MANKATO, Minn. --- The No. 23 Minnesota State women's basketball team embarks on the 2013-14 campaign as it travels to Warrensburg, Mo., to do battle with the eighth-ranked Central Missouri Jennies on Saturday, Nov. 9, before returning to Taylor Center to host Buena Vista on Tuesday, Nov. 12.
The Mavericks competed in two exhibition contests in preparation for the 2013-14 campaign, the Mavericks fell to NCAA Division I South Dakota State 82-60, in Brookings, S.D., last Friday. MSU held a lead for portions of the first half, before the Jackrabbits were able to find their offensive groove following intermission.
It was a balanced scoring effort for the Mavericks led by senior Ali Wilkinson (Blue Mounds, Wis.), who finished the contest with 12 points and five rebounds. Senior guard Alli Hoefer (Plymouth, Minn.) contributed nine points of her own to go along with four assists and four steals.
MSU was able to find its offensive rhythm in its final exhibition contest of the 2013-14 season, as it came away with the 111-50 win, marking the first time the Mavericks women's basketball program has reached triple-digit points since Nov. 11, 2009.
There were five Mavericks to reach double figures, led by freshman Britney Scherber (Bloomington, Minn.), who netted 23 points off of the bench. Wilkinson notched 22 points, while junior Ashley Olson (Blue Earth, Minn.) and senior Karlee Gengenbacher (Quincy, Ill.) finished with 13 points and 11 points respectively, Hoefer contributed 10 points in the winning effort.
Scouting the Jennies: This will be the third meeting between these two teams in program history, the Mavericks own a 2-0 record in the series dating back to 1985, when MSU came away with a 76-58 win. The Mavericks and Jennies met again in 2007, where Minnesota State earned a 87-61 win.
Central Missouri is coached by Dave Slifer, who has amassed a 169-97 in 10 seasons at UCM. The Jennies finished their 2012-13 campaign with a 24-6 record, falling to Southwest Oklahoma State 73-71 in the opening round of the NCAA Central Region Tournament.
The Jennies return their top three scorers from last season in senior Keuna Flax, sophomore Shelby Winkelmann and senior BreAnna Lewis, who avereaged 19.7 points, 17.6 points and 16.1 points per game, respectively. As a unit UCM outscored its opponenets by an average score of 71.6 to 65.1.
Scouting the Beavers: This marks the second meeting between these two programs in school history, MSU currently boasts a 1-0 advantage in the series. BVU is an NCAA Division III institution, and member of the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC).
The Beavers are coached by Janet Berry, who embarks on her 22nd year at the helm of the BVU women's basketball program, amassing a 331-219 overall record, including a mark of 215-137 in conference action.
In the Polls: The Minnesota State University women's basketball team will embark on the 2013-14 campaign as the 23rd ranked team in the nation, the Mavericks finished the 2012-13 campaign ranked No. 17, which was a season-high.
Week Pos. (Votes)
Preseason 23
Preseason Prognosis: The Mavericks were picked to finish second in both the NSIC South Division and the overall NSIC poll. MSU received five first-place votes and finished only three points behind Concordia-St. Paul in the coaches' preseason poll.
Winning Ways: The Mavericks posted 26 wins under first year head coach Emilee Thiesse during the 2012-13 campaign. The Mavericks winningest season came in 2008-09 when they notched 32 wins under the direction of Pam Gohl, who was also in her first year as the MSU women's basketball head coach.
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