FULL PDF NOTEBOOK   |  LIVE STATS AT MSUM  |  LIVE STATS AT NSU  |  LIVE VIDEO   |  LIVE AUDIO

THIS WEEK: Minot State University women's basketball will close out the 2013-14 regular season on the road as they take on two tough NSIC North Division opponents in crucial games this weekend. The Beavers will take on Minnesota State University Moorhead on Friday Feb. 21 at 6 p.m. and then Northern State on Saturday Feb. 22 at 4 p.m.

RECORDS: The Beavers are 17-7 overall and 13-7 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play this season. MSU Moorhead is currently 16-8 overall and 12-8 in the NSIC while Northern State sits with a 19-5 overall mark and a 15-5 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 331-219 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 Dragons are coached by Karla Nelson. Nelson is in her 14th season with the Dragons, notching a 240-156 overall record. Under her supervision, the MSU-M program has had 14 straight winning seasons including an NSIC Championship season in 2004-05 when the Dragons went 24-7. 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 741-275. 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.

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: For the sixth consecutive week, Minot State received votes in the USA TODAY NCAA Division II Coaches' Poll. On the Feb.18 edition of the poll, MISU received three points in the poll. Northern State cracked the top 25 as they are ranked No. 22 in the poll while MSU Moorhead did not receive any votes.

RECENT HISTORY: Minot State closed out their regular season home schedule with two wins as they beat University of Sioux Falls 68-67 on Friday night before beating Southwest Minnesota State University 76-66 on Saturday. MISU won both games despite shooting just 13.5 percent from beyond the arc on the weekend. MSU Moorhead pushed their season-high winning streak to six games as they defeated two highly touted NSIC South Division Opponents. MSUM defeated Augustana College on Friday night 78-76 before defeating No. 8 Wayne State College 61-50 on Saturday. In the win over WSC, the Dragons opened the second half with a 28-8 run. Northern State lost both their games on the weekend as they fell to Wayne State College 67-63 on Friday night and then to Augustanan College on Saturday, 79-62. NSU hadn't lost two consecutive games since they fell to Minot State and University of Mary on Dec. 6 & 7, 2013.

OVERALL SERIES: Historically, Minot State has had little success against either of the opponents they will face this weekend. Northern State holds a 18-4 all-time advantage over the Beavers.. Minnesota State University Moorhead and Minot State have faced each other 18 times throughout their history, with the Dragons winning 14 of those games. However, the Beavers beat both of these teams at the Minot State Dome on Dec. 6 & 7 earlier this season.

NOTING THE DRAGONS: Minnesota State University Moorhead has tallied 14 consecutive winning seasons under coach Karla Nelson, in large part due to the team's ability to rebound the basketball. The Dragons are averaging 40.4 rebounds per game and have a rebound margin over plus 8.0 rebounds per game, the second best mark in the NSIC. Megan Strese leads MSU Moorhead with 8.9 rebounds per game and is also second on the team in scoring with 13.7 points per game. Mogan Zabel is Dragons top scorer, averaging 16.1 points per game on the season. As a team, MSUM ranks seventh in the NSIC in scoring offense with a 71.8 points per game average.

NOTING THE WOLVES: Northern State has been one of the hottest teams in all of NCAA Division II basketball as they have won 14 of their last 17 games. The Wolves have shown the ability to stop their opponents, ranking second in the Northern Sun and 25th in all of NCAA Division II by giving up just 60.2 points per game. NSU also leads the NSIC in rebounds per game with 43.2 rebounds per game while also ranking seventh in the national with a plus 9.5 rebounding margin over their opponents. The Wolves have three players with a double-digit scoring average led by Alison Kusler with 16.3 points per game followed by Rachel Krogman with 15.6 points per game. Krogman also leads the team in rebounds and ranks second in the conference with 10.4 rebounds per game.  

CARLY'S BIG WEEKEND: Carly Boag (Sr., F, Tamworth, Australia) had the best weekend of her career in wins over USF and SMSU. The senior scored 28 points and grabbed 18 rebounds in the win over USF and then scored a career-high 39 points and grabbed another 18 rebounds in the win over SMSU. The 39 points was not only a best for Boag, but it set a new single-game record for Minot State. With a free-throw in the second half Boag also surpassed Kendra Meyer as the all-time leading scorer in MISU women's basketball history. She now has 1,718 career points, ranking her No. 26 in active career points in all of NCAA Division II.

MISU Women's Basketball All-Time Leaders
1,718    Carly Boag              2010-Present
1,710    Kendra Meyer         2004-2008
1,620    Kayla Blom             1998-2002
1,372    MacKenzie Mack    2006-2010
 
NSIC PLAYER OF THE WEEK…AGAIN: For the second time this season and fifth time in the last two years, Carly Boag (Sr., F, Tamworth, Australia) was named NSIC Player of the Week on Feb. 17. Boag finished with a 33.5 points and 18 rebounds per game average on the weekend while also notching 15 offensive rebounds, nine steals, a block and an assist in two games. Boag leads the NSIC with 22.0 points per game 10.8 rebounds per game, 3.1 steals per game and a 59.6 field goal percentage.

RECORD BREAKING YEAR:  Carly Boag (Sr., F, Tamworth, Australia) has put up some impressive numbers throughout her career and will go out as one of the best players in Minot State and NSIC history. Along with breaking the MISU scoring record, Boag is currently tied with Jheri Booker (Minnesota Duluth, 2009-10) for the NSIC single-season scoring record with 431 points in conference games during a season. She is already the MISU career-rebounding leader and is just 19 rebounds away from 1,000 career rebounds. Boag is also just 61 rebounds away from breaking her own single-season rebounding record of 319 rebounds.

Carly Boag's career at a glance
Year                    Season        Games    Pts. (PPG)       Rebs. (RPG)    Steals (SPG)    FG Pct.
Freshman         2010-11        28            301 (10.8)        182 (6.5)          49 (1.8)             56.9%
Sophomore      2011-12        26            404 (15.5)        221 (8.5)          56 (2.1)             55.0%
Junior                2012-13        27            486 (18.0)        319 (11.8)        73 (2.7)             55.7%
Senior               2013-14        24             527 (22.0)       259 (10.8)        75 (3.1)             59.5%
Career              2010-14       105           1,718 (16.4)    981 (9.3)           253 (2.4)          56.8%

QUITELY SCORING: Minot State junior Katie Hardy (F, Fairview, N.D.) hasn't broken any records first year back after redshirting a season ago. However, Hardy is one of the main reasons for MISU's success and she is quietly having the best year of her collegiate career. Hardy scored 20 and 15 points during the Beavers' two wins on the weekend. She is averaging 12.5 points per game 5.3 rebounds per game while also shooting a team-high 88.5 percent from charity stripe.

3-POINT SHOOTING WOES: The Beavers rank fifth in the NSIC in 3-point shooting percentage with a 33.6 percent average. Unfortunately, MISU was nowhere near that mark this past weekend as they hit just 5-of-37 (13.5 percent) 3-pointers against USF and SMSU. Minot State has made just 132 3-pointers this season, putting them No. 12 in the NSIC. However, these numbers are much improved from the 2012-13 season when MISU made just 92 shots from beyond the arc for a 28.2 shooting percentage.

TOUGH ROAD AHEAD: Minot State will play two of the best teams in the Northern Sun to close out their season, with both teams protecting their home court exceptionally well. The Dragons are 8-2 this season at home with losses to Minnesota State and Northern State, two nationally ranked opponents. Northern State is a perfect 11-0 at home this season. The Wolves are outscoring their opponents by 15.5 points per game on their home floor.

PLAYOFF SCENARIO: Just two games remain during the Northern Sun regular season, but the playoff picture is still unclear, with many possible outcomes pending on wins and losses from this coming weekend. The Beavers could finish anywhere from third to first place in the NSIC North. If MISU wins both games this weekend and University of Mary defeats Northern State on Friday, Minot State will be the North Division Champion.

Current NSIC North Division Standings
Team                          Overall Record    NSIC Record
Northern State          19-5                       15-5
Minot State                17-7                       13-7
University of Mary    15-8                        13-7
MSU Moorhead        16-8                       12-8

BY THE NUMBERS
9: Carly Boag (Sr., F, Tamworth, Australia) grabbed a career-high nine offensive rebounds in the win over SMSU on Saturday afternoon. Over her last six games, she has averaged 6.0 offensive rebounds per game.

17: When MSU Moorhead and the Beavers faced each other of Dec. 7, Minot State held MSUM just 17 points in the first half on their way to a 72-58 win over the Dragons.

79: Northern State allowed 79 points in a loss to Augustana College Saturday evening. It was the third most points they have given up in a game this season.