MANKATO, Minn. --- The Minnesota State women's basketball team will return home for a pair of NSIC games this weekend.  Friday, Dec. 14, the Mavericks will take on the Winona State Warriors and Saturday, they will face off against the Upper Iowa Peacocks.  

Mavericks at a Glance: Minnesota State (5-3, 1-2 NSIC), enters the week after dropping a pair of road contests last weekend.  Friday night the Mavericks nearly overcame an 11-point deficit in the final minutes to Southwest Minnesota State, but missed a buzzer beating contested layup that would have given them the win, giving the Mustangs a 74-73 win.  Saturday afternoon, Minnesota State kept its game with Sioux Falls close throughout, but ultimately fell short, dropping the game 80-68.  

Impact Mavericks: Junior forward Taylor Drost is the leading scorer for the Mavericks averaging 9.7 points per game, including a career best 21-point outing against the Michigan Tech Huskies. Sophomore forward Rachel Shumski is the second leading scorer on the team averaging 9.4 points per game and is the leading rebounder for the team averaging 6.4 rebounds per game.  Sophomore forward Brooke Tonsfeldt is averaging the second most rebounds with 6.4 per game and also is averaging 2.7 steals per game.

Freshman Fire: Several freshmen are making an early impact for the Mavericks this season.  Center Kristi Fett is averaging 6.6 points per game while also averaging 4.4 rebounds a game, and leading the team with 1.0 blocks per game. Guard Rylee Menster is averaging 6.6 points per game while shooting 53.8% from the floor and has made the second most free throws on the team with 13.

Stat Pack: As a team Minnesota State is averaging 76.9 points per game in comparison to its opponents' 66.4. Additionally, the Mavericks average 42.6 rebounds per game and dish out 15.7 assists per game.

Scouting Winona State:  Winona State is located in Winona, Minn., and is currently 4-3 (2-1 NSIC) on the season. The Warriors are members of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). Winona State is led by head coach Scott Ballard who is in his fifteenth season with the program.    

As a team this season, the Warriors net 63.4 points per game in comparison to its opponents' 59.1. Winona State also snatches 38.3 rebounds and dishes out 10.4 assists per contest. 

The Warriors are led by senior forward Rachel Novotny who is averaging 12.6 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.  Sophomore guard Allie Pickrain is the second leading scorer for the team averaging 12.1 points per game. 

Friday's game will mark the 53rd all-time meeting between these two programs, the most recent of which was a 90-67 win for the Mavericks.  

Scouting Upper Iowa: Upper Iowa is located in Fayette, Iowa, and is currently 3-7 (0-3 NSIC) on the season. The Peacocks are members of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). Upper Iowa is led by head coach Micha Thompson who is in her second season with the program.   

As a team this season, the Peacocks net 57.8 points per game in comparison to its opponents' 68.1. Sioux Falls also snatches 39.2 rebounds and dishes out 11.9 assists per contest. 

The Peacocks are led by sophomore guard Natalie Dinius who is averaging 10.9 points and 1.5 assists per game.  Senior forward Haley Martin is the leading rebounder for the team, averaging 6.8 rebounds per game.

Saturday's game will mark the 23rd all-time meeting between these two programs, the most recent of which was a 68-43 win for the Mavericks

Looking Ahead: Minnesota State will play a road exhibition game at Northern Iowa Wednesday, Dec. 19 at 5:00 p.m., before returning to conference action at Concordia-St. Paul Sunday, Dec. 30, at 2:00 p.m.