FULL PDF NOTEBOOK   |  LIVE STATS  |  LIVE VIDEO   |  LIVE AUDIO  |  TICKETS

RECORDS: Minot State is 5-0 overall and 1-0 in Northern Sun play this season. Northern State sits identical to the Beavers with a 5-0 overall record and a 1-0 mark in NSIC play. Minnesota State-Moorhead has one blemish on the season, coming at hands of NSU. The Dragons are 4-1 overall and 0-1 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

COACHES CORNER: Minot State's is coached by Sheila Green Gerding. In her 19th season at the helm of the Beaver women's basketball program, Green Gerding has amassed an impressive 320-213 overall record. She has qualified Minot State for six NAIA National Tournaments over her career while also coaching 12 All-Americans both at the NAIA and NCAA Division II levels.  The Wolves are coached by longtime head coach Curt Fredrickson. Fredrickson is in his 35th season as head coach of NSU and has a career mark of 727-270. During Fredrickson's tenure, the Wolves have played in five NAIA national tournaments, winning the NAIA II national title in 1991-92 and 1993-94, finishing second in 1992-93 and claiming third in 1980-81. The Dragons are coached by Karla Nelson. Nelson is in her 14th season with the Dragons, notching a 228-149 overall record. Under her supervision, the MSU-M program has had 13 straight winning seasons including an NSIC Championship season in 2004-05 when the Dragons went 24-7.

FOLLOW THE BEAVERS: The game is broadcast locally on KCJB 910-AM with Scott Kittell calling the play-by-play. Live audio can be accessed online at kcjb.com. MSU provides live video and live stats as well as links to the live audio at msubeavers.com. Minot State Athletics also is active on Facebook, Twitter and You Tube with all feeds accessible at msubeavers.com/stayconnected.

RANKINGS: All three teams did not receive any votes in the Dec. 3 USA Today Division II Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll.

RECENT HISTORY: Minot State opened up their 2013-14 NSIC schedule on fire as they raced out to a 26-5 advantage on their way to a 79-72 win over rival University of Mary. The Beavers used a strong first half, scoring 43 points including going 6-of-10 from beyond the arc. MISU now has a 2-1 advantage over the Marauders since the Beavers fully entered the Northern Sun in 2012. Northern State and Minnesota State-Moorhead faced each other in their NSIC opener games, with the Wolves winning the matchup of two 4-0 teams 96-88. Both teams had five players score in double figures, led by NSU's Megan Mutchler with 24 points. MSU-Moorhead shot just 5-of-20 behind the three-point line in the loss.

OVERALL SERIES: Historically, Minot State has had little success against either of the opponents this weekend. Northern State holds a 18-3 all-time advantage over the Beavers. However, MISU did win the last matchup on Feb. 22, 2012 as they beat NSU on their home floor 60-50. Minnesota State-Moorhead and Minot State have faced each other 17 times throughout their history, with the Dragons winning 14 of those games.

NOTING THE WOLVES: Like the Beavers, Northern State is off to a perfect 5-0 overall start. The Wolves' offense has been hot as of late; in their last two games NSU has averaged 88.5 points per game. Northern State has a strong post player in Rachel Krogman who averages a double-double with 16.4 points per game and 10.0 rebounds per game. It will be key to keep Krogman off the glass as she leads the Northern Sun with 4.4 offensive rebounds per game. The Wolves also do a great job taking care of the ball, as they are the only team in the NSIC to average less than 10.0 turnovers per game (9.4 turnovers per game). Another scoring threat for NSU is Alison Kusler who averages 12.2 points per game while also grabbing 5.2 rebounds per game.

NOTING THE DRAGONS: The Minnesota State-Moorhead women's basketball program has been a solid program in the Northern Sun for the last 13 seasons, posting 13 consecutive winning seasons. Getting off to a 4-1 start, the Dragons have dominated on the glass as they lead the NSIC with a plus 9.2 rebounding margin. Morgan Zabel has been the catalyst for MSU-Moorhead as she averages a team-high 18.6 points per game as well as a team-high 7.2 rebounds per game. Megan Strese and Meghan Roehrich also average double-digit points per game for the Dragons. In the loss against NSU,, Strese was a perfect 11-of-11 from the field on her way to scoring a game-high 23 points.

BOAG'S FIERY START: Coming off an Honorable Mention All-American season as a junior, Carly Boag (Sr., F, Tamworth, Australia) has had a stellar start to her senior campaign. Boag leads the NSIC and ranks No. 8 in all of NCAA Division II in both points per game (23.0 ppg) and field goal percentage (65.7 percent). She also ranks tied for No. 15 in the nation with three double-doubles through five games.

SIBLING STEALS COMPETITION: Twin sisters Carly Boag (Sr., F, Tamworth, Australia) and Christina Boag (Jr., F, Tamworth, Australia) are tied for the NSIC lead in steals per game, each averaging 3.4 steals per game. The Boags' ability to steal the basketball has helped the Beaver defense rank fifth in the NSIC in steals and also fifth in scoring defense, allowing just 60.6 points per game.

BIG SHOT LESTER: Leading just 47-42 midway through the second half against University of Mary, Minot State's Sarah Lester (So., G, Frenchtown, Mont.) hit three-pointers on consecutive posessions to bring the lead to 53-42. Those were six of her eight points for the game as she helped the Beavers to a 79-72 win.

CHARITY STRIPE SUCCESS: The Beavers have been a much improved team this season on the free throw line. A season ago, MISU shot just 72.1 percent from the line, compared to this season the Beavers are shooting 75.7 percent. Four Minot State players are shooting above 80 percent from the line, led by Alisha Jones (Sr., G, Killeen, Texas) with 89.5 percent.

BEAVERS GET EASY BUCKETS: One of the biggest keys to the early success of the Beavers has been their ability to make passes to get easy baskets. MISU averages 19.8 assists per game, ranking them second in the Northern Sun and No. 12 in all of NCAA Division II. In the win against University of Mary, Minot State had 11 first half assists helping them jump out to a 43-26 advantage.

SCORING OPTIONS: A season ago, the Beavers had just two players finish the season averaging double digit points per game. Five games into the 2013-14 season, Minot State appears to have a wealth of scoring options as four players are averaging 10.0-plus points per game. Carly Boag (Sr., F, Tamworth, Australia) leads the team with 23.0 ppg while Katie Hardy (Jr., F, Fairview, N.D.), Alisha Jones (Sr., G, Killeen, Texas) and Christina Boag (Jr., F, Tamworth, Australia) are all averaging between 11.2 and 12.6 ppg.

BY THE NUMBERS
1,275: The trio of coaches Sheila Green Gerding, Curt Fredrickson and Karla Nelson has combined for an astounding 1,275 career wins.

1,073: Minot State ranks fourth in the Northern Sun in women's basketball attendance as an average of 1,073 fans come to the Dome for every game. St. Cloud State leads the NSIC with 1,478 fans per game.

31.4: Alisha Jones (Sr., G, Killeen, Texas) has shown leadership and seen increased numbers in many ways during the 2013-14 season, especially in her minutes played. Jones leads Minot State with 31.4 minutes per game, a jump of 6.4 minutes per game from a season ago.