MANKATO, Minn. --- The Minnesota State women's basketball team will begin Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) play Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m., at Taylor Center, hosting the Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears.

Mavericks at a Glance: Minnesota State (3-1, 0-0 NSIC), enters the week after handily defeating the Bethany Lutheran Vikings Monday night at Taylor Center, 98-46, a game which saw seven Mavericks score in double figures.  

Impact Mavericks: Junior forward Taylor Drost is the leading scorer for the Mavericks averaging 11 points per game, including a career best 21-point outing against the the Michigan Tech Huskies. Senior guard Monica Muth is also averaging double figure points per game with 10.3, and leads the team with nine three pointers made, shooting them at 52.9%.  Sophomore forward Brooke Tonsfeldt is the leading Maverick in rebounds averaging 7.3 per game and also is averaging 2.8 steals per game.  

Stat Pack: As a team Minnesota State is averaging 78.5 points per game in comparison to its opponents' 62.8. Additionally, the Mavericks average 40.8 rebounds per game and dish out 15.8 assists per game.

Scouting Concordia-St. Paul:  Concordia-St. Paul is located in St. Paul, Minn., and is currently 4-1 on the season. The Golden Bears are members of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). Concordia-St. Paul is led by head coach Amanda Johnson who is in her third full season with the program.    

As a team this season, the Golden Bears net 69.8 points per game in comparison to its opponents' 59.2. Concordia-St. Paul also snatches 39.2 rebounds and dishes out 15.6 assists per contest. 

The Golden Bears are led by senior center Lindsay Dorr who is averaging 21.4 points and 9.4 rebounds per game.  Senior guard Anna Schmitt is the second leading scorer for the team averaging 15.2 points per game.  Senior guard Kyrah Fredenburg is the second leading rebounder for the Golden Bears averaging 9.0 per game.  

Saturday's game will mark the 34th all-time meeting between these two programs, the most recent of which was a 74-72 loss to Concordia-St. Paul.

Looking Ahead: Minnesota State will take to the road and face off against Southwest Minnesota State Friday, Dec. 7 at 5:30 p.m., before taking on Sioux Falls Saturday, at 4:00 p.m.