 59-50 Saturday night.  Freshman guard Aubrey Davis led the Mavericks with 13 points per game in the two wins, connecting on 6-of-11 from long range.  Junior forward Ali Wilkinson averaged 11.5 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field while pulling down a team-best 7.5 rebounds per game.  Junior guard Jameila Hudnell was the third Maverick to average double-digits, pouring in 11 points per game on 9-of-15 shooting while recording five steals and pulling down 4.5 rebounds per game.

Upcoming Opponents: Friday, the Mavericks face their first NSIC test when they travel to Wayne, Neb., for a tilt with No. 4 Wayne State.  Owners of a 6-0 overall record, the Wildcats are coming off a 91-52 win over William Penn University.  Wayne State holds a 6-4 advantage in the all-time series between the schools including wins in the last three meetings.  The last time MSU beat WSC was in 2009 in an 86-68 contest.  Saturday MSU turns its attention to the Augustana Vikings which own a 3-1 record and host Southwest Minnesota State Friday before the matchup with the Mavericks.  The Vikings are coming of a 75-37 win Tuesday night against Dakota State.  Augustana holds a 38-22 all-time record against MSU and has won the last four meetings.  The Mavericks last win against Augie was an 81-68 victory in 2009.

Scouting the Wildcats: The Wildcats, coached by Chris Kielsmeier, are led offensively by back-to-back NSIC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week Ashley Arlen.  Arlen put together a pair of double-doubles last week in wins against Newman Universit and William Penn.  Over the two-game span, Arlen averaged 25.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per game while shooting 61.3 percent from the field.  Recording a double-double in four the the Wildcats six games, Arlen is first in the NSIC in scoring with 21.3 ppg and third in rebounding with 9.8 rpg.  Also averaging double-digits for Wayne State is Clare Duwelius with 12.0 ppg.  Duwelius has connected on 19-of-35 (.543) from downtown while contributing 2.2 steals and 1.7 assists per game.

Scouting the Vikings: The Vikings, coached by Dave Krauth, are led this season by Alex Feeney’s 16.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game.  Feeney has connected on 25-of-52 (.481) from the field and 8-of-10 (.800) from the charity stripe while leading the team with ten blocks (2.5 bpg).  One other Viking is averaging double-digits as Cami Koehn averages 10.0 ppg in four games off the bench.  Koehn and Feeney share the team lead with eight three-pointers made.

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