Women's Basketball | December 31, 2014

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Teams: Minot State at Bemidji State | Series: MSU leads 6-4
Date: Friday, Jan. 2, 2015 | Time: 6 p.m. | Site: BSU Gymnasium
Teams: Minot State at Minnesota Crookston | Series: MSU leads 12-2
Date: Saturday, Jan. 3, 2015 | Time: 4 p.m. | Site: Lysaker Gymnasium

THIS WEEK: Minot State starts fresh in 2015 as MSU is on the road for Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference games Friday (Bemidji State, 6 p.m.) and Saturday (Minnesota Crookston, 4 p.m.).

RECORDS: The Beavers are an even 6-6 overall and start the second half of the season with a 1-5 NSIC record. Bemidji State is also 1-5 in NSIC play and is 3-7 overall. Minnesota Crookston is just ahead of both Beaver programs with a 2-4 NSIC record and is 3-7 overall.

COACHES CORNER: Minot State is coached by Sheila Green Gerding. In her 20th season at the helm of the Beaver women's basketball program, Green Gerding has amassed an impressive 340-228 overall record. Green Gerding is the Beavers all-time wins leader and has all 340 wins with the Beavers. 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. Bemidji State has a new head coach this season as Anne Skriba starts her first season. She is 3-7 overall in her career. Minnesota Crookston's head coach is Mike Roysland who is 68-157 in his eighth season as head coach.

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, You Tube, Instagram and Pinterest with all feeds accessible at msubeavers.com/stayconnected.

RANKINGS: None of the three teams were ranked in this week's Women's Basketball Coaches Association Division II Poll.

RECENT HISTORY: Minot State dropped a pair of games at the MSU Dome for the first time this season, losing a heartbreaker to rival University of Mary 68-66 Friday and then falling 77-69 in a strong overall effort against No. 20 ranked Michigan Tech Saturday. Christina Boag (Sr., F, Tamworth, Australia) netted a game-high 17 in the loss to the Marauders, while Diondra Denton (So., G, Great Falls, Mont.) matched her career-high with 24 points and earned her first double-double with 11 rebounds against Tech. UMC and BSU played each other in their lone game last week as the travel partners went down to the wire in Crookston, Minn., with BSU topping UMC 71-69 to earn its first NSIC win of the season. Sierra Senske and Aimee Pelzer combined for 38 points in the win for the Beavers, while four Golden Eagles' players reached double figures with Katrina Moenkedick and Alexa Thielman finishing with 13 points apiece.

OVERALL SERIES: Minot State leads both series with its U.S. Highway 2 counterparts as Minot State swept Bemidji State last season to take a 6-4 lead in the series. The Beavers split a pair of games with UMC, with each team winning on its home court, to continue to lead that series 12-2. MSU and UMC were both members of the North Dakota Collegiate Athletic Conference as members of the NAIA.

NOTING THE BSU BEAVERS: Bemidji State had struggled defensively in conference play, giving up 99 to Wayne State and in two games in the 80s before holding Minnesota Crookston to under 70 in a 71-69 over its travel partner two weeks ago… The Beavers have struggled to turn their opponents over, collecting just 61 steals, 13th in the Northern Sun, through 10 games. They have given up 86 steals so far… Sierra Senske is 19th in the NSIC in scoring at 12.6 per game and a big reason for her scoring has been consistency. She is ranked third in the league in shooting percentage at 56.6 percent from the floor… Aimee Pelzer has missed just two free throws this season, hitting 20 of 22 for 90.9 percent. She is second in the conference… BSU has not shot 3-pointers well this season, hitting 27.3 percent, making just 53 on the season.

NOTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES: Minnesota Crookston is 2-4 in conference play, but could be much better if not for a couple close games. The Golden Eagles lost by four to Minnesota Duluth and by five to St. Cloud State in a weekend double header at home and fell 97-90 at Augustana College in overtime… UMC has not been good at home, going 0-4 overall and 0-3 in conference games. The Golden Eagles are 2-2 away from Lysaker Gymnasium and 2-1 in NSIC games… Katrina Moenkedick and Alexa Thielman have been a two-headed monster for UMC, scoring at 14.6 and 14.3 points per game respectively. They are seventh and 10th in the Northern Sun… UMC is fifth in the conference in free throw percentage, hitting 75.6 percent, but are 14th in the NSIC in 3-point shooting at just 27.2 percent… UMC has forced 16.7 turnovers by its opponents so far this season, giving them a plus-1.90 turnover margin through 10 games.

THE DEVIL'S IN THE SHOOTING DETAILS: Minot State and its opponents have both shot 666 field goals with the Beavers hitting a significant percentage higher. MSU has been effective from the floor much of the season as the Beavers are hitting 45.0 percent from the field, making 300 of the 666 shots, while the Beavers are holding opponents to just 38.0 percent. The biggest defensive area for MSU is on 3-pointers, limiting opponents to 28.7 percent, or 64 of 223, from beyond the arc.

THE RACE IS ON: Both Minot State seniors Christina Boag (F, Tamworth, Australia) and Katie Hardy (F, Fairview, N.D.) eclipsed the 900 career point plateau on the weekend. Hardy continues to lead her teammate 908-904 to be the 12th player in school history to reach the 1,000-point club. Boag is looking to become the second Boag and the first sibling duo at MSU to reach the plateau as sister Carly Boag scored a school-record 1,809 points from 2010-2014.

A CAROM OR TWO HER WAY: MSU's Katie Hardy (Sr., F, Fairview, N.D.) is also chasing the exclusive1,000-point, 500 rebound club  as she is just 112 rebounds shy of 500. The Beavers have 16 regular season games remaining and are guaranteed one playoff game for 17 total. Hardy would need to average 6.59 during that stretch to get to 500. She is currently averaging 5.5 on the season.

DEE SETTLING IN: In her sophomore season, MSU's Diondra Denton (G, Great Falls, Mont.) has emerged as a solid scorer and a tough presence in the paint despite being listed as a guard. Denton netted her first double-double with a career-tying 24 points and 11 rebounds in MSU's loss to No. 20 Michigan Tech Dec. 20. She pulled down six offensive rebounds to push her team-leading mark to 31 and is averaging 4.8 boards per game. She is third on the team in scoring with a 10.6 average.  

THREE IS NOT A CHARM: Minot State has struggled as of late hitting 3-pointers, making just five in their past four games since hitting five against Northern State. MSU knocked down 43 3s through its first eight games, but has made just 5 of 41 over its last four, all home games. The Beavers have continued to be stingy defensing the 3, however, allowing just 28.7 percent on the season.

GIVING A HELPING HAND: The Beavers continue to distribute the ball effectively, coming into the weekend with177 assists on the season, good for a 14.8 per-game average, tied for eighth in the NSIC. Alex Haley (So., G, Libertyville, Ill.) leads the team with 39, while Morgan Klose (Sr., G, Fairview, N.D.) is right behind with 32 assists on the year.

HOT OR COLD: Minot State – as a team – has not shot free throws up to its normal standard, coming into the weekend at 68.9, under its 70-plus pace of the last two seasons. But MSU has three individual standouts at the line as Alex Haley (So., G, Libertyville, Ill.), Katie Hardy (Sr., F, Fairview, N.D.) and Amanda Sansaver (Jr., G, Wolf Point, Mont.) are all hitting above 80 percent. Sansaver hasn't been to the line as much, but has made the most of her attempts, hitting 14 of 16, good for 87.5 percent. Haley is right behind at 87 percent, knocking down 20 of 23, while Hardy has hit 21 of 25 (84 percent).

BY THE NUMBERS
4.2: Minot State's scoring margin. The Beavers have outscored opponents 805-755 on the season, averaging 67.1 points per game.

412: MSU's scoring in the first half, a plus-30 margin over its opponents as the Beavers have outscored teams 412-382 this year before halftime.

905: The Beavers home attendance average through seven games, good for fourth overall in the NSIC. MSU has played in front of 6,337 fans so far this season.