MANKATO, Minn. --- The No. 23 Minnesota State women's basketball team looks to bounce back after a pair of tough road losses this past weekend as it fell to No. 17 Wayne State (79-64) and No. 10 Augustana (86-84), falling to 6-3 overall with a mark of 3-2 on the circuit.
Senior Ali Wilkinson (Blue Mounds, Wis.) led the Mavericks, posting her 28th and 29th career double-doubles averaging 20 points and 11 rebounds in the Mavericks two road contests this past weekend. On the season the 6-0 forward is averaging 19.1 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.
The Mavericks will do battle with No. 20 Concordia-St. Paul currently riding a program-best 20 game home winning streak dating back to Feb. 18, 2012.
Last Time Around: MSU earned an 87-63 win over then rated No. 14 Concordia-St. Paul, in St. Paul to open NSIC play. The Mavericks connected on nine first half three point shots to take a 42-25 lead into intermission. MSU was led by senior Ali Wilkinson (Blue Mounds, Wis.), who posted 16 points and six rebounds.
The Golden Bears were led by Rachel Hansen and Anika Whiting, who finished with 15 points and 14 points, repsectively. CU connected on 33% of its shots from the field, but only drained two three point shots, finishing the game with a 12% three point field goal percentage.
Scouting the Golden Bears: No. 20 Concordia-St. Paul was picked as the preseason favorite in the South Division as well as the NSIC Coaches Poll. CU enters the weekend with a 9-3 overall record and a mark of 4-1 in conference action. This past weekend the Golden Bears earned two big road wins over No. 10 Augustana (71-69) and No. 17 Wayne State (57-54).
CU is coached by Paul Fessler, who is in his 14th season at the helm of the Golden Bear basketball program and currently boasts a 286-121 career record at CU. The Golden Bears are led by junior Anika Whiting who is averaging 17.2 points and six rebounds per contest. Whiting was picked as the NSIC South Division Preseason Player of the Year.
100: Senior forward Ali Wilkinson competed in her 102nd game this past weekend for the Mavericks. Of those 102 games, Wilkinson has started 71, and is shooting 51% from the field and averaging 12.8 points per game.
Your Language is Offensive: The Mavericks will enter this weekend boasting the league's second-best offensive average, tallying 85.6 points per game and will face the league's 13th-best offensive team in Concordia-St. Paul, who is averaging 69.2 points per game.
In the Polls: The Minnesota State University women's basketball team dropped 11 spots to No. 23 in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Top-25 Poll released Tuesday, the Mavericks finished the 2012-13 campaign ranked No. 17, which was a season-high.
The No. 12 ranking last week marked the highest WBCA ranking under second-year head coach Emilee Thiesse.
Week Pos. (1st Place Votes)
Preseason 23
Week 1 24
Week 2 17
Week 3 13
Week 4 T12
Week 5
23
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