Mankato, Minn. --- The Minnesota State women's basketball will head back onto the road this weekend, as they will travel to #17 Northern State and MSU Moorhead. The Mavericks will take on NSU on Friday at 6 p.m., before MSU square-off with MSUM on Saturday at 4 p.m.
 
Last Week: The Mavericks won a pair of games last weekend against two NSIC south division foes in Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls.

In Friday's game against SMSU, the Mavericks beat the Mustangs by the score of 76-62, before topping Sioux Falls the next night by the score of 78-72.
 
Scouting the Wolves: #17 Northern State enters the contest with a 17-3 overall record and an 11-3 NSIC record. The Wolves are coached by Curt Fredrickson who is in his 36th season at the helm. Friday's matchup will mark the 16th all-time meeting between the two schools in program history. The Mavericks own a 9-6 win-loss record against the Wolves, although NSU has won three of the last five meetings between the two schools.

As a team, NSU averages 65.7 points a game, and only gives up 48.9 points a game, which ranks first in the NSIC in scoring defense. The Wolves are shooting 43% from the field, which is good enough for third in the conference, while their opponents are only shooting 31%, which places them first in the NSIC as well. 

NSU also ranks second in the conference in rebounds per game, with 43.4 a game and top the NSIC rankings in assist/turnover ratio and assists per game with 1.32 and 15.95, respectively.
 
The Wolves are led by senior forward Rachel Krogman, who leads NSU statistically in minutes, scoring, rebounds and blocked shots. She is averaging team-highs of 30.3 minutes, 15.4 points, 10.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks a game.

Some other key players for NSU include a pair of senior forwards in Sadie Stotesbery and Megan Mutchler. Stotesbery is averaging 11.4 points and 6.2 rebounds a game, while Mutchler is putting up 10.2 points and five rebounds per game herself.
 
Scouting the Dragons: Coming into the week, MSU Moorhead owns a 10-8 overall record, including a 9-5 record in NSIC play. The Dragons are coached by Karla Nelson, who is in  her 15th season at the helm. Saturday's matchup between the Dragons and Mavericks will mark the 39th all-time meeting between the two schools, as the Mavericks own a 25-13 all-time record against the Dragons. MSU has been victorious in the last nine meetings between the two teams.

As a team, MSUM averages 67.2 points a game, while its opponents are averaging 65.9 points on them. For the year, the Dragons are shooting 38% from field, while its opponents are shooting slightly better with 40%. The Dragons also have a +4.4 rebounding margin and have a -1.4 turnover margin on the season.

The Dragons are led by junior guard Meghan Roehrich who sits in third in the NSIC in scoring, putting up 18.2 points a game. Roehrich also leads the Dragons in field goal percentage with 46%, including 37% from three, which ranks her four in the NSIC.

Some other key players for MSUM are junior forward Heather Strese and sophomore guard Natalie Van Wyhe. Strese is second on the team in scoring and first in rebounding, averaging 11.1 points and 6.4 rebounds  a game. Van Wyhe does a little bit of everything for the Dragons as she is averaging 4.7 points and 3.1 rebounds a game, but also leads the team in assists. Van Wyhe ranks fifth in the NSIC in assists per game with 3.6 a game and sits in second in the conference in assist/turnover ratio with 2.0.

Heating Up: Senior guard Aubrey Davis has been putting up some impressive performances lately, as she is averaging just over 19 points a game in her last four games. During that span,  which included her first career double-double back on Jan. 17 against Minnesota Crookston of 23 points and 10 rebounds,  Davis shot 49% (26-53) from the field, including 40% from behind the arc. Finally, in the past four games, Davis is averaging just over 2.3 for an assist/turnover ratio.

More Career-High's: In last Saturday's big win over Sioux Falls, sophomore guard Sammie Delzotto matched her career-high of 20 points, while junior center McKenzie Hoelmenn was just shy of posting her first career double-double, posting nine points and 10 boards. Although the Lakeville, Minn. native did record career-highs in rebounds and assists with five in the win over USF.

Potent Offense: After averaging 77 points this past weekend against SMSU and USF, the Mavericks have now moved up to third in the NSIC in scoring offense.

Team Rebounding: MSU sits in third  this week in the NSIC in total rebounds, as the Mavericks are averaging 41.4 boards a game. 

Dropping Dimes: The Mavericks currently rank fourth in the NSIC in assists per game, with 15.50 a game.

Board Game: After pulling in 11 more rebounds to her stat sheet this past weekend, senior forward Lexie Ulfers currently ranks fifth in the NSIC in rebounds per game with 7.6 a game. 

Efficient Shooting: Senior forward Lexie Ulfers, currently ranks second in the conference in field-goal percentage, shooting 53% (90-169).

From the Charity Stripe: Sophomore guard Sammie Delzotto is shooting 88% (47-53) from the free-throw line, which ranks her second in the NSIC.

From Deep: After converting 6-9 from three this past weekend, senior guard Ashley Olson is shooting 39% (35-89) from behind the arc this season, which places her third in the NSIC. Olson also ranks seventh in the NSIC in three-point field goals made per game with 1.9 a game.

Assisting the Way:  Senior guard Aubrey Davis finds herself currently second in the NSIC in assists per game with 4.3, after tallying 10 more assists this past weekend.

Block Party: After notching five more blocks this past weekend, senior forward Lexie Ulfers currently sits in second in the NSIC in block shots per game with 2.2.

Pick Pocketers: Senior guards Ashley Olson and Aubrey Davis find themselves in the top-ten in the NSIC in steals per game this week. Olson is eighth, tallying 1.8 a game, while Davis ranks tenth with 1.7 a game.