MANKATO, Minn.   —   Minnesota State returns home this weekend in search of its first Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference victory as the team is set to host Concordia Friday and St. Cloud State Saturday.

Tough Start to NSIC Season: MSU (4-2, 0-2 NSIC) went 0-2 in its first Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action last weekend losing to No. 4 Wayne State, 78-60 before falling to Augustana, 62-57.  Junior forward Ali Wilkinson paced the Mavericks with 19 points and nine rebounds in the Mavericks loss to Wayne State while senior forward Laura Weber joined Wilkinson in double-figures with ten points on 4-of-9 shooting.  Senior guard Jennie Noreen led MSU in the five-point loss at Augustana recording 19 points and 12 rebounds, her first career double-double.  Freshman forward Jamie Bresnahan was the only other Maverick to score double-digits finishing with 12 points while also contributing nine rebounds.  Noreen filled the stat sheet averaging 11.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.0 steals over the weekend for the Mavericks.  Wilkinson averaged ten points and 5.5 rebounds per game while Bresnahan added 9.5 points and eight rebounds per contest.

Upcoming Opponents: Friday, Minnesota State hosts its first NSIC contest of the season as Concordia travels to Mankato to face the Mavericks.  Sitting 5-3 overall and 2-0 in the NSIC, the Golden Bears are coming off a 78-59 win over U-Mary.  Concordia holds a 12-9 advantage in the all-time series between the schools including wins in the last four meetings.  The last time MSU beat Concordia was in 2010 in a 79-76 contest.  Saturday the Mavericks host the St. Cloud State Huskies who are 3-3 overall and 0-2 in NSIC action.  St. Cloud State will play at Southwest Minnesota State Friday before the matchup with the Mavericks.  The Huskies have dropped their first two NSIC games by a total of six points, losing 58-56 to U-Mary and 71-67 to Northern State.    St. Cloud State holds a 52-35 all-time record against MSU and has taken three of the last four meetings.  The Mavericks last win against the Huskies was a 54-51 victory in 2010.

Scouting the Golden Bears: The Golden Bears, coached by Paul Fessler, are led by a balanced scoring attack featuring four players averaging more than nine points per game.   Averaging double figures for CU is Carissa Wolyniec and Jodi Batzel at 12.1 and 11.4 ppg, respectively.  Wolyniec has been on fire from downtown connecting on 22-of-45 (48.9 3FG%) which is seventh in the NSIC.  Batzel has been consistent from the field as well hitting 54.7 percent while she is also second on the team with 5.4 rebounds per game.  The leading rebounder for the Golden Bears is Anika Whiting who averages 7.1 rpg while she also leads the team with 10 blocks.  Rachel Hansen paces Concordia with 3.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game.

Scouting the Huskies: The Huskies, coached by Lori Fish, are led by four players averaging eight or more points per game including Sam Price (8.8 ppg), Aaryn Booker (8.5 ppg), Jordi Gerking (8.2 ppg) and Nicole Anderson (8.0 ppg).  Booker leads St. Cloud with 6.5 rebounds per game while she has also recorded seven assists, four blocks and 11 steals.

Ties to MSU: Each St. Cloud State coach has a tie back to Minnesota State as head coach Lori Fish coached the Mavericks from 2004-08, assistant coach Megan Vogel was an assistant at MSU and graduate assistant coach Tiffany Moe was a four-year starter at Minnesota State from 2006-10.

To view complete set of notes click HERE