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RECORDS: Minot State is 11-3 overall and 7-3 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play this season. Minnesota Duluth is currently 9-4 overall and 6-3 in the NSIC while St. Cloud State sits with a 9-5 overall mark and a 5-4 record in the Northern Sun.

COACHES CORNER: Minot State's is coached by Sheila Green Gerding. In her 19th season at the helm of the Beaver women's basketball program, Green Gerding has amassed an impressive 326-216 overall record. 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.   The Bulldogs are coached by Annette Wiles. Wiles is in her 21st season as a collegiate coach and her sixth season at UMD. Wiles owns a 392-204 career record including a 92-63 mark with the Bulldogs. She has brought stability and success to the Bulldog program, leading the team to the NCAA Division II playoffs twice in the last five years while also producing nine All-Conference selections including one NSIC Player of the Year (Jheri Booker, 2009-10). The Huskies are coached by Lori Fish. Fish is in her sixth season heading the Husky program and her tenth overall season as a collegiate coach. She has an overall record of 147-120 during her career including a 22-9 overall record in 2008-09 when she led the Huskies to an NSIC Tournament Championship and a NCAA Division II Central Region Tournament appearance.

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 and live stats as well as links to the live audio at msubeavers.com. Minot State Athletics also is active on Facebook, Twitter and You Tube with all feeds accessible at msubeavers.com/stayconnected.

RANKINGS: Both University of Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State did not receive any votes in the Jan. 14 USA TODAY NCAA Division II Coaches' Poll. For the first time since making the jump to NCAA Division II in 2012-13, Minot State received votes in the national poll. The Beavers received five points in the poll.

RECENT HISTORY: For just the second time since joining the Northern Sun, Minot State women's basketball was able to put together a weekend sweep on the road as they defeated Upper Iowa University Friday night (77-67) and then took down Winona State in a close game Saturday afternoon (60-59). During the two wins, the Beavers shot 87.5 percent from the free throw line. The Bulldogs of Minnesota Duluth also went 2-0 over the past weekend with wins over University of Sioux Falls (69-59) and Southwest Minnesota State University (64-60). UMD outscored USF 37-25 in the second half, erasing a 10 point deficit from early in the first half. St. Cloud State split on the weekend as they beat SMSU (65-62) but fell to USF (79-92) in their home gym. In the loss, SCSU allowed the Cougars to shoot above 50 percent from the field and beyond the arc.

OVERALL SERIES: Minot State and University of Minnesota Duluth have faced each other four times in school history with the teams tied at two wins each. MISU and UMD split last season and the Bulldogs earned a 70-68 win over MISU earlier this season. St. Cloud State holds a 3-0 lead over the Beavers as they also won both matchups during MISU's first season in the NSIC as well as 92-85 win over MISU on Dec. 13, 2013.

NOTING THE BULLDOGS: University of Minnesota Duluth has gotten off a solid 9-4 start to the 2013-14 season in part due to the teams rebounding ability. The Bulldogs rank third the Northern Sun in rebounding margin with a plus 5.2 mark through 13 games this year. UMD averages 38.3 rebounds per game including 13.9 offensive rebounds per game. Hannah Rutten leads UMD with 15.0 points per game and 10.7 rebounds per game so far this season. Katrina Newman is also averaging 14.3 points per game and has pulled down 4.7 rebounds per game for the Bulldogs. UMD has struggled this season when it comes to taking care of the ball. The Bulldogs have the third most turnovers in all of the NSIC with 237 turnovers (16.9 turnovers per game).

NOTING THE HUSKIES: After starting the season 8-1 overall, St. Cloud State University has dropped four of their past five games, all of which have come in Northern Sun play. The Huskies are just one of three teams in the NSIC averaging over 80.0 points per game (80.3 ppg) but they also have the second wrost scoring defense in the league, giving up an average of 75.5 points per game. SCSU has three players averaging double-digit in points per game led by Jessica Benson with 16.8 points per game. Benson also leads the team with 11.1 rebounds per game. Rachel Moen is also having a stellar season thus far with 10.4 points per game and a team-high 4.6 assists per game. As they have done for the majority of the season, SCSU ranks No. 1 in all of NCAA Division II women's basketball in free throw percentage as they are shooting 84.4 percent from the line. The Husky offense is one of the best in the NSIC and even the entire national as they rank No. 18 in all of NCAA Division II.

A FIRST FOR THE BEAVERS: Minot State received votes and a total of five points in the Jan. 14 USA TODAY NCAA Division II Coaches' Poll. Not only does this mark the first time in program history the Beavers have been ranked in this poll, but it's the first time any Minot State program has received votes in a national poll since MISU made the move to NCAA Division II during the 2012-13 season.

STARTING FIVE GETTING IT DONE: The Minot State starting five has been the same for 13-of-14 games during the 2013-14 season and they have shown their ability to carry the scoring load. However, the Beavers have all five starters score double-digits in the same game just twice this season, both were wins. This means that each starter can step up and anytime and become the scorer if the team needs them to be and the defense cannot just key on one or two players. Minot State is the only team in the NSIC to have five players average 10.0 or more points per game.

Minot State starting five points per game
Senior        Carly Boag             20.1 ppg
Junior         Christina Boag     12.0 ppg
Senior        Alisha Jones         11.9 ppg
Junior         Katie Hardy           11.4 ppg
Junior         Morgan Klose       10.8 ppg

THIRD IN THE NATION: From the beginning of the season, Minot State has been at the top of the Northern Sun in regards to assists per game as they currently average 19.9 assists per game as a team. Now as we approach the half-way point of the season, the Beavers are close to the top of all of NCAA Division II. MISU ranks third in the nation in assists per game, as they sit just 1.8 assists per game behind currently leader Nova Southeastern (21.7 assists per game).

REVENGE ON THE MIND: Two or the three losses Minot State has one the season came from UMD and St. Cloud State as the Beavers were swept on their first Northern Sun road trip of the season. If Minot State wants to continue their three-game winning streak they will need to do it on the defensive end of the floor. The Beavers game up an average of 81.0 points per game in the two losses to SCSU and UMD.

ARC EFFICIENCY: Although MISU doesn't shoot many 3-point shots per game (17.7 attempts), it is one of the best in the conference and country at executing the long ball. Minot State is shooting 39.9 percent from beyond the arc ranking them No. 1 in the NSIC and No. 5 in all of NCAA Division II. Alisha Jones (Sr., G, Killeen, Texas) is shooting 51.9 percent while Morgan Klose (Jr., G, Fairview, N.D.) is shooting 43.2 percent on 3-pointers for the season. Jones ranks No. 5 individually in all of NCAA Division II in three-point percentage while Klose ranks No. 30.

GETTING CLOSER TO THE TOP: Carly Boag (Sr., F, Tamworth, Australia) leads the Northern Sun in scoring so far this season, averaging 20.1 points per game. Boag has scored 282 points total 14 games into her senior year and current ranks third on the Minot State women's basketball all-time scoring list with 1,473 career points. On Dec. 14 against Minnesota Duluth, Boag passed MacKenzie Mack who now sits fourth on the All-Time Scoring list. Next up on Boag's quest is NAIA All-American Kayla Blom with 1,620 points.

MISU Women's Basketball All-Time Leaders
1,710    Kendra Meyer            2004-2008
1,620    Kayla Blom                1998-2002
1,473    Carly Boag                 2010-Present
1,372    MacKenzie Mack       2006-2010
1,249    Jamie Lamoureux    1999-2003
 
STEPPING UP WHEN NEEDED: Winona State did a goog job shutting down Carly Boag (Sr., F, Tamworth, Australia), limiting her to just five points and four rebounds while forcing her to make six turnovers. The five points tied a career-low for Boag and was the first time she had scored under 10 points in a game in the last 15 games. Despite that, the Beavers still managed to come away with a 60-59 win thanks clutch performances from Alisha Jones (Sr., G, Killeen, Texas), Christina Boag (Jr., F, Tamworth, Australia) and Katie Hardy (Jr., F, Fairview, N.D.). The trio combined for 39 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists in the win.

BY THE NUMBERS
71.4: Alisha Jones (Sr., G, Killeen, Texas) quietly had one of her most productive and efficient weekends in a Beaver uniform. Jones shot 71.4 percent from the floor including 5-of-7 from behind the arc while also dishing out 12 assists in the two MISU road wins.

10.2: St. Cloud State is one of the better teams in Northern Sun at creating steals from their opponents. The Huskies average 10.2 steals per game and are led by Jessica Benson with 2.3 steals per game.

2: Last time the Bulldogs and Beavers played, UMD's Jessica Newman hit a 10-foot jumper with just 2 seconds left to give UMD a 0-68 win over Minot State.