Mankato, Minn. ---  The Minnesota State women's basketball team (21-9)  earned the eighth seed in the 2014-15 NCAA Central Region Tournament and will take on top-seeded Fort Hays State in opening round play. The game will take place at the Gross Memorial Coliseum on the Fort Hays State campus in Hays, Kan., on Friday at 5:00 p.m. 

This marks the sixth all-time appearance for the MSU women's basketball program, as it holds a 9-4 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament.

Last Time Out: The Mavericks fell to Northern State in the semifinals of the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament, 58-52, back on March 2.

MSU at one point in the second half built a 10-point lead over NSU, 43-33 with 12:48 left in the second half. However, the Wolves took control after that point and went on a 17-0 run themselves, to give NSU a 50-43 lead over MSU, with 5:57 left in the game. 

The Mavericks were able to get as close as two points to the Wolves lead, but unfortunately it wasn't quite enough as NSU went on to win the game and eventually win the tournament championship after it defeated Wayne State.

Scouting the Tigers: Fort Hays State enters the contest as the top seed of the Central Region, as the Tigers have posted a 28-3 record this season and won the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) regular season title. FHSU is coached by Tony Hobson who is currently in his seventh season on the job and was recently named MIAA Coach of the Year. Friday's matchup between the Tigers and Mavericks, will mark the second all-time meeting between the two schools. In the prior meeting, MSU got the better hand, as it defeated FHSU 66-63 back in 2006. 

Fort Hays State is averaging 72.8 points a game this year, which places the Tigers second in the MIAA in scoring offense. FHSU also ranks first in the conference in scoring defense, with giving up just 54 points a game to their opponents, which  places them second in all of Division II basketball.

FHSU tops the MIAA in turnover margin (+5.19) and assist/turnover margin (1.3) and third in assists per game (14.3). The Tigers also rank second in the MIAA in a number of other categories such as rebounding offense (42.7), block shots per game (5.9) and steals per game (8.4).

This season the Tigers are led by recently named 2014-15 MIAA Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in senior Katie Lehman. The 6-4 center is averaging 19.1 points, 10.3 rebounds and 4.3 blocks a game this season. Lehman also leads the Tigers in field goal percentage, shooting 58% (223-385). She has notched 18 double-doubles on the season and one triple-double, while she currently ranks her third in Division II basketball in block shots per game and eighth in field goal percentage.

The Tigers point guard, junior Beth Bohuslavsky, was named to the All-MIAA Third Team this season. Bohuslavsky currently ranks seventh in Division II basketball in assist/turnover ratio, as she owns an impressive 2.51 ratio. 

Some other key players for the Tigers this season are guards Chelsea Mason and Jill Faxon and also senior forward Keriann Shaw. Mason is second on the team with 12.3 points a game, while Faxon puts up 9.6 points a game and leads the team in  three-point shooting percentage with 40% (41-102). Shaw is averaging 5.5 points and 7.2 boards a game and was named to the All-Defensive Team this season, as she is known as one of the MIAA's toughest defenders.
 
Honored Mavericks: Earlier this season, seniors Aubrey Davis and Lexie Ulfers were named to the NSIC All-Conference teams. Davis earned First Team All-NSIC, while Ulfers garnered Second Team All-NSIC and All-Defensive Team honors.

Potent Offense: The Mavericks rank third in the NSIC in scoring offense, averaging 74.5 points a game.

Team Rebounding: MSU sits in fifth in the NSIC entering the contest in total rebounds, as the Mavericks are averaging 39.8 boards a game. 

Three-Point Shooting: MSU places third in three-point percentage coming into the contest, shooting 36% from behind the arc. The Mavericks also sit in fifth in the conference in made threes per game with 7.2 a game. 

Dropping Dimes: The Mavericks currently rank fourth in the NSIC in assists per game, with 15.47 a game.

From Deep: Senior guard Ashley Olson  qualifies for third coming into the game in the NSIC in three-point field percentage with 38% (59-156). Olson also ranks sixth in the conference in made three-point field goals per game 2.0, while senior guard Aubrey Davis ranks eighth with 1.9 a game.

Assisting the Way:  Senior guard Aubrey Davis finds herself currently second in the NSIC in assists per game with 4.7, after tallying six more assists in the semifinal loss to Northern State.

Block Party: Senior forward Lexie Ulfers currently sits in fifth in the NSIC in block shots per game with 2.0.

Pick Pocketer: Senior guard Aubrey Davis finds herself in the top-ten in the NSIC in steals per game currently as she sits in eighth after tallying 1.8 a game.
 
Minnesota State History: The 2014-15 season will mark the 49th season in Minnesota State women's basketball program history, dating back to 1966. During that span MSU has totaled an all-time record of 679-565 (.546).

Walking the Sidelines: Head coach Emilee Thiesse is in her third season at MSU. In her three years here, she has amassed a 70-21 (.770) overall record, including a 2012-13 NCAA Tournament appearance in her first year. She is also 52-14 (.787) in NSIC games.

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