MANKATO, Minn. --- The Minnesota State women's basketball team continues Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) play on the road at Concordia-St.Paul on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m.
Mavericks at a Glance: Minnesota State (6-13, 4-9 NSIC) enters the week after splitting last weekend at Taylor Center. The Mavericks fell short against Sioux Falls, 74-71, before cruising past Southwest Minnesota State, 81-53.
Impact Mavericks: Senior
Claire Ziegler leads Minnesota State with a team-high 11.9 points and 7.1 rebounds per game which ranks ninth in the NSIC. Senior
Claire Jordan is netting 9.9 points per contest, while junior
Monica Muth is contributing 7.6 points and team-best 2.2 assists per game.
Stat Pack: As a team this season, Minnesota State is registering 66.1 points per game in comparison to its opponents' 71.7. The Mavericks are also collecting 38.7 rebounds and 10.7 assists per contest.
Controlling the Boards: The Mavericks are currently slotted seventh in the NSIC with 38.7 rebounds per game and are ranked fourth in offensive rebounds with 13.4. Minnesota State pulled down a season-high 53 rebounds against Palm Beach Atlantic and Chaminade.
Career Day: Senior
Claire Jordan posted a career-high and game-best 30 points against Southwest Minnesota State last weekend. The guard shot 12-of-17 (.705) from the field and 3-of-5 (.600) from three. On the defensive end of the floor, Jordan generated a career-best four steals. The Green Bay, Wis., native is the first Maverick to reach the 30-point plateau since Ali Wilkinson netted 35 points against Augustana on Jan. 4, 2014. Jordan has reached double figures in scoring in the last four games and eight total times this season.
Back-to-Back: Senior
Claire Ziegler registered back-to-back double-doubles last weekend. The Mankato, Minn., native posted a game-high 20 points and team-best 10 rebounds against Sioux Falls. Ziegler closed the weekend with a team-best 13 rebounds and 12 points against Southwest Minnesota State. The forward has tallied four double-doubles this season and 14 times total in her career.
In the Last Four: Minnesota State is 2-2 in its last four games with wins over Minot State and Southwest Minnesota State. Over the four game stretch, the Mavericks are out scoring their opponents by 9.3 points. Senior
Claire Jordan (18.5), senior
Claire Ziegler (14.0), and sophomore
Taylor Klug (12.3) are all averaging double digits in scoring during the four game span.
Suffocating Defense: Minnesota State held Concordia-St. Paul to a season-low 45 points on Dec. 15. That was the first time the Mavericks limited a team to under 50 points since holding Upper Iowa to 48 points on Feb. 10, 2017.
Scouting Concordia-St. Paul: Concordia-St. Paul is located in St. Paul, Minn., and enters the week with a 5-14 (2-11 NSIC) overall record. Most recently, the Golden Bears fell short against Sioux Falls, 84-56. Amanda Johnson leads CSP in her second season.
As a unit, Concordia-St. Paul is netting 62.8 points per game in comparison to its opponents' 73.2. The Golden Bears are also pulling down 33.3 rebounds and distributing 11.6 assists per contest.
The last time these two teams met, Minnesota State rolled past Concordia-St. Paul, 70-45, at Taylor Center. Minnesota State is 6-4 in the last 10 meetings between these two programs. However, Concordia-St. Paul holds the slight edge in the all-time series, 17-15.
Looking Ahead: Minnesota State returns home to face Minnesota Crookston on Friday. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m.
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