THIS WEEK: Minot State starts its 2017 NSIC / Sanford Health Women's Basketball Tournament with a familiar postseason foe in Augustana University Wednesday in Sioux Falls, S.D. MSU will face the Vikings for the third time in five seasons in the first round. Game time is set for 6 p.m.

RECORDS: MSU finished the regular season 4-24 overall and ended in eighth place in the NSIC North Division. Augustana University earned the South Division's No. 1 seed and is 22-7 overall. The University of Mary is the NSIC North's No. 4 seed and is 15-15 overall. Winona State, despite being ranked much of the year and sporting a 20-8 overall record, is the South's No. 5 seed.

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 361-281 overall record. Green Gerding is the Beavers all-time wins leader and has all 360 wins at MSU. Dave Krauth is in his 27th season with Augustana and has an impressive 576-253 record. Rick Neumann is the head coach at the University of Mary and is 76-71 overall. Scott Ballard is in his 12th season at WSU and is 214-121 with the school and 483-280 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 MSU's opponents were ranked WBCA Division II Top 25 poll or the D2SIDA National poll. Augustana University comes into the tournament as the No. 8 team in the first NCAA Division II Central Regional rankings. WSU is ranked 10th in that poll. The Beavers were not ranked in any of the national polls.

RECENT HISTORY: Minot State dropped a pair of road games to finish the regular season, falling 86-70 at Minnesota Crookston and 90-84 at Bemidji State. Madison Wald had a solid weekend, leading the Beavers both nights in scoring with 17 against UMC and 22 against BSU. Augie closed out the regular season on a six-game winning streak, taking a key 73-67 win over Winona State Friday and cruised to a 93-42 win over Upper Iowa Saturday. The University of Mary also finished the season on a strong note, winning four its final five games including two in overtime. UM defeated Bemidji State 64-52 Friday and upended UMC 87-81 in overtime in the season finale. Winona State limped home as they lost their final three games including a 73-67 loss at Augustana Friday and a 67-63 setback at Wayne State College.

ALL-TIME AT A GLANCE: The Beavers are 1-6 against Augustana University earning their lone with in an 88-71 triumph over the then-No. 13 ranked Vikings at home in 2013-14 season, marking the Beavers first win over a ranked NCAA Division II opponent. MSU is 0-2 against AU in the NSIC Tournament. MSU trails U-Mary 49-31 and Winona 3-2 all-time.

LAST TIME OUT: Minot State started slow and couldn't catch up as they fell 85-64 at home against Augustana in December. The Beavers fell behind by seven after the first quarter and trailed 41-26 at halftime. Kari Clements hit four 3-pointers in and scored 21 points for the Beavers. Logan O'Farrell finished with 17 points for AU. Slow starts were the theme this season for MSU and U-Mary took advantage, outscoring the Beavers 23-8 in the first quarter to win going away 86-63 at the Dome in December. Madison Wald led MSU with 23 points off the bench. Hannah Larson and Lauren Rotunda finished with 16 each for Mary. The Beavers also struggled in the second quarter in their loss to Winona State in Winona in January. MSU was outscored 20-8 in the second to fall 69-53. Wald and Whitney Molina scored 12 points apiece for MSU. Tara Roelofs scored 19 in the win for WSU.

NOTING THE VIKINGS: Augustana University seemed out of contention for a South Division title after losing four games in six contests in the middle of the season, but won 10 of its final 11 and six straight including two wins over Winona State and an overtime win over Sioux Falls… Logan O'Farrell has been dynamic for the Vikings, averaging 12.3 points and 7.6 rebounds to go along with 82 assists, 55 steals and 36 blocked shots… Seven different AU players average 7.2 points per game or better.

NOTING THE MARAUDERS: University of Mary will host a first round game despite have fewer wins than its opponent Winona State… The Marauders have outrebounded its opponents by nearly four boards per game… Gabbie Bohl and Hannah Larson lead the team as the pair both score in double figures at 15.2 and 13.0 points per game respectively… Larson leads the team in rebounds at 7.7 and blocked shots with 74.

NOTING THE WARRIORS: Winona State lost five of its last nine games and six of its final 13, but all but one came against the top teams in the league. WSU lost to Augie twice, No. 10 ranked MSU Moorhead, Sioux Falls and Wayne State during that stretch… Tara Roelofs leads the team with a 13.0 scoring average, but three Warriors have scored 300-plus points as Jenny Tuttle (355) and Kayla Zimmerman (302) all average in double figures.

TAKEAWAYS: Minot State did a solid job stealing the basketball in 2016-17, finishing in a tie for 10th overall in the league with Winona State with 170 overall. MSU's Kari Clements finished eighth in the league with 48 steals as an individual.

THREE IN DOUBLE FIGURES: MSU sophomore Madison Wald has led the Beavers in scoring in seven of the team's final 11 games and pushed her season average to over 10 per game with a 10.6 average, tying fellow sophomore Kari Clements for the team lead. Clements leads Wald in the overall scoring lead 296-285, playing in one more game this season. Mariah Payne joins the two in double figures at 10.1 per contest.

BY THE NUMBERS

10: Blocked shots on the season for Kristal Flowers, joining Haley Hildenbrand as the only two MSU players with 10 or more on the season.
 
12: Missed free throws the entire year for Kari Clements to lead the team in both makes (66) and percentage (84.6), going 66 for 78 overall.

232: Points so far this season for senior Kori Eurich, good for an 8.3 per game average.