MANKATO, Minn.   —  The  No. 17 Minnesota State women’s basketball team (25-4, 18-4 NSIC) earned the second-seed in the NSIC South Division and downed seventh-seeded Bemidji State, 94-77 in the opening round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament, and followed with a 75-57 win over MSU-Moorhead in the quarterfinal round of the tournament. The Mavericks made quick work of the Winona State Warriors in the semifinal round, earning the 73-57 victory, advancing to the conference finals, where they will face the Augustana Vikings.

All eight Mavericks that saw the court against Winona State made their way into the scoring column led by junior Steffaney Thomas who finished with 16 points and was one of three MSU student-athletes to net double-digit points. She was joined by sophomore Aubrey Davis and junior Ali Wilkinson who finished with 13 points and 11 points, respectively.

Collectively, MSU connected on 26-of-56 (46%) of its shots from the floor, 15-of-19 (79%) from behind the arc and 15-of-19 from the charity stripe while Winona State shot 18-of-52 (35%) from the floor, 7-of-25 (28%) from downtown while going 14-of-19 from the charity stripe, the Warriors committed 20 turnovers to the Mavericks 11.

In their first three games of the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament the Mavericks have outscored their opponents by 51 points, while connecting on 84-of-179 (47%) of their shots from the floor, 20-of-60 (33%) from behind the arc and forced their opponents to commit 65 total turnovers compared to 42 by MSU.

Vikings Revisited: The Mavericks have defeated the Augustana Vikings twice this season 80-79 in Sioux Falls, S.D. and downed Augie 78-73 at Taylor Center. The Mavericks were paced by Ali Wilkinsonwho is averaging 28.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game while connecting on 16-of-29 (55%) from the floor and 25-of-26 (96%) from the charity-stripe. The Vikings were led by Shaunteva Ashley who is averaging 14.0 points per game while Alex Feeney has averaged 13.5 points while recording 11.5 rebounds per game.   

25 and Over: The Mavericks 25 wins during the 2012-13 campaign ties the second-best record in program history. The 1985-86 Mavericsk finished with a mark 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. JuniorAli Wilkinson was named NSIC All-Conference First Team, while sophomoreAubrey Davisreceived second-team honors.

Double-Down: There have been nine double-doubles by Mavericks this season, juniorAlli 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 remained ranked No. 4 in the second edition 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 are riding a season-high 14 game win-streak through the quarterfinal round of the conference tournament. 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, winning the last 14 contests.

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 76.9 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 +6.50 turnover margin through 28 games which is also ranked sixth-best in the nation. Junior forward Ali Wilkinson is currently connecting on 57.5% of her shots from the floor which is the sixth-best shooting percentage in the nation.

Join the Club!: Junior forwardAli 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 29 games this season the Mavericks have turned the ball over 445 times, compared to 637 by their opponents, owning a +192 margin in the turnover column.

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