Mankato, Minn. --- The Minnesota State women's basketball team will continue its conference schedule with a pair of key south division games this weekend. The Mavericks will travel to #19 Wayne State on Friday at 6 p.m., before MSU travels to Augustana for a Saturday showdown, set for 4 p.m.
 
Last Week: The Mavericks improved their record to 9-3 overall and 6-1 in NSIC play after a pair of victories at home against north division opponents St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth this past weekend.  
 
Scouting the Wildcats: #19 Wayne State enters the contest with a 11-3 overall record and a 5-3 NSIC record. The Wildcats are coached by Chris Kielsmeier who is in his seventh season at the helm. Saturday's matchup will mark the 19th all-time meeting between the two schools in program history. MSU and WSC met earlier this season, with the Mavericks coming out victorious, as they took down the Wildcats by the score of 72-65 back on December 6 at Taylor Center.

As a team, Wayne State are currently averaging 77.2 points a game, which is good for second in the NSIC. The Wildcats also give up the second least amount of points a game with 54.2, while WSC leads the NSIC in scoring margin with +23. The Wildcats rank first in the conference in field goal percentage, shooting 45% from the field. WSC also ranks second in the conference in field goal percentage defense, as their opponents are shooting 32% on them.

From behind the arc, the Wildcats are averaging just shy of 40%, which currently places them second in the NSIC. To add on to that, WSC ranks first in the NSIC in three-point field goals made, with 8.4 a game. Finally the Wildcats rank first in the conference in free throw shooting,  with 76%, and rank second in both assists (16.21) and steals (11.07) per game as a team. 
 
The Wildcats are led by 2013-2014 All-NSIC first team player in Jordan Spencer. Spencer is leading the team in scoring and rebounding with 16.4 points and 8.5 rebounds a game. The senior ranks sixth in the NSIC in scoring and fourth in rebounding.  She is also  shooting an impressive 51% from the field which places her sixth in the conference. 

Some other key players for WSC are seniors Millie Niggeling and Ashton Yossi.  Niggeling is averaging 11.9 points and 4.6 rebounds a game and is currently shooting 48% from behind the arc. She has also managed to record 24 steals, 21 assists and 14 blocks on the year. With Yossi, she is averaging 11.5 points a game and is shooting 37% from three. She currently ranks third in the NSIC in three-point field goals per game with 2.2 a game.
   
Scouting the Vikings: Coming into the week, Augustana owns a 9-6 overall record, including a 3-5 record in NSIC play. The Vikings are coached by Dave Krauth, who has compiled 518 total wins in  his 26 seasons at the helm. Saturday's matchup between the Vikings and Mavericks will mark the 68th all-time meeting between the two schools. MSU has been victorious in the last four matchups, including a 92-80 victory from earlier this season at Taylor Center, back on December 5.

As a team, the Vikings are averaging  a NSIC best, 80.9 points a game, while their opponents are averaging 72.2 points a game against them.  Augie ranks first in the NSIC in turnover margin, +7.13,   and second in assist/turnover ratio with  1.33. Augie also ranks first in the NSIC in steals per game with 12.27 a game and third in the conference in assists per game with 16.20.

The Vikings are led by senior guard Shaunteva Ashley, as she is averaging a NSIC-best, 22 points a game. Ashley currently sits a top the NSIC with assists as she is averaging 5.3 dimes a game and also finds herself ranked first in assist/turnover ratio with 2.4.

Also averaging double-digits in points for the Vikings are junior forward Nicole Kerkhoff and freshman guard Logan O'Farrell. Kerkhoff is second on the team in scoring with 11.4 points a clip and a team-high 6.6 rebounds a game, while O'Farrell is averaging 10.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and is tied for first in the NSIC with steals per game with 2.7.

Career Night: Sophomore guard Britney Scherber scored a career-high 27 points in last Friday's win over St. Cloud State by the score of 91-78. 

Freshmen Duo: Freshmen guards Madison Lee and Claire Jordan played some key roles in MSU's win over Minnesota Duluth. They combined for 15 points off the bench, as Lee set a career-high with nine points, all of which came from behind the arc, while Jordan set a career-high six points of her own.

Board Game: After posting 19 more rebounds this past weekend, senior forward Lexie Ulfers currently ranks fifth in the NSIC in rebounds per game with 7.5 a game.

Efficient Shooting: Senior forward Lexie Ulfers, ranks third in the conference in field-goal percentage, shooting 55% (59-107).

From the Charity Stripe: Sophomore guard Sammie Delzotto is shooting 91% from the free-throw line, which ranks her first in the NSIC.

Assisting the Way: After recording 12 more assists to her stat sheet this past weekend, senior guard Aubrey Davis finds herself currently second in the NSIC in assists per game with 4.5 

Block Party: Senior forward Lexie Ulfers currently sits in fourth in the NSIC in block shots per game with 1.8.

Pick Pocketers: Senior guards Aubrey Davis and Ashley Olson find themselves in the top-ten in the NSIC in steals per game. Olson is seventh, tallying 1.9 a game, while Davis sits in ninth, averaging 1.8 a game.

To view the complete release in PDF form, click HERE