MANKATO, Minn.   —  The  No. 17 Minnesota State women’s basketball team (25-5) earned the fourth seed in the NCAA Division II Central Region Tournament where it will do battle with fifth-seeded Arkansas Tech (23-6) who won the Great American Conference (GAC) on the campus of Washburn University in Topeka, Kan., with tip-off slated for 8:00 p.m. Friday, March 15.  

The Mavericks fell in the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament Championship to Augustana College by a score of 81-73. With the win the Vikings earned an automatic berth to the NCAA Division II Central Region Touranment, Augustana will enter the tournament as the sixth-seed and will do battle with conference foe Concordia-St. Paul who earned a third seed in the tournament.

The Central Region is now comprised of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC), the Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) and the Great American Conference (GAC).

Scouting the Golden Suns: This contest will mark the first meeting between two programs. The Arkansas Tech Golden Suns represent the GAC and will enter the contest with a 23-6 overall record.  Dave Wilbers is in his sixth season at the helm of the Golden Suns. Arkansas Tech is currently riding an 11 game winning-streak dating back to Feb. 7, the Golden Suns most recently defeated Southwest Oklahoma State 70-66 in the Great American Conference finals.

Arkansas Tech is led by senior Jessica Weatherford who is averaging 16.1 points per contest while hauling-in 7.6 rebounds per contest. She is joined in double figures by senior Roselis Silva who is scoring 15.3 points per contest.

25 and Over: The Mavericks 25 wins during the 2012-13 campaign ties the second-most wins in program history. The 1985-86 Mavericks finished with a mark of 25-4 and the 2008-09 women’s basketball team posted a 32-2 record.

I’m Honored: The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference recently named two Mavericks to its all-conference teams. Junior Ali Wilkinson was named NSIC All-Conference First Team, while sophomore Aubrey Davis received second-team honors.

Double-Down: There have been nine double-doubles by Mavericks this season, junior Alli Hoefer netted 14 points and dished-out 10 dimes against Gustavus Adolphus on Nov. 26. Junior Ali Wilkinson leads the way with eight double-doubles on the season, which ranks her 71st in the nation in double-doubles.

Moving On Up: The Minnesota State University women’s basketball was a season-high ranking of No. 17 in the latest edition of the USA Today Coaches Top-25 Poll. MSU’s previous highest ranking was No. 20.

Oh Fourth Real?: The Mavericks ranked No. 4 for the duration of the NCAA Central Region Rankings, Washburn and Central Missouri both of the MIAA reside in the top two spots while Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota State represent the NSIC in third and fourth place respectively.

Proud Programs: The Minnesota State men’s and women’s basketball programs during the 2012-13 regular season combined for an overall record of 44-8. The Mavericks proved to have a potent athletic attack, as the two programs combined for one, 100+ point game, four, 90-99 point games and 18, 80-89 point games. The Mavericks men’s and women’s basketball programs each are currently leading the conference in scoring with the women averaging 77.1 points per contest and the men netting 79.0 points per game.

We’re Going Streaking!: The Mavericks had their 14 game win streak come to an end at the hands of the Augustana College Vikings. MSU began its 2012-13 campaign on a seven game win-streak before falling to the University of Sioux Falls, 77-64 on Dec. 15, in Sioux Falls, S.D.  The Mavericks then hit a rough-patch in their schedule going 4-4 from Dec. 15 to January 16, but have returned to their winning ways, going on a 14 game win streak to end the 2012-13 regular season, with the streak coming to an end against Augustana in the NSIC Championship Game.

Effectively Efficent: Minnesota State has shot the ball efficiently for duration of the 2012-13 campaign. The Mavericks are the top team in the NSIC in scoring, averaging 76.8 point per game, which is the eighth-best average in the country. MSU connected on 44% of its shots from the floor, which is the best percentage in the league and ranks 12th in the nation. The Mavericks posted the best turnover margin in the NSIC, owning a +6.37 turnover margin through 30 games which is also ranked sixth-best in the nation. Junior forward Ali Wilkinson is currently connecting on 56.6% of her shots from the floor which is the sixth-best shooting percentage in the nation.

Join the Club!: Junior forward Ali Wilkinson netted her 1,000 career- point against Winona State making her the 20th student-athlete to reach 1,000 career-points in program history Lisa Walters (1984-’88) holds the program’s scoring record, she tallied 2,072 points.

Tremendous Turnovers: Through 30 games this season the Mavericks have turned the ball over 461 times, compared to 653 by their opponents, owning a +192 margin in the turnover column.

Earning it from the Stripe: The Mavericks finished the first half against Minnesota Duluth one-of-five (20%) from the charity stripe, since then MSU has converted on 237-of-321 (74%) of its shots from the free-throw line over a 14.5 game span.

In the Polls: The Minnesota State University women’s basketball team has received some love in the USA Today Division II Top-25 coaches poll, and received a season-high ranking in the week 13 poll, cracking in top-20 ranked No. 17 in the nation, the previous high was No. 20 in the week 7 poll.

Week        Pos. (Votes)
Preseason    -
Week 1        RV (10)
Week 2        RV (27)
Week 3        RV (39)
Week 4        RV (95)
Week 5        RV (88)
Week 6        24
Week 7        20
Week 8        RV (19)
Week 9        RV (20)
Week 10      RV (23)
Week 11      25
Week 12      21
Week 13      17
Week 14      17
Week 15      17

For the complete release in PDF form, click HERE.