MINOT STATE UNIVERSITY GAMEDAY
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL 2010-11
THIS WEEK: Minot State plays four games in five days as the Beavers travel to Valley City State Thursday and Jamestown College Friday for the Dakota Athletic Conference opener, returns home for a nonconference game against Brandon University (Manitoba) Sunday and heads to Winnipeg, Manitoba to take on the University of Manitoba Monday. Game times for the conference matchups are 5:30 p.m. both nights and 4 p.m. for the Brandon game and 7 p.m. at Winnipeg.
RECORDS: Minot State is 4-1 having not played since Nov. 14 due to weather related cancellations. Valley City State comes into the weekend 4-4, Jamestown College is 6-2, Brandon is 0-10 and Manitoba is 3-6.
COACHES CORNER: Minot State's Sheila Green Gerding is in her 16th season at the helm of the Beavers. She has a record of 272 wins, 177 losses at Minot State and overall. VCSU is led by Jill DeVries who is 127-170 in 12 seasons. JC's head coach is Greg Ulland who is 6-2 in his first season. Brandon is led by third-year head coach Jaime Taggart. Manitoba's head coach is Pam Danis who is 91-104 in six seasons
RANKINGS: MSU slipped one spot from the preseason poll to No. 14 in the latest version of the NAIA Women's Basketball Coaches Top 25 Poll. VCSU and JC both received votes in the poll but were not ranked.
RECENT HISTORY: The Beavers won a pair of games Dec. 13 and 14, defeating Montana State-Northern and Briercrest College (Saskatchewan).VCSU split two games on the road, defeating Briar Cliff University (Iowa) 77-66, before losing to the University of Sioux Falls 66-39. Brandon lost to Manitoba in a pair of contests at the end of November.
LAST SEASON: MSU split with both Valley City State and Jamestown College. Each team won on its home court in the VCSU series, while each road team picked up a win in the JC series. MSU only played Brandon once last year in exhibition.
OVERALL SERIES: MSU trails Jamestown College 43-32 in the overall series dating back to 1980, but leads Valley City State 39-38 in a series dating back to 1976. MSU is 32-12 overall against Brandon, including 14 straight and 25 of the past 29. This is the first time Minot State and the University of Manitoba have played.
NOTING THE VIKINGS: Two different Valley City State players lead the Dakota Athletic Conference in an individual statistical category. Caitlyn Wojahn is tops in the conference in steals per game at 3.0, while Mandi Bindas is the top rebounder by average at 7.75… Head coach Jill DeVries has the third longest tenure in the conference as her 12 seasons trail only MSU's Sheila Green Gerding (16 seasons) and South Dakota Mines' Barb Felderman (30th season)… Thursday's game against Minot State marks the fifth time in nine games and third straight time the Vikings will play a team either in the NAIA top 25 poll or at least receiving votes.
NOTING THE JIMMIES: Jamestown College has scored points in bunches through its first eight games, averaging 80.1 points per game, tops in the Dakota Athletic Conference… JC has hit 221 field goals out of 497 taken for a 44.5 percent clip… Bridget Schuneman is a big part of that stellar shooting as she has made 69.5 percent of her shots so far this season… The Jimmies are coming off a second-round NAIA national tournament appearance last season, going 26-7 overall in 2009-10… JC head coach Greg Ulland begins his first season after taking over for Mark Wiest, who was the Jimmies head coach for six seasons.
NOTING THE BOBCATS: Brandon University has had a tough start to the 2010-11 season, dropping all 10 of its Canada West games… The game against Minot State is an exhibition game… The Bobcats have struggled on both sides of the court, giving up 90 or more points in eight straight games, while failing to score 50 points four times… Madison Bradbury leads the team in scoring at 10.2 points per game.
NOTING THE BISONS: Manitoba is on a three-game winning streak after dropping its first six games of the season… The game is a make-up date for one of two postponed games originally scheduled for Minot in November… Kayla Klassen leads the Bisons in three different categories including points, rebounds and assists… The game will be played at a high school gym as Manitoba rents out its home court, Investors Group Athletic Centre, during days the team is off.
GIVE ME A BREAK: Minot State had two games vs. the University of Manitoba postponed due to weather Nov. 19 and 20, resulting in a huge layoff between games. MSU hasn't played since defeating Briercrest College Nov. 14 – a span that will reach 18 days off heading into the Valley City State game.
SHOOTING THE ROCK: Minot State is No. 3 in the country in 3-point field goal percentage, hitting 42.3 percent on the season. The Beavers Kallie Erickson (Sr., G, Fordville, N.D.) has hit 48.1 percent on the season, good for No. 18 in NAIA Division II. Caroline Folven (Sr., C, Byron, Ill.) actually leads the squad with a 57.1 percent clip, but has taken only seven 3s. Fellow seniors Whitney Loftesnes (G, Velva, N.D.) and Kelly Pankratz (G, Malta, Mont.) along junior Dora Garza (G, San Antonio, Texas) have hit 42.9, 42.9 and 44.4 percent so far this season.
NOT SHOOTING THE ROCK: MSU has been just about as good stopping the 3 as it has been shooting it. The Beavers have allowed just 28.3 percent shooting from beyond the arc from its opponents through five games.
SPREADING THE WEALTH: During the Beavers first five games, MSU only has one player averaging double figures in scoring (Caroline Folven, 11.6 ppg.). But the Beavers have seven players averaging at least 5 points per game and another three averaging 4 points per game.
STINGY ON D: Minot State leads the conference in points per game, giving up just 291 points in five games. The Beavers have allowed just 58.2 per game and only a 35.6 percent shooting overall.
– GO BEAVERS –
