THIS WEEK: Minot State begins the 2016-17 season on the road at MIAA teams RV-Washburn University Friday (2 p.m.) and Central Missouri Saturday (7:30 p.m.) in nonconference play.

RECORDS: MSU is 0-0 overall and is 0-0 in Northern Sun play as it begins the season. Washburn and Central Missouri also begin their respective seasons this weekend.

COACHES CORNER: Minot State is coached by Sheila Green Gerding. In her 22nd season at the helm of the Beaver women's basketball program, Green Gerding has amassed an impressive 357-257 overall record. Green Gerding is the Beavers all-time wins leader and has all 357 wins at MSU. Ron McHenry begins his 16th season running the show at Washburn. McHenry is 374-94 overall in his career, including a 2004-05 National Championship. Central Missouri's head coach is Dave Slifer. Sifler is 227-129 in 13 seasons and is 51st all-time in the NCAA with 611 wins total.

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: None of the three team involved were ranked in the first WBCA Division II Top 25 poll or the D2SIDA Media Poll but Washburn received three votes in the WBCA poll.

RECENT HISTORY: Minot State opened the exhibition season with an 87-75 loss to former Dakota Athletic Conference rival Dickinson State at Dickinson two weeks ago. Madison Wald and Kari Clements paced the Beavers with 18 and 16 points respectively. Washburn went 0-2 in exhibition play, but played NCAA Division I teams Kansas State (L 66-31) and the University of Kansas (L 81-57) on the road. Alyxis Bowens, Felisha Gibbs and Reagan Phelan all finished with 10 points against the Jayhawks. Central Missouri also opened with a DI opponent, falling 65-35 at Missouri. UCM didn't have a player reach double figures as Megan Skaggs scored nine to lead the team.

ALL-TIME AT A GLANCE: The Beavers have played just one game against Washburn last season at the MSU Dome in the all-time against this weekend's opponents. MSU is 0-1 against WU.

LAST TIME OUT: Washburn outscored Minot State 28-15 in the second quarter and then help off a late charge to defeat Minot State 88-78 at the Dome in the second game of the season in 2015-16. MSU had five players in double figures with Madison Wald and Savana Kingsbury leading the way with 13 apiece. Erika Lane hit five 3-pointers on her way to 25 points to pace the Ichabods.

NOTING THE ICHABODS: Washburn University had an up and down season in 205-16, finishing tied for sixth with an 11-11 record in conference and 15-14 overall… Senior Alyxis Bowens scored 333 points and finished with an 11.5 average per game… Erika Lane topped the team in assists with 3.1 per game and was second in scoring at 10.0… Washburn was picked to finish third in the MIAA by the league coaches… Charisma Alexander played one season at Division I Stephen F. Austin, finishing with a 4.2 points and 4.0 rebounds per game averages as a freshman.

NOTING THE JENNIES: Central Missouri will play fellow NSIC team Concordia-St. Paul Friday before taking on Minot State Saturday… UCM finished 11-18 last season overall… Like Minot State, UCM has a lot of youth on its roster as eight of its 13 players are either freshmen or sophomores… One freshman, Divine Ndu, is tall – standing 6-foot-5 – and is a highly decorated recruit for the Jennies as she was a McDonald's All-American nominee in 2016… Ashley Duffy has the most experience for UCM with 24 starts last season, finishing third on the team averaging 8.8 points per game.

DYNAMIC DUO: Minot State will rely heavily on a pair of sophomore guards in Kari Clements and Madison Wald. Clements had a breakout season in 2015-16 as she was named to the All-NSIC Freshman Team after averaging 9.4 points, 2.13 rebounds and 1.4 assists. Wald had a solid start to her career, averaging 5.1 points and 1.7 rebounds. The pair combined for 34 points in MSU exhibition game at Dickinson State two weeks ago.

THE RETURN OF D: Junior Diondra Denton sat out all of 2015-16 with an injury and will look to get back to her 2014-15 form. Denton started 19 games as a sophomore and averaged 9.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists, finishing ninth in the NSIC in field goal percentage at 49.2. She has played in 54 games in two season for MSU.

WINS, WINS AND MORE WINS: The three coaches involved have been on the winning side the majority of the time. MSU's head coach Sheila Green Gerding is the team's all-time wins leader with 357. Washburn's Ron McHenry has 374 wins to just 94 losses and a National Championship under his belt. But both take a back seat to Dave Slifer at UCM. Sifler has 227 wins at UCM, but is 51 st all-tim in the NCAA with 611 wins in his career.

YOUTH MOVEMENT: MSU will put a young lineup on the court as the Beavers have just one senior in guard Kori Eurich. The Beavers have 10 sophomores or freshman on the team and all will look to earn playing time.

BY THE NUMBERS
6-4: Height in feet and inches of MSU freshman forward Sam Brizee, making her one of the tallest players to put on an MSU uniform.

28.6: Minot State's 3-point shooting percentage in 2015-16, a number the Beavers look to improve on. MSU hit just 140 3-pointers last season and were outscored by 12.9 points per game from beyond the arc.

85.7: Free throw percentage by Madison Wald last season, leading the team from the line. She missed just three free throws all season.