MANKATO, Minn. --- The No.24 Minnesota State women's basketball team returns to Taylor Center for its final four game home stand of the regular season as it tips things off against the University of Mary and Minot State this weekend.
The Mavericks are currently in a three way tie with Minot State and Concordia-St. Paul for third place overall in the NSIC standings, and tied for second in the NSIC South Division rankings, trailing only Wayne State.
MSU is home to the league's second-best scorer in senior Ali Wilkinson, averaging 19 points and 8.7 rebounds per game and will host the league's top-scorer from Minot State, Carly Boag who is averaging 21 points and nine rebounds per game.
The Mavericks are coming off of a weekend sweep of Winona State and Upper Iowa, earning 77-53 and 87-61 wins, respectively. MSU raced out to a quick 20-1 start against the Peacocks, not allowing UIU to connect on a field goal for nearly the first eight minutes of the contest. Wilkinson paced the Mavericks on the weekend, averaging 20.5 points and seven rebounds, while connecting on 75% (15-20) of her shots from the field, 75% (3-4) from behind the arc and 89% (8-9) of her attempts from the charity stripe.
Scouting the Marauders: The University of Mary women's basketball team is under the guidance of second-year head coach Rick Neumann, who has amassed a 30-17 record in his head coaching tenure. The Marauders are 11-6 overall and 9-5 on the circuit trailing MSU by only one game in the overall conference standings.
U-Mary is averaging 76.7 points per game while giving up 75.7 points per contest. The Marauders are led by Linda Murray and Brittney Dietz, who are averaging 16.5 and 16.4 points per game, respectively.
The Marauders are on a six-game winning streak after dropping three straight contests to Minot State, Augustana and Wayne State.
Scouting the Beavers: Minot State is coached by Sheila Green Gerding, amassing a 329-217 record in her 19 years as head coach of the Beavers. MISU is averaging 77.1 points per contest, while surrendering 69.2 and is currently in a three-way tie with Minnesota State and Concordia-St. Paul for third place in the NSIC standings.
Carly Boag leads the way for MISU, averaging 21.1 points and 9.2 rebounds per contest. Boag is one of five Beavers to average double-figures, her sister, Christina averages the second-most points per game averaging 13.1 points per game.
Looking Back: The Mavericks earned a pair of road wins this past weekend as they downed Winona State 77-53 before jumping out to an early 20-1 lead over Upper Iowa, MSU went on to earn the 87-61 win over the Peacocks, improving to 13-5 overall and 10-4 on the circuit
Nationally-Known: The Mavericks are currently 13th in the nation with a 1.19 assist to turnover ratio and 12th in the nation in assists per game, averaging 17.8 per contest. Individually, sophomore Aubrey Davis is 40th in the nation, sporting a 1.85 assist-to-turnover ratio. Ali Wilkinson's 19.0 points per game is the second-best average in the NSIC and 32nd-best average in the country. Collectively, the Mavericks 83.1 points per game is the seventh-best average in all of Division II.
100: Senior forward Ali Wilkinson has competed in 111 games for the Mavericks. During those 111 games, Wilkinson has started 80, and is shooting 51% from the field and averaging 13.3 points per game and 7.7 rebounds per game.
Your Language is Offensive: The Mavericks currently boast the league's top-scoring attack, averaging 83.1 points per game, which ranks them seventh in the nation. MSU has had five 100-plus point games this season, tying the 2007-08 team for the most triple-digit games in a season in program history.
