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RECORDS: Minot State is 9-3 overall and 5-3 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play this season. Upper Iowa is currently 4-8 overall and 3-5 in the NSIC while Winona State sits with a 8-4 overall mark and a 4-4 record in the Northern Sun.

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 324-216 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 Peacocks are coached by Carol Russell who is in her fourth season at the helm of the UIU women's basketball program. During her time at Upper Iowa, Russell has totaled a record of 15-79. The Warriors are coached by Scott Ballard who is in his tenth season as head coach of the WSU program. Ballard has an overall record of 158-117 as Winona State while for his 24 years as a head coach he has a record of 427-249. He has coached the Warriors to two NCAA Division II National Tournaments over his tenure, the latest coming in 2010-11 when WSU went 21-9 overall while capturing the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament crown.

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: Minot State, Upper Iowa and Winona State did not receive any votes in the Dec. 18 USA Today Division II Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll.

RECENT HISTORY: After their worst performance of the 2013-14 season in a 84-57 loss at the hands of No. 14 Wayne State College, the Beavers responded in a big way, picking up their first ever win over a NCAA Division II nationally ranked opponent. Minot State took down No. 13 Augustana College 88-71 in front of 915 fans at the Minot State Dome on Saturday Jan. 4. MISU matched their season-high for points in a game as they scored 44 points in each half on their way to victory. Minot State shot above average from the floor, from beyond the arc and from the free throw stripe in the win. Upper Iowa lost two NSIC road matchups over the weekend, falling to both Minnesota Crookston (80-69) and Bemidji State (64-59). The Peacocks shot just below their season average, making 40.8 percent (51-of-125) from the field. Winona State was able to split against UMC and BSU on the road as they doubled-up Bemidji State 62-31 before falling to Minnesota Crookston 71-58. In the win over BSU, the Warriors held the Beavers to just 16.7 percent shooting from the floor and an 0-of-20 mark on three-point shots.

OVERALL SERIES: Minot State has had success against both Upper Iowa and Winona State in the only matchups against the two opponents in school history. The Beavers defeated UIU 78-63 a season ago and then a day later defeated Winona State 59-57. Both games were played at the Minot State Dome in MISU's first season in the Northern Sun.

NOTING THE PEACOCKS: Upper Iowa has increased their win total from the previous season each of the last two years and it appears they are on their way to do so again in 2013-14. The Peacocks have four wins already this year, compared to just seven wins all of last season. All-Conference player Whitney Kieffer leads UIU with 17.6 points per game while also pulling down 5.3 rebounds per game. Junior Lauren Buck is having a notable season with 9.9 points per game and a team-high 7.8 rebounds per game. Rebounding has been a strong point for Upper Iowa this season as they rank third in the Northern Sun plus 6.4 rebounding margin. However, UIU has struggled offensively, ranking No. 14 in the NSIC in points per game (64.6) and No. 15 in scoring margin as they get outscored by an average of 6.8 points per game. The Peacocks have had success at free throw stripe in 2013-14 as they are shooting 76.6 percent from the line through 12 games.

NOTING THE WARRIORS: A strong defense is definitely the calling card of the Winona State women's basketball team this season. The Warriors rank first in the Northern Sun in scoring defense, giving up just 55.4 points per game so far this season. That mark also puts Winona State ninth in all of NCAA Division II. WSU has held their opponent under 50 points four times this season, all ending up in Winona State victories. Abby Busch has been Winona State's main source of offense as the senior is averaging 16.5 points per game. Tessa Wells is second on the team in scoring with 7.8 points per game while also grabbing 2.3 rebounds per game and a team-high 4.2 assists per game.

LONG TIME COMING: Minot State beat their first NCAA Division II nationally ranked opponent in nearly three years as they took down No. 13 Augustana College 88-71 Saturday night. The historic win is the ninth win for MISU this season and is the first win over a ranked opponent of any sorts since Feb. 18, 2011 when they defeated No. 9 Black Hills State University 70-49.

STARTING FIVE GETTING IT DONE: The Minot State starting five has been the same for 11-of-12 games during the 2013-14 season and they have shown their ability to carry the scoring load. In the 88-71 win over No. 13 Augustana College, all five starters scored in double digits led by Carly Boag's (Sr., F, Tamworth, Australia) season-high 32 points. Minot State is the only team in the NSIC to have five players average 10.0 or more points per game.

Minot State starting five points per game
Senior    Carly Boag            21.9 ppg
Senior    Alisha Jones        11.8 ppg
Junior     Katie Hardy          11.3 ppg
Junior     Morgan Klose      11.2 ppg
Junior     Christina Boag    11.0 ppg

ASSISTING OTHERS FIRST: From the beginning of the season, Minot State has been at the top of the Northern Sun in regards to assists per game. The Beavers are averaging 19.9 assists per game as a team which ranks them No. 1 in the NSIC but also No. 4 in all of NCAA Division II. Alisha Jones (Sr., G, Killeen, Texas) averages 4.9 assists per game, leading the team and ranking No. 4 in the NSIC.

EFFICIENCY FROM BEHIND THE ARC: Although the Beavers don't shoot many three-point shots per game (17.7 attempts per game), MISU is one of the best in the conference and country at executing the long ball. Minot State is shooting 38.7 percent from beyond the arc ranking them No. 2 in the NSIC and No. 9 in all of NCAA Division II. Alisha Jones (Sr., G, Killeen, Texas) is shooting 48.9 percent while Morgan Klose (Jr., G, Fairview, N.D.) is shooting 42.2 percent on three-pointers for the season. Klose has hit 98 three-point shots during her career at Minot State.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE TROUBLE: With 32 points and 14 rebounds in the win over No. 13 Augustana College, Carly Boag (Sr., F, Tamworth, Australia) recorded her seventh double-double of her senior season. Both stats were recorded as season-highs for Boag, who now has 22 double-doubles in her last 39 games at Minot State. The Beavers are 6-1 this year when Boag records a double-double.

BOAG CLIMBING THE RANKS: Carly Boag (Sr., F, Tamworth, Australia) leads the Northern Sun in scoring so far this season, averaging 21.9 points per game. Boag has scored 263 points total 12 games into her senior year and current ranks third on the Minot State women's basketball all-time scoring list with 1,454 career points. On Dec. 14 against Minnesota Duluth, Boag passed MacKenzie Mack who now sits fourth on the All-Time Scoring list. Next up on Boag's quest is NAIA All-American Kayla Blom with 1,620 points. If Boag continues her pace, she will pass Blom on Feb. 1 at Minnesota State.

MISU Women's Basketball All-Time Leaders
1,710    Kendra Meyer            2004-2008
1,620    Kayla Blom                1998-2002
1,454    Carly Boag                 2010-Present
1,372    MacKenzie Mack       2006-2010
1,249    Jamie Lamoureux    1999-2003
 
STEALS FOR DAYS: Minot State ranks second in the Northern Sun with 10.1 steals per game, ranking just 1.6 steals per game behind Minnesota State (11.7 spg). Sisters Carly Boag (Sr., F, Tamworth, Australia) and Christina Boag (Jr., F, Tamworth, Australia) rank No. 1 & No. 3 in the NSIC with 3.6 and 2.3 steals per game. On the national scene, Carly ranks No. 9 in all of NCAA Division II in taking the ball away from the opponent. She has 221 career steals in 93 games as a Beaver.

BY THE NUMBERS
38: Getting the ball inside was a key for Minot State in the 88-71 win over No. 13 Augustana College as the Beavers scored 38 points in the paint. That's the second most points in the paint the teams has had this season as they had 44 points in the paint in the 88-55 win over Presentation College.

25: Carly Boag (Sr., F, Tamworth, Australia) has been the cornerstone for the MISU offense, leading the team in scoring for each of the last two seasons and so far in the 2013-14 season. Boag has scored 20 points or more nine times this season and a total of 25 times since the beginning of her sophomore season.

89.2: The strength of Katie Hardy (Jr., F, Fairview, N.D.) offensively has always been her mid-range jump shot and free throws. Hardy is shooting a team-high 89.2 percent from the free throw stripe this season. She is tied for sixth in the NSIC and tied for No. 36 in all of NCAA Division II.