MANKATO, Minn. --- The No. 23 Minnesota State women's basketball team looks to open the 2014 portion of its schedule as it hosts St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth. The Mavericks are currently 7-3 overall and 4-2 on the circuit, while the Huskies are 8-2 overall and 4-1 on the circuit, UMD is 7-3 overall and 3-2 in league play.
The Mavericks completed the season sweep against Concordia-St. Paul as they opened the circuit with an 87-63 win in St. Paul in November before earning an 80-67 win in Mankato to close out the 2013 portion of their schedule on December 21st.
Senior Ali Wilkinson (Blue Mounds, Wis.) led the way, posting 29 points and nine rebounds, falling one rebound short of her 30th career double-double.
Scouting the Huskies: St. Cloud State is coached by former MSU coach, Lori Fish, who is in her sixth year at the helm of the Husky basketball program. Last season SCSU earned the NSIC North title.
The Huskies are led by Jessica Benson who is averaging 15.8 points per contest, while Sam Price is averaging 15.1 points per game. The Huskies are shooting 47% from the field and 41% from behind the arc through the first 10 games of the season.
Scouting the Bulldogs: UMD is coached by Annette Wiles who is in her 21st season coaching collegiate basketball. Her Bulldogs are currently 7-3 overall and connecting 44% of their shots from the field and 33% from behind the arc.
UMD has four student-athletes averaging double-figures, led by Hannah Rutten who is averaging 17.1 points per game. Katrina Newman is the second-leading scorer for the Bulldogs, averaging 14.8 points per contest
100: Senior forward Ali Wilkinson competed in her 103rd game this past weekend for the Mavericks. Of those 103 games, Wilkinson has started 72, and is shooting 51% from the field and averaging 12.9 points per game.
Your Language is Offensive: The Mavericks will enter this weekend boasting the league's second-best offensive average, tallying 85.0 points per game and will face the league's top scoring offense in St. Cloud State, which is averaging 85.3 points per contest.
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 Dec. 17, the Mavericks finished the 2012-13 campaign ranked No. 17, which was a season-high.
For the complete release in PDF form, click
HERE.
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 T-12
Week 5 23
