THIS WEEK: Minot State finishes off the regular season with a trip east on U.S. Highway 2 to Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State. Games times are set for 6 p.m. Friday at UMC and 4 p.m. Saturday at BSU.

RECORDS: MSU is 4-22 overall and is 2-18 in NSIC play to sit in eighth place overall in the NSIC North Division, a game back of Bemidji State. UMC is 6-18 overall with all six wins coming in NSIC play to sport a 6-14 conference record. BSU comes into the weekend with a 3-17 record in the league and 6-18 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 361-279 overall record. Green Gerding is the Beavers all-time wins leader and has all 360 wins at MSU. UMC's head coach is Mike Roysland who is 103-194 in 11 seasons with the Golden Eagles. Chelsea DeVille is in her second season at BSU and is 13-38 overall.

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 teams received votes in the latest WBCA Division II Top 25 poll or the D2SIDA National poll or the first NCAA Division II Central Regional rankings.

RECENT HISTORY: Minot State split a pair of games to finish its home regular season schedule, picking up a big win over Minnesota Duluth Friday but falling in a close contest Saturday against St. Cloud State. Mariah Payne came off the bench in her first game back off an injury to lead six MSU players in double figures with 13 points in a 78-72 win over UMD. Madison Wald scored a career-high Saturday, but it wasn't enough to topple SCSU with the Beavers falling 76-69. UMC lost of the sixth straight game Saturday, 65-55 at MSU Moorhead. The Golden Eagles were blown out Friday night at Northern State 83-52. Alison Hughes scored 13 and 16 points respectively to pace UMC. BSU lost for the seventh straight game – since beating MSU Jan. 20 – with a 76-55 setback at NSU Saturday. The Beavers also fell 88-56 Friday at MSU Moorhead. Sierra Senske paced the team both night with 20 point and five rebounds Friday and 14 points Saturday.

ALL-TIME AT A GLANCE: The Beavers have a lead in the all-time series with both schools, sporting a 13-6 advantage over UMC and a 10-5 lead with BSU. MSU had a six-game winning streak over BSU snapped at the Dome in January.

LAST TIME OUT: Minot State dropped a pair of games at the Dome against the two U.S. Highway 2 foes in January. BSU topped MSU 83-57 after outscoring Minot State 43-22 in the second and third quarters to rally from a 21-14 Minot State first-quarter lead. Kari Clements led Minot State with 14 points. Aimee Pelzer finished with a game-high 25 points and added six assists for BSU. Minot State played much better Saturday night, but UMC was too much to handle, winning 69-57. Madison Wald scored 19 points to lead the Beavers, who played with just seven players due to injury. Micaela Noga hit four 3-pointers and went 7 for 8 from the free throw line to score a game-high 23 points for UMC.

NOTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES: Minnesota Crookston has had an up and down season as the Golden Eagles started the season with eight straight losses and are currently in a six-game skid. In between, UMC went 6-4… Alison Hughes gives UMC an offensive weapon as she is fourth in the NSIC in scoring at 16.7 points per game… Isieoma Odor is the team's leader in rebounds at 7.3 per game and is second on the team in scoring average at 12.8… Hughes is one of the top free throw shooters in the country, hitting 97 of 104 free throws for a 93.3 percent clip… She has helped the Golden Eagles to a solid 77.8 percent shooting percentage as a team, outscoring opponents 323-255 from the line… Micaela Noga has dished out 56 assists in 24 games and is the team's third leading scorer at 9.1 per game.

NOTING THE BSU BEAVERS: Bemidji State has struggled to score points since putting up back-to-back 80-plus games in the middle of January. After scoring 82 against Southwest Minnesota State and 83 against Minot State Jan. 14 and 20 – both wins – the Beavers have not scored more than 65 points and have been limited to 60 or fewer three times, all in a seven-game losing streak… Aimee Pelzer, Sierra Senske and Tatum Sheley are all averaging in double figures with Pelzer the team leader with a 15.1 average… Senske is second on the team in scoring at 11.6 and is the team's leader in rebounds, pulling down 6.0 per game… BSU has allowed teams to hit just 32.0 percent from beyond the arc in 2016-17

WALD'S STOCK RISING: After hitting for a career-high 24 points Saturday and finishing with 10 points on Friday, MSU sophomore Madison Wald's scoring average moved just under the threshold of a double-digit scorer. She has 246 points for a 9.8 average, good for a tie for second on the team with Mariah Payne and is just four points shy for a 10-per-game average. She is the team's leader with 40 3-pointers, hitting a team DII record six against SCSU.

NARROW MARGIN: Through 26 games Minot State has outrebounded its opponents by a single board, 919-918. MSU has a substantial lead on the offensive end, pulling down 312 compared to 267. Kristal Flowers leads the way with 150 total and Diondra Denton (108) and Haley Hildenbrand (105) have both grabbed at last 100 individually. Kori Eurich (93) could become the fourth player on the team with least 100 this weekend.

NO SLUMP: Sophomore Kari Clements is finishing up another solid season as she is the team's leader in points (275), assists (61) and steals (45) and will finish her first two seasons near the 575 career point mark. She is currently has 547 career points coming into the weekend and has at least games remaining in her second season. She is on pace to become 15th member of the 1,000 point club and the first Beaver to do so all at the NCAA Division II level.

BY THE NUMBERS

5: Beavers averaging 8.5 points per game or better as MSU carries a 61.2 scoring average
 
74.2: Average from the free-throw line by Minot State's opponents this season to give them a 354-311 advantage in scoring overall.

438: Points in the fourth quarter for the Beavers, the team's best quarter by 42 points over the third. MSU has been considerably better after the halftime break, with an 832-758 margin in the second half.