THIS WEEK: Minot State continues a three-game road swing to open Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play traveling to Northern State Friday (6 p.m.) and Minnesota State University Moorhead Saturday (4 p.m.).

RECORDS: MSU is 2-5 overall and is 0-1 in Northern Sun play. Northern State is 4-1 overall and is also 0-1 in the NSIC. MSUM is 1-0 in conference play and is 4-1 overall.

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 359-262 overall record. Green Gerding is the Beavers all-time wins leader and has all 359 wins at MSU. Northern State's Kurt Fredrickson is the second-winningest active NCAA Division II women's coach in the country having just hit 800 wins in his career. He is 800-294 in 37 years with NSU. Karla Nelson is in her 17th season as head coach at MSUM and has put together a solid 282-178 record with the Dragons.

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: Northern State earned votes in the latest WBCA Division II Top 25 poll and was the No. 7 team D2SIDA Media Poll Central Region Poll. Minot State and MSU Moorhead were not ranked in either poll.

RECENT HISTORY: Minot State couldn't get the offense started as the University of Mary held MSU to eight field goals in the first half and nine in the second in a 67-54 win to open the Beavers NSIC schedule. Kari Clements shot the ball well going 6 for 10 from the field and 6 for 6 on free throws to pace MSU with 20 points. Kori Eurich added 12, hitting all four of her free throws. Northern State and MSU Moorhead opened the NSIC with each other and the visiting Dragons used stingy defense of their own to earn a 51-44 win. Cassidy Thorson scored 18 and Drew Sannes earned a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds to pace MSUM. Paige Waytashek led NSU with 13, while Miranda Ristau scored 12 points and added 12 rebounds for the Wolves.

ALL-TIME AT A GLANCE: The Beavers have struggled with their NSIC North Division foes, going a combined 10-40 overall, winning five times against each team. But, since joining the Northern Sun, the Beavers have been very competitive in the series, going 3-5 overall against both.

LAST TIME OUT: MSU fell twice on the same road trip last season in January. The Beavers were stymied on offense in a 61-37 loss at Northern State. No one from Minot State finished in double figures as Kari Clements' eight off the bench led the way. Devon Brecke and Jill Conrad scored 15 each for the Wolves. The following night, Minot couldn't slow down MSU Moorhead as the Dragons earned a 73-55 win. Clements again paced the Beavers with 13 points, while Savana Kingsbury added 11 points and 10 rebounds. Cassidy Thorson and Morgan Banasik scored 19 and 18 points respectively for MSUM.

NOTING THE WOLVES: Northern State's head coach Kurt Fredrickson has reached 20 or more wins 25 times in his career, including each of the past three seasons… The Wolves have not been a great offensive team to start 2016-17, scoring 59 or fewer points three times. But, NSU has held all but one team to less than 55 points through five games… Jill Conrad has hit 18 of 20 free throws on the season and leads the team with a 14.8 points per game average… Miranda Ristau is the team's leader in rebounds with 39 total and is second in scoring at 13.6 per game.

NOTING THE DRAGONS: MSU Moorhead's Drew Sannes has averaged a double-double through five games this season as she leads the team with an 11.6 rebounding average to go along with 14.4 points per game… MSUM has allowed just 243 points for a 48.6 per-game average to start the season… MSUM played in front of 3,260 rowdy Northern State fans in last week's win over NSU. The Dragons had played in front of just 1,869 fans over its first four games… Cassidy Thorson has used 17 3-pointers – just under half of her team's total of 35 – to lead the Dragons in scoring at 16.2 per game.

CLEMENTS CAN KARI THE OFFENSIVE LOAD: In her past three games, MSU sophomore guard Kari Clements has two 20-point games to raise her average to a team-leading 13.6 per game. She scored a season-high 23 against the University of Jamestown in nonconference play and finished with 20 at the University of Mary. MSU will need to get more consistent scoring from Clements as she has three 20-plus outings and three times where she hasn't hit for double figures.

HELP WANTED ON D: The Beavers have been solid overall scoring the ball, evident by their 71.1 scoring average, but MSU hasn't been good on defense, allowing 77.4 points per game. The Beavers have given up 47.3 percent shooting in five games, including an average of 7.9 3-pointers allowed per game.

POSTING UP STRONG: MSU post players Haley Hildenbrand, Kristal Flowers and Sam Brizee had a breakout night in the win over Mayville State as the trio of newcomers combined for 33 points and 15 rebounds. Brizee, a freshman, had her best game of the season by far, scoring 13 points and adding seven rebounds off the bench. Hildenbrand, also a freshman, scored 12 points and added four rebounds, while Flowers, a junior, finished with eight points and four rebounds.

STEADY AS SHE GOES: Senior guard Kori Eurich has been solid all season, posting a 10.4 points per game average with 12 3-pointers. She leads the team in 3-point percentage at 48.0 and has hit 11 of 14 free throws.

BY THE NUMBERS
4: Free throws missed in 33 attempts for Kari Clements for a team-leading 87.9 percentage. Clements and Haley Hildenbrand are a combined 41-47 from the charity stripe.

6: Players averaging 7.1 points or better to begin the season for MSU. Minot State has four players averaging double figures.

1,441: Combined wins for the three coaches, Kurt Fredrickson, Sheila Green Gerding and Karla Nelson.