Mankato, Minn. --- The Minnesota State women's basketball team will host a pair of NSIC opponents this weekend at Taylor Center, in #21 St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth. SCSU comes into town on Friday at 6 p.m., before the Mavericks focus their attention on UMD on Saturday at 4 p.m.

Last Game: The Mavericks improved their record to 7-3 overall and 4-1 in NSIC play after their defeat of Concordia-St. Paul on the road by the score of 64-60, back on December 20.
 
Scouting the Huskies: #21 SCSU enters the contest with a 8-1 overall record and a 5-1 NSIC record. The Huskies are coached by Lori Fish who is in her sixth season at the helm. Saturday's matchup will mark the 92nd all-time meeting between the two schools in program history.

As a team, St. Cloud State is averaging 70.6 points a game, while its opponents are averaging 60 points a clip. The Huskies are third in the NSIC in three-point field goal percentage as they are shooting 36% from beyond the arc, and are averaging 7.8 three-pointers a game. SCSU is also first in the conference in turnover margin as they have posted a +6.78 margin. 
 
The Huskies are led by a pair of players in sophomore guard Chelsea Nooker and junior forward Lexy Petermann. Nooker leads the team in scoring with 12.8 points a game, to go along with her 5.7 rebounds a game. Nooker currently ranks first in the NSIC in steals per game with 2.8 and is fourth in the NSIC in field goal percentage as she is shooting 56% from the field.  Petermann is second on the team in scoring, averaging 12.4 points a game and has posted a team-leading 6.7 rebounds a game. 

The Huskies also have a pair players averaging just shy of double-digits in points in sophomore guard Betsey MacDonald and junior forward Karissa LeCaptain. MacDonald is averaging 9.7 points, 3.3 assists and 2.3 rebounds a game, while she is currently ranked fourth in the NSIC in assist/turnover ratio with 2.3. Rounding out the bunch is LeCaptain, as she is averaging 9.3 points and 2.2 rebounds a game.

Scouting the Bulldogs: Coming into the week, Minnesota Duluth owns a 5-5 overall record, including 3-3 in NSIC play. The Bulldogs are coached by Annette Wiles, who is in  her seventh season at the helm. Saturday's matchup between the Bulldogs and Mavericks will mark the 55th all-time meeting between the two schools, as MSU has been victorious in the last three matchups.

As a team, the Bulldogs are averaging 66.5 points a game, while their opponents are averaging 69 points a game against them.  UMD is shooting 38% from the field as it's opponents are shooting 44% on them.  The Bulldogs are out-rebounding their opponents with a +4.1 rebounding margin, while UMD is averaging a -1.8 turnover margin against its opponents.

The Bulldogs are led by junior forward Taylor Meyer, as she is averaging just shy of a double-double, posting 17.8 points and nine rebounds a game. Meyer currently ranks third in the NSIC in both scoring and rebounding.

Also averaging double-digits in points for the Bulldogs are a pair of senior guards in  Danielle Flood and Jessica Newman.  Flood is averaging 13.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists a game, while Newman is posting 13.1 points and 4.4 rebounds a game.

Season High's: Senior guard Aubrey Davis and senior forward Jamie Bresnahan both posted a couple of seasons high's for themselves in the Mavericks latest win  over Concordia-St. Paul on December 20. Davis recorded a season-high in points with 19, to go along with her seven assists and four rebounds, while Bresnahan was nearing a double-double as she finished with season high's of 13 points and seven rebounds in the game.

Homecourt Advantage: The Mavericks are averaging 12 points better at home than on the road, as MSU is averaging 79.5 points at Taylor Center, compared to 67 points a game on the road. The Purple and Gold are also shooting more efficient at home, as they are shooting 45% from the field and 41% from beyond the arc. Whereas, on the road, MSU is shooting 39% from the field and 30% from three-point territory.

Scoring Leader: After posting another 13 points in MSU's latest win over Concordia-St. Paul on December 20, senior forward Lexie Ulfers leads the team in scoring coming into the week. The Waseca, Minn. native is averaging 13.8 points a game, including six games this year where she has recorded at least 15 points.

Board Game: Senior forward Lexie Ulfers currently ranks sixth in the NSIC in rebounds per game with 7.3 a game.

Efficient Shooting: Senior forward Lexie Ulfers, ranks second in the conference in field-goal percentage, shooting 59% (55-93).

From the Charity Stripe: Sophomore guard Sammie Delzotto is shooting 90% from the free-throw line, which ranks her second in the NSIC.

Assisting the Way: Senior guard Aubrey Davis finds herself currently second in the NSIC in assists per game with 4.2. The Bloomington, Minn. native, has tallied seven or more assists in at least three games this year. 

Pick Pocketers: Senior guards Aubrey Davis and Ashley Olson find themselves in the top-ten in the NSIC in steals per game. Davis is eighth, tallying 2.1 a game, while Olson sits in ninth, averaging two a game.

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