Mankato, Minn. --- The Minnesota State women's basketball team will begin a five game homestand, starting this weekend as it will play host to the University of Mary and Minot State. MSU will take on U-Mary on Friday at 6 p.m., before setting its sights on MISU on Saturday at 4 p.m.
 
Last Week: The Mavericks split a pair of games this past weekend on the road against #17 Northern State and MSU Moorhead.

Last Friday, MSU fell to NSU by the score of 80-75, before the Mavericks bounced back with a victory over MSU Moorhead on Saturday, 73-62.
 
Scouting the Marauders: The University of Mary enters the contest with an 8-14 overall record and a 6-10 NSIC record. The Marauders are coached by Rick Neumann who is in his third season at the helm. Friday's matchup will mark the 10th all-time meeting between the two schools in program history. The Mavericks own an 8-1 all-time record against the Marauders.

As a team, U-Mary averages 70.6 points a game, which is good enough for fifth in the NSIC, and gives up 72.2 points a game to its opponents. The Marauders are shooting 40% from the field, including 33% from behind the arc. U-Mary also averages 39.4 rebounds a game and has a -3.0 rebound margin. 

The Marauders rank second in the NSIC in blocked shots per game, with 5.62 a game and place fourth in the conference in steals per game with 8.95.

U-Mary is led by junior forward Brittany Dietz, who leads the team in scoring, assists, steals and minutes played a game. Dietz is averaging 17 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists, two steals and 35.3 minutes a game. Dietz currently ranks fourth in the NSIC in scoring.

Some other key players for U-Mary include sophomore forward Hannah Larson and senior forward Sloan Turner. Larson averages 10.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists a game, to go along with 38 blocks and 26 steals on the year, while Turner is averaging 10.4 points and 6.7 rebounds a clip and has totaled 37 blocks on the year. Larson and Turner rank fifth and sixth in the NSIC in block shots per game, respectively.
 
Scouting the Beavers: Coming into the week, Minot State owns a 9-13 overall record, including a 4-12 record in NSIC play. The Beavers are coached by Sheila Green Gerding, who is in  her 20th season at the helm. Saturday's matchup between the Beavers and Mavericks will mark the third all-time meeting between the two schools, as the Mavericks own a perfect 2-0 all-time record against the Beavers. 

As a team, MISU averages 65.5 points a game, while its opponents are averaging 64.4 points per game. For the year, the Beavers are shooting 45% from field,  which places them second in the NSIC, while its opponents are shooting 39% on the year. The Beavers also have a +2.6 rebounding margin and have a -1.8 turnover margin on the season.

Leading the way for the Beavers are senior forward Christina Boag and sophomore guard Alex Haley. Boag leads the Beavers with 11.4 points, 6.7 rebounds  a game and 18 total blocks on the year, while Haley is second on the team in scoring with 10.9 points a clip, to go along with 2.9 assists a game and 22 total steals on  the year. 

Some other key players for MISU are senior forward Katie Hardy and Diondra Denton. Hardy leads the team in minutes played and is averaging 9.8 points and 5.2 rebounds a clip, while Denton averages 9.3 points and 4.2 boards a game.

Home Court Advantage: Coming into the week, the Mavericks perfect 8-0 home record at Taylor Center will be on the line as they will host the U-Mary and Minot State. Contrary, away from home, MSU  owns just a 5-6 record. 

In homes games this season, the Mavericks are averaging 79.9 points a game and a have a scoring margin of +11.9, compared to 68.9 points a game and a scoring margin of -1.9 on the road. At home, MSU is also shooting 45% from the field and 42% from three, including 8.8 made threes per game 

Career-High's: In last Friday's losing effort against #17 Northern State on the road, senior guard Ashley Olson set a career-high 18 points, where she connected on five of nine of her three point attempts. Then the next night, sophomore guard Sammie Delzotto, set a career-high of own in Saturday's win over MSU Moorhead with  21 points. In the game, Delzotto shot 60% from the field, including 3-4 from behind arc and collected five rebounds in the win.
 
Potent Offense: After averaging 74 points this past weekend against NSU and MSUM, the Mavericks still stand at third in the NSIC in scoring offense.

Team Rebounding: MSU sits in fourth this week in the NSIC in total rebounds, as the Mavericks are averaging 40.6 boards a game. 

Three-Point Shooting: MSU places third in three-point percentage coming into the week, after shooting 43% (21-48) from behind the arc this past weekend. The Mavericks also sit in fourth in the conference in made three's per game with 7.2 a game. 

Dropping Dimes: The Mavericks currently rank fourth in the NSIC in assists per game, with 15.40 a game.

Board Game: After pulling in 12 more rebounds to her stat sheet this past weekend, senior forward Lexie Ulfers currently ranks sixth in the NSIC in rebounds per game with 7.4 a game. 

Efficient Shooting: Senior forward Lexie Ulfers, currently ranks second in the conference in field-goal percentage, shooting 53% (101-189).

From the Charity Stripe: Sophomore guard Sammie Delzotto is shooting 87% (54-62) from the free-throw line, which ranks her second in the NSIC.

From Deep: Senior guard Ashley Olson is shooting 38% (40-103) from behind the arc this season, which places her third in the NSIC. Olson also ranks eighth in the NSIC in three-point field goals made per game with 2.0 a game, and senior guard Aubrey Davis falls right behind in ninth with 1.9 a game.

Assisting the Way:  Senior guard Aubrey Davis finds herself currently second in the NSIC in assists per game with 4.4, after tallying 11 more assists this past weekend.

Block Party: senior forward Lexie Ulfers currently sits in second in the NSIC in block shots per game with 2.1.

Pick Pocketers: Senior guards Aubrey Davis and Ashley Olson find themselves in the top-ten in the NSIC in steals per game this week. Davis is sixth, tallying 1.9 a game, while Olson ranks tenth with 1.7 a game.