Mankato, Minn. --- The Minnesota State women's basketball team will continue its stay on the road this weekend, as the Mavericks will take on a pair of north division opponents. Minnesota State will travel to Bemidji State for a Friday night tip-off at 6 p.m., before MSU will square-off with Minnesota Crookston on Saturday at 4 p.m.
 
Last Week: The Mavericks split a pair of road games against south division foes  #19 Wayne State and Augustana last weekend, as MSU now stands at 10-4 overall and 7-2 in conference play. 

In Friday's game against Wayne State, the Mavericks fell to the Wildcats, by the score of 62-46. In the loss, MSU just shot 23.9% from the field, including only five made field goals in the second half (5-35). 

On Saturday versus Augustana, MSU fought back from a halftime deficit of seven, 36-29, to end up beating Augie by the score of 74-71. To start the second half, the Mavericks came storming out of the gates, as MSU quickly tied the game back up at 49-49 within the first six minutes of the half. Quickly after that, the Purple and Gold took the lead back from the Vikings and was able to hold on to their slim lead the rest of the way. In the second half, the Mavericks assisted on 12 of MSU's 15 converted field goals and also shot 55.6% (15-27) from field, whereas the Vikings shot just 37.8% (14-37) from the field.
 
Scouting the Beavers: Bemidji State enters the contest with a 5-10 overall record and a 2-8 NSIC record. The Beavers are coached by Mike Curfman who is in his tenth season at the helm. Friday's matchup will mark the 40th all-time meeting between the two schools in program history. The Mavericks own a 26-13 win-loss record against the Beavers and have won the last four meetings in the series.

As a team, Bemidji State averages 65.9 points a game, whereas its opponents are averaging 72.1 points a clip. The Beavers are shooting just shy of 41% from the field, including 28% from behind the arc. BSU averages 36.1 rebounds a game and dishes out 14 assists a game. The Beavers rebounding margin is -2.7 and their assist/turnover ratio is 0.9. 

The Beavers are led by redshirt-freshman   center Sierra Senske, who leads the team in scoring and rebounding. Senske averages 14.4 points and 5.9 boards a game. She also shoots 56% from the field, which places her second in the NSIC for field-goal percentage.

Some other key players for BSU are a pair of sophomores guards in Aimee Pelzer and Tatum Sheley. Pelzer is second on the team in scoring and rebounding, as she averages 11.9 points and 5.3 rebounds a game. Pelzer also leads the team in steals per game, with 1.5 a game, while Sheley averages double figures in points per game as well, averaging 11 a game.

Scouting the Golden Eagles: Coming into the week, Minnesota Crookston owns a 6-8 overall record, including a 5-5 record in NSIC play. The Golden Eagles are coached by Mike Roysland, who is in  his eighth season at the helm. Saturday's matchup between the Golden Eagles and Mavericks will mark the 17th all-time meeting between the two schools, as the Mavericks own a 13-3 all-time record against the Golden Eagles. MSU has been victorious in the last 10 meetings between the two teams.

As a team, UMC averages 70.9 points a game, while its opponents are averaging 69.1 points on them. The Golden Eagles are shooting 76% from the charity stripe, which places them second in the NSIC.  UMC has a rebounding margin of +0.4 and a turnover margin of +1.5.

UMC is led by a pair of juniors in guard Alexa Thielman and forward Katrina Moenkedick. Thielman currently leads the team in scoring as she is averaging 16.6 points a game, along with 4.8 rebounds and has 30 steals and 23 assists on the year. Thielman ranks fifth in the NSIC in points per game, second in the NSIC in both free-throw percentage and three-point field goals made per game, with .882  and 2.1, respectively. Moenkedick is second on team in scoring, with 14.5 points a clip and leads the team in rebounding with 5.2 a game. Moenkedick also ranks eighth in the conference in field goal percentage, as she is shooting 49% from the field.

Comparison in MSU's Wins/Losses:

In Our 10 Wins	In Our 4 Losses
Points Per Game: 77.2	Points Per Game: 59.2
Field Goal %: 44%	Field Goal %: 35%
Three-Point %: 38%	Three-Point %: 27%
Rebounds Per Game: 43.4	Rebounds Per Game: 37
Assists Per Game: 17.1	Assists Per Game: 11.5
Blocks Per Game: 4.8	Blocks Per Game: 2.0
Opponent Field Goal %: 38%	Opponent Field Goal %: 42%
Opponent Three-Point %: 28%	Opponent Three-Point %: 35%

Board Game: After posting 14 more rebounds this past weekend, senior forward Lexie Ulfers currently ranks sixth in the NSIC in rebounds per game with 7.6 a game.

Efficient Shooting: Senior forward Lexie Ulfers, ranks third in the conference in field-goal percentage, shooting 55% (71-129).

From the Charity Stripe: Sophomore guard Sammie Delzotto is shooting 88% (37-42) from the free-throw line, which ranks her third in the NSIC.

Assisting the Way:  Senior guard Aubrey Davis finds herself currently second in the NSIC in assists per game with 4.1 

Block Party: After notching seven more blocks this past weekend, including a career-high six blocks against Augustana on Saturday, senior forward Lexie Ulfers currently sits in third in the NSIC in block shots per game with 2.0.

Pick Pocketer: Senior guard Ashley Olson finds herself in the top-ten in the NSIC in steals per game. Olson is seventh, tallying 1.9 a game.


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