THIS WEEK: Minot State will test the road Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference waters for the first time this weekend, traveling to the University of Sioux Falls Friday (6 p.m.) and Marshall, Minn., for a Saturday tilt with Southwest Minnesota State (5 p.m.).

RECORDS: MSU is 4-4 overall and 1-1 in Northern Sun play. USF is 8-1 overall and 2-1 in league play. SMSU comes into the weekend at 1-7 overall and 0-3 in the NSIC.

COACHES CORNER: Minot State head coach Sheila Green Gerding reached the 350 wins mark in Saturday's win over Northern State. In her 21st season at the helm of the Beaver women's basketball program, Green Gerding has amassed an impressive 350-242 overall record. She is the Beavers all-time wins leader and has all 350 wins with the Beavers. 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. USF is coached by Travis Traphagen, who is 137-77 overall in his seventh season at the Cougars head coach. Allison Kruger is in her sixth season with SMSU and is 25-118 with the Mustangs and overall in her career.

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 – with Leif Bakken serving as the play-by-play announcer – and live stats as well as links to the live audio at msubeavers.com. Minot State Athletics also is active on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and You Tube with all feeds accessible at msubeavers.com/stayconnected.

RANKINGS: The University of Sioux Falls received votes in the WBCA Division II Coaches Top 25 Poll. Minot State and Southwest Minnesota State were named ranked in the lastest poll. Sioux Falls comes into the weekend tied for seventh in the latest D2SIDA Media Central Region Media Poll.

RECENT HISTORY: Minot State split its opening NSIC weekend, falling to Minnesota State University Moorhead in overtime, 81-72, but rebounding for a 69-61 win over Northern State. Against the Dragons, a team who received votes the last two weeks in the WBCA poll, MSU rallied from a 12-point deficit to tie the game on a layup by Kari Clements (RFr., G, Trevor, Wis.) with 6.6 seconds remaining, but couldn't sustain momentum as MSUM hit 16 free throws in the extra session. Alex Haley (Jr., G, Libertyville, Ill.) caught fire in the second half and finished with a season-high 23 points for the Beavers. Against NSU, MSU outscored the Wolves 25-15 in the fourth quarter to rally for the win. Savana Kingsbury (Sr., F, Omaha, Neb.) finished with 15 points and a career-high seven assists. USF split a weekend road series with Upper Iowa and Winona State, defeating UIU 72-62 before getting blown out by No. 10 Winona State 91-52. Taylor Varsho was the only Cougar to reach double figures both nights, scoring 13 in the loss at Winona after netting 10 in the win at UIU. SMSU lost twice in the road last week, falling 81-46 at Winona State and was edged 59-54 at Upper Iowa. Hope Bonlander scored 26 of the team's 54 points against UIU.

ALL-TIME AT A GLANCE: The Beavers are polar opposites with their two foes this weekend, having just two wins in eight games with Sioux Falls dating back to both team's NAIA days. The last win against the Cougars was a dramatic 68-67 win in 2013-14 at the Dome as a last second shot by USF was ruled just a two-point basket. The Beavers have won once at home and once in Sioux Falls. MSU has just one blemish against SMSU, sporting a 4-1 record against the Mustangs.

LAST TIME OUT: Mirroring the all-time results, Minot State split a pair of games at the MSU Dome last season with Sioux Falls and SMSU. The Beavers fell 71-61 at home against USF as Sam Knecht finished with 24 points for the Cougars. MSU was led by Christina Boag who finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds. The Beavers topped SMSU by 20, 71-51, the following night as Katie Hardy and Alex Haley (Jr., G, Libertyville, Ill.) scored 16 and 12 respectively. MSU was 15 for 22 (68.18) from the floor in the first half against the Mustangs.  

NOTING THE COUGARS: The University of Sioux Falls ran into a buzz saw in No. 10 ranked Winona State Saturday, snapping an eight-game winning streak to start the season… Taylor Varsho was named the NSIC South Division Preseason Player of the Year and has lived up to that billing, sporting a 17.3 points per game average to go along with 3.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists and steals average… Outside of Varsho, the Cougars have struggled on 3-pointers. The team has hit only 29.1 percent overall and Varsho is shooting at a 35.0 percent clip, going 28 for 80. She has 28 of the teams 62 triples as the remainder of the Cougars are just 34 for 133 (25.6 percent)… USF has solid balance behind Varsho as the team has five players averaging 7.8 points or better… Madi Robson has 46 assists on the season, the top mark in the NSIC at 5.1 per game. She also leads the NSIC with 2.6 assist-to-turnover ratio… Sam Knecht has been solid for the Cougars as she leads the team in rebounds (6.6 per game) and blocked shots (10) and is second in scoring (10.9).

NOTING THE MUSTANGS: Southwest Minnesota State has struggled offensively all season as the Mustangs have been held under 50 points three times and under 55 points six times... Hope Bonlander broke out Saturday at Upper Iowa, scoring 26 points and pulled down seven rebounds. She leads the Mustangs in both categories on the season with a 12.4 scoring average and a 5.8 rebounding average… The 26-point game isn't the top scoring output for SMSU on the season however, as Annessa Rosch scored 28 in the Mustangs' win over MSU Denver Nov. 28. Rosch, the team's second leading scorer, hit 10 of 15 shots and 5 of 8 3pointers in the win over MSU Denver… SMSU's scoring problems have been two-fold as the team is shooting just 25.5 percent from beyond the arc and has 160 turnovers, averaging 20 miscues per game…Lauren Hedlund has been steady for SMSU as she is third on the team in scoring (9.3), tied for second in rebounding (5.0) and second overall in steals (7) and blocked shots (5).

HALEY JUMPS TO THE TEAM LEAD: Minot State junior guard Alex Haley (Libertyville, Ill.) broke out for a career-high 23 points Friday against MSU Moorhead and it was mainly behind short-ranged jumpers. Haley has made a career out of the shot, but struggled early on Friday with that part of her game. She rebounded to go 10 for 23 in the game and finished the weekend shooting 14 for 31 overall, but a solid 13 for 25 on 2-point attempts. She has move into the lead in scoring for the Beavers at 11.8 points per game.

THESE CATS CAN COACH: MSU's Sheila Green Gerding reached 350 career wins Saturday, topping Northern State, who is coached by the enigmatic Curt Fredrickson. In that game, the two head coaches had a combined 1,127 wins. But such is the norm in the Northern Sun as six different coaches from the league are listed in the top 50 by victory in NCAA DII. Green Gerding, who isn't eligible until next year as you must have five seasons at the DII level, would have been No. 28 on that list.

NSIC COACHING LEGENDS        

Name	School	Years	Won	Loss	Pct.
Curt Fredrickson	NSU	36	773	285	.731
Dave Krauth	Augie	26	530	238	.690
Scott Ballard	WSU	25	449	270	.624
Chris Kielsmeier	WSC	15	351	90	.796
Sheila Green Gerding	MSU	21	346	239	.591
Paul Fessler	CSP	15	321	142	.693
Kara Nelson	MSUM	15	257	171	.600

*Totals at the start of the 2015-16 season

A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIEND SAVANA: While MSU senior Savana Kingsbury (F, Omaha, Neb.) has been steady all season for the Beavers, she hasn't been known for her passing prowress. The team's leader in rebounds (6.6 per game, 17 th in the NISC overall) and second overall in scoring (11.6 per game, 28 th in the NSIC), had just six assists in seven games coming into Saturday's matchup with Northern State. But the 6-foot-3 post showed she can distribute the ball as well, finishing with a career-high seven assists.

CROWDFUNDING EFFORT: Minot State fans have come out to see the Beavers early in the season as MSU is third in the Northern Sun in attendance overall with an average of 788 per home game. MSU was fourth overall last season at 968 per game and have been consistently in the top 5 in the NSIC during its four years in the league.

BY THE NUMBERS

4.75: MSU's plus-minus on turnover margin. The Beavers are fifth in the conference, causing 18.9 turnovers per game, but coughing up the ball just 14.1 times per outing.

10: Players for Minot State who have hit at least one 3-pointers despite no individual player with double figure makes. MSU has 10 of 12 players who have seen action with at least one, but the Beavers' leaders, Sarah Lester (Sr., G, Frenchtown, Mont.) and Kari Clements (RFr., G, Trevor, Wis.) have hit nine apiece.

73.1: Percent the Beavers are shooting from the line. While 73 percent is solid, it's just seventh best in the NSIC as four teams are hitting at least 75 percent, with Winona out in front with an excellent mark of 84.4 percent.