Mankato, Minn. --- The Minnesota State women's basketball team will host the top-two teams from the NSIC North division this weekend at Taylor Center in Northern State and MSU Moorhead. The Mavericks will first take on NSU on Friday at 6:00 p.m., before turning their attention to MSUM on Saturday at 4:00 p.m.

Last Weekend: MSU split its weekend roadtrip last week, as the Mavericks defeated Southwest Minnesota State, 88-77, before falling to Sioux Falls on Saturday, 99-76.

Against SMSU, the Mavericks squeaked by late to get the win as they were clinging on to just a three-point, 76-73, lead over the Mustangs with a little over four minutes to play in the game. The Maverick defense turned up the pressure the last four minutes of the ball game as it held the Mustangs to just four more points on 1-of-7 shooting from the field and forced five turnovers to close out the game.

The Mavericks finished the game shooting 45% from the field, including seven made three-pointers, while the Mustangs ended the game connecting 40% of their shots and converting on just three 3-pointers. SMSU did most of its damage in the paint all game, as it outscored MSU in the paint, 52-40. The bench for the Mavericks had another strong showing as it scored almost half of MSU's points, as it finished with 43 points, while SMSU's bench was held to just 11 points.

Junior Britney Scherber [Bloomington, Minn.] led MSU with 18 points and finished 4-of-6 from beyond the arc, while sophomore Claire Ziegler [Mankato, Minn.] racked up her fourth double-double of the season with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Off the bench, junior Karina Schroeder [Lake Crystal, Minn.] scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Schroeder also missed just one shot on the night as she finished perfect from the field, 4-of-4, and shot 5-of-6 from the charity stripe.

The next game against USF, the Cougars used a big third quarter to pull away from the Mavericks. At halftime, MSU was down just four to USF, 43-39, but in the third quarter things took a turn. In the third, the Cougars took the momentum in the game over the Mavericks as they outscored MSU in the period, 35-12, to give USF a commanding 78-51 lead heading into the fourth quarter. In the quarter USF was on fire, as it barely missed from the field. The Cougars connected on 14-of-16 of their shots from the field.

Karina Schroeder set a new season-high with 17 points in the game and also added a team-high seven rebounds. Britney Scherber finished with 15 points and four rebounds, while sophomore guard Madison Lee [Coon Rapids, Minn.] added nine points and three rebounds.

Concerning Northern State: The Wolves enter the week on top of the NSIC North division standings, as they sit with a 15-4 overall record and an 11-3 record in NSIC play. In the latest installment of the WBCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll, NSU falls just outside of it, as it is receiving 10 votes this week. Curt Fredrickson coaches the Wolves, as this year marks as his 37th season at the helm. Before this season, he had accumulated 773 career wins at NSU which marks as the second winningest active NCAA Division II womens basketball coach.

Friday's game will be the 18th all-time game between the Mavericks and Wolves dating back to 1982. During that span, MSU built up a 9-8 overall record against NSU. Last season the Mavericks and Wolves squared off against each other twice, where NSU prevailed in both, but each game was decided by six points or less. In the first meeting, MSU traveled over to Aberdeen, S.D., where it fell 85-80 to NSU. The two teams met up again in the semifinals of the NSIC Tournament where the Wolves defeated the Mavericks again, 58-52.

This season NSU averages 65 points a game which places them 13th in the NSIC, but the Wolves only give up 58.8 points a contest which ranks as second best in the conference. NSU shoots 43% from the field and holds its opponents to 37% from the field, which ranks the Wolves third and fourth in the NSIC, respectively. The Wolves own the best rebounding margin in the conference, +9.4,  as they pull down an average 41.5 each game and their opponents grab 32.1 per game.

Sophomore forward Jill Conrad leads the Wolves in scoring with 14.1 ppg and ranks second on the team in rebounding this season with 7.2 rpg. Conrad also leads the team in field-goal percentage as she is shooting 55% from the field, which ranks as second best in the NSIC. Senior guard Devon Brecke is second on the team in scoring with 10.9 points per game and leads the team with 67 made free throws and 63 total assists. Sophomore Lauren Deadrick leads NSU and ranks second in the NSIC with 8.9 rpg, while also averaging 9.8 points each game.

Concerning MSU Moorhead: The Dragons enter the week with a 13-4 overall record and a 10-4 conference play which places them in a three-way tie for second in the NSIC North division standings. MSUM is coached by Karla Nelson who is in her 16th season at the school.

Saturday's matchup will mark as the 40th all-time meeting between the Mavericks and Dragons, as MSU built a 26-13 overall record versus MSUM. Currently the Mavericks are on a 10 game winning streak against the Dragons, dating back to 2009. Last season MSU traveled up to Moorhead, Minn. and defeated the Dragons, 73-62, as junior Sammie Delzotto [Eagan, Minn.] led the way for the Mavericks with a game-high 21 points.

This season the Dragons are scoring 68.8 points per game and are shooting 40% from the field, both of which fall in the middle of the pack in the NSIC. MSUM's scoring defense gives up 61.3 points each contest and holds its opponents to 38% from the field. From beyond the arc, the Dragons rank as the third best three-point shooting team, as they average 35% and make 7.5 a game. MSUM also pulls down 40.9 rebounds a game and own a +4.6 rebounding margin. Lastly, the Dragons dish out 13.1 assists each game and turn the ball over 13.8 times each game.

Junior guard Morgan Banasik leads the Dragons with 14.8 ppg and has drained a team-high 33 three-pointers this season.  Senior Heather Strese is second on the team with 13.9 ppg and leads the team with 7.5 rpg and shoots 52% from the field. Senior forward Savanna Handevidt averages 9.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, while sophomore guard Cassidy Thorson averages 8.5 points a clip and leads the team shooting 39% from beyond the arc.

Season High: Junior Karina Schroeder set a new season-high 17 points against Sioux Falls last Saturday. Schroeder has recorded double-digit points in five games this season.

Freshmen Play: In the last four games freshman Taylor Paulsrud [Rogers, Minn.] is averaging 10.3 points per game, while shooting 57% from the field, including 45% from three. Also in the last four games, freshman Monica Muth [Cambridge, Wis.] is leading the team with 3.2 assists a game. So far this season, Muth posted a season-high five assists against Concordia-St. Paul on Dec. 19, 2015. Freshman Ashley Reed [Whitefish Bay, Wis.] scored her first career points against Southwest Minnesota State on last Friday. Reed finished the game with four points and three rebounds and kept the trend going in the next game, as she tallied six more points against Sioux Falls.

Leading Scorers: Through 18 games, the Mavericks have two players averaging 10 points or more in sophomore Claire Ziegler and junior Britney Scherber. Ziegler leads the team in scoring with 14.2 points a game, while Scherber sits second on the team with 13.9 points a contest. Ziegler currently ranks ninth in the NSIC in scoring and Scherber places in 13th.

Rebounding Attack: Three Mavericks are averaging six or more rebounds a contest through 18 games this season. Sophomore Claire Ziegler leads the team with 8.5 rebounds a game and ranks fourth in the NSIC. Senior McKenzie Hoelmenn [Lakeville, Minn.] sits second on the team with 7.2 rebounds each game, which places her ninth in the NSIC. Rounding out the trio is junior Karina Schroeder as she is averaging 6.3 per contest.

Efficient Shooting: Sophomore forward Claire Ziegler leads MSU with a 55% field-goal percentage which currently places her third in the NSIC.

At the Charity Stripe: Junior point guard Britney Scherber is shooting 83% from the free-throw line, which ranks her fifth in the NSIC.