THIS WEEK: Minot State comes back to the MSU Dome to start the New Year with a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference games against US Highway 2 rivals Bemidji State (Saturday, 4 p.m.) and Minnesota Crookston (Sunday, 4 p.m.).

RECORDS: MSU is 6-6 overall on the season, having won two straight games, and is 3-3 in Northern Sun play. BSU comes into the weekend with a 5-5 record overall and is 1-5 in the NSIC. UMC has the best record of the trio as it starts the weekend with an overall record of 7-3 and is 4-2 in NSIC play.

COACHES CORNER: Minot State head coach Sheila Green Gerding reached the 350 wins mark earlier in the season and in her 21st season at the helm of the Beaver women's basketball program, Green Gerding has amassed an impressive 352-245 overall record. She is the Beavers all-time wins leader and has all 352 wins at Minot State. 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 is under first-year head coach Chelsea DeVille, who played her collegiate basketball at NSIC member Augustana University and coached in the league as an assistant at the University of Sioux Falls. She is 5-5 early in her career. Mike Roysland is in his 10th season at Minnesota Crookston and is 86-107 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 were ranked in either the WBCA Division II Coaches Top 25 Poll or the D2SIDA Media Central Region Media Poll.

RECENT HISTORY: Minot State finished off the 2015 calendar year with a sweep of rival University of Mary. The Beavers prevailed 80-73 in overtime at the MSU Dome Dec. 16 and finished off the sweep with a 75-67 win in Bismarck. MSU's Alex Haley (Jr., G, Libertyville, Ill.) led four players in double figures with 22 points, while Sarah Lester (Sr., G, Frenchtown, Mont.) notched a double-double with 13 points, 11 rebounds in the win at home. Savana Kingsbury (Sr., F, Omaha, Neb.) paced the Beavers with a double-double of her own in the win at U-Mary, scoring 21 points and adding 11 rebounds. Haley and Lester combined for 23 points, 11 rebounds and six assists at Bismarck. UMC finished off 2015 with a win over its travel partner BSU, 81-74 at Bemidji Dec. 18. Katrina Nordick led all scorers with 30 points and added nine rebounds for UMC, while Tatum Sheley scored 24 points and pulled down eight rebounds in the loss for BSU.

ALL-TIME AT A GLANCE: The Beavers lead both teams all-time, taking an 8-4 series lead with Bemidji State as Minot State has won the past four meetings with its Minnesota namesake. Minot State has a 13-3 edge on Minnesota Crookston dating back to the days when both were members of the NAIA. MSU has won the past two home games with BSU and the past three at the Dome against UMC.

LAST TIME OUT: Minot State swept the two teams in February at the MSU Dome, topping Minnesota Crookston 75-69 and Bemidji State 77-50 on the second-to-the-last weekend in 2014-15. Christina Boag scored 15 points to lead five MSU players in double figures (and six with at least nine points) in the win over the Golden Eagles, while MSU had to withstand 25 points from UMC's Katrina Nordick (who went by Katrina Moenkedick in 2014-15). Balance was again the key for MSU against BSU as Diondra Denton (Jr., G, Great Falls, Mont.) scored 19 and Savana Kingsbury (Sr., F, Omaha, Neb.) added 15 and four others finished with at least eight points to pull away from Bemidji. Tatum Sheley scored 14 in the loss for BSU.

NOTING THE BSU BEAVERS: After starting the season 4-0 in nonconference games, Bemidji State has struggled to score in conference matchups. The Beavers are just 1-5 in NSIC games, hitting just 59.8 points per game. BSU averaged 88.0 points per game in its nonconference schedule… The Beavers have relied on four main players – Aimee Pelzer, Sierra Senske, Tatum Sheley and Hanna Zerr – who have started all 10 games. The foursome has accounted for 71 percent of the Beavers scoring and 49.5 percent of their rebounds… Pelzer leads the team with a 14.7 points per game average, followed closely by Senske and Sheley, who are chipping in with 14.4 and 13.2 points per game respectively… Pelzer and Sheley are both hitting over 40 percent of their 3-pointers as Pelzer leads the team with 24 triples… Zerr has done a nice job handling the ball, dishing out 34 assists compared to just 18 turnovers… BSU has been held under 25 percent shooting three times this season in losses to St. Cloud State, Minnesota Duluth and Augustana University.

NOTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES: Minnesota Crookston is one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the Northern Sun and one of the stingiest to hit one on. UMC has knocked down 44.0 percent of its 3s, tops in the NSIC and is second in the league in 3-point field goal defense, allowing just 26.5 percent… The Golden Eagles have been good to start each half, outscoring its opponents 191-150 in the first quarter and 191-155 in the third quarter… Katrina Nordick has emerged as one of the top players in the NSIC, averaging 16.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game… Alexia Thielman is second on the team with a 15.2 ppg., and has 33 3-pointers on the year… UMC lead the NSIC in defensive rebounds with a 31.2 per game average… Minnesota Crookston is similar to Bemidji State as UMC has started the same way in all 10 games, but UMC has not used nearly as many players or minutes outside its top group. Starters Nordick, Thielman, Alison Hughes, Emily Gruber and Micaela Noga had accounted for 6-5 of the Golden Eagles' 731 points (82.7 percent), along with 61 percent of the team's rebounds, and 79 percent of both assists and steals.

ALL HAIL THE KING: Savana Kingsbury (Sr., F, Omaha, Neb.) leads Minot State in both points (160) and rebounds (90) and is in the top 20 in both categories. She is third in the league in field goal percentage at 54.3 and 10th overall in field throw percentage (84.2). For MSU, she is second in steals (16) and blocks (4) and is tied for fourth in assists (18). Since scoring just four points in 22 minutes against Dickinson State Nov. 18, Kingsbury has hit for double figures in eight straight games, pushing her scoring average to 13.3.

LINE WORK: The weekend matchup pits the Nos. 3, 4 and 5 free throw shooting teams in the NSIC against each other. Minot State and Minnesota Crookston are both hit 75.4 percent of their free throws as the Beavers lead the league in makes from the charity stripe with 187 made out of 248 attempts. MSU is tied for 20th in the country with the 187 makes. The Beavers are also second in the league to Wayne State College in attempts. UMC is 144-191 at the line. Bemidji State is just a tenth behind to two at 75.3, hitting 146 of 194 so far this season. The three are 29th (MSU), tied for 30th (UMC) and 39th (BSU) in the nation in percentage.

SWIPER YES SWIPING: MSU has used a pressing style of defense to consistently cause teams to turn the ball over this season. MSU is third in the league in steals averaging 9.3 per game but has used the team approach to locking down teams. Despite being third in the league in team steals, the Beavers have just one player ranked in the top 15, redshirt freshman Kari Clements (G, Trevor, Wis.), who is tied for 15th overall at 1.8 per game.

GRAND THEFT BASKETBALL

Name	Steals
Kari Clements	21
Madison Wald	16
Savana Kingsbury	16
Sarah Lester	13
Alex Haley	12
Amanda Sansaver	12

GOOD TO BE HOME: Minot State comes into the weekend with a 3-4 record at the MSU Dome, well below the average at the friendly confines since Sheila Green Gerding has been the Beavers' head coach. Over the past 20 seasons, Minot State is 185-78 at the Dome with their only losing season at home coming last year when MSU was 7-8. Minot State has three straight wins at the Dome over Minnesota Crookston and has won two straight with BSU at home.

BY THE NUMBERS

9: Players on Minot State's team shooting 75 percent or better from the free throw line. Of the 12 players who have stepped up to the charity stripe, only two are below 50 percent.

14: Total rebounds for junior Kanesha Woods (G, Little Rock, Ark.). Despite averaging just 15.9 minutes per game, she has been active on the offensive glass, sitting in third on the team with 14.

405: Career rebounds for Savana Kingsbury (Sr., F, Omaha, Neb.), just 95 shy of 500, becoming just the ninth player to reach 500 career rebounds in school history.