THIS WEEK: Minot State returns to the hardwood after a week off for the holiday break with a pair of road games at St. Cloud State Friday (6 p.m.) and Minnesota Duluth Saturday (8 p.m.).

RECORDS: MSU is 2-10 overall and is 0-6 in Northern Sun play. St. Cloud State is 6-4 overall and earned a 4-2 NSIC mark in the first month of conference play. UMD is also 4-2 in NSIC games and is 5-4 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 359-267 overall record. Green Gerding is the Beavers all-time wins leader and has all 359 wins at MSU. SCSU's Lori Fish is in her ninth season as the Huskies head coach 176-142 overall. Mandy Pearson is in her second season with UMD where she has a 12-23 record.

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 Media Poll Central Region Poll.

RECENT HISTORY: Minot State dug an early hole and the Beavers could not claw out of it as rival University of Mary rolled to an 86-63 win over MSU on Dec. 17. Madison Wald was a bright spot on offense for the Beavers as she scored a career-high 23 points, hitting 5 of 8 3-pointers on the night. Diondra Denton added 11 points off the bench. St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth went back and forth all night before Duluth jumped out to a double-figures lead in the third quarter. The Bulldogs held off a late charge by SCSU to win 61-55. Taylor Meyer scored 17 points and Sammy Kozlowski finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Bulldogs. SCSU got 18 points apiece from Betsey MacDonald and Amanda Christianson in the loss.

ALL-TIME AT A GLANCE: The Beavers trail both teams in the all-time series as MSU snapped a three-game losing streak to SCSU last year. MSU trails SCSU 7-2 all time. The Beavers have been better against Minnesota Duluth, but a modest MSU two-game losing streak has the Bulldogs up 5-4 in the all-time series.

LAST TIME OUT: MSU outscored SCSU 26-18 in the third quarter to open a 10-point lead and held on to that, taking a 73-63 win over the Huskies in February. Sarah Lester scored 30 points to pace the Beavers, while Savana Kingsbury finished with 10 rebounds and eight points. Kari Clements scored eight and added three off the bench for MSU. Andrea Thomas scored 13 points and pulled down 10 rebounds for SCSU. The next night, UMD outscored MSU by a bucket in each of the first three quarters and then pulled away for a 67-53 win. Madison Wald came off the bench to net 12 and Kingsbury notched a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Beavers. Emma Boehm also came off the bench for UMD to lead all scorers with 19 points.

NOTING THE HUSKIES: St. Cloud State has been much better at home than the road, especially in conference play, sporting a 4-2 overall record and a perfect 3-0 NSIC record at Halenbeck Hall… SCSU has scored at least 100 points in two games this season, scoring 105 in a nonconference blowout against Northland College (105-52) and a season-high 111 in a double overtime win over Bemidji State (111-107) in NSIC play… Of the eight players who have hit a 3-pointer on the year, five have knocked down double digit 3s, paced by Betsey MacDonals's 32… Amanda Christianson has hit 16 of 18 free throws to lead five players shooting better than 75 percent from the line. Betsey MacDonald is one of the top scorers in the league with a 19.5 scoring average.

NOTING THE BULLDOGS: Minnesota Duluth's top two players, Taylor Meyer and Sammy Kozlowski, have been getting it done on all aspects of the game. Meyer leads the team with a 14.1 scoring average and is second in rebounds (55) and assists (18). Kozlowski is second in scoring at 12.3 per game and leads the team in rebounds (57), assists (34) and steals (22)… UMD hasn't taken many 3-ointers and have just 48 made 3s on the year, shooting 48 for 149 overall… Josie Buckley is the leader from distance, hitting 12 3-pointers, but she is just 3 of 12 from the free throw line… UMD doesn't turn the ball over much as they have just 101 turnovers this season for an 11.2 average to lead the league and are plus-4.2 in turnover margin.

DIALING DISTANCE: The Beavers have taken the third most 3-pointers and knocked down the third most 3-pointers in the Northern Sun so far this season. The Beavers have shot 272 and made 85. The 272 is 26th in the nation. Kari Clements and Mariah Payne are tied with team lead in 3s shot with 60, while Payne and Kori Eurich are tied for the team lead in makes with 19 each.

MADDIE EMERGES: Sophomore Madison Wald has returned to form and then some following a couple of early-season injuries. Wald has scored in double figures in the past three games including a career-high 23 points against the University of Mary. Wald has hit 10 of her last 18 3-pointers, including 4 for 5 against Wayne State (Dec. 10) and 5 of 8 against U-Mary.

AWESOME ON 'O' BOARDS: MSU's Kristal Flowers and Diondra Denton continue to be a force on the offensive glass. Flowers is ninth in the NSIC with 30 offensive rebounds. Denton continues to be a solid rebounder as she has 24 offensive boards this year and 96 in her career.

BY THE NUMBERS

6: Rank in the NSIC for Kari Clements in total steals. Clements leads the team with 23 on the year, just six back of NSIC leader Anna Martensen of Wayne State.

15.5: Times per game Minot State has forced an opponent turnover for sixth best in the Northern Sun.

247: Fouls for Minot State this season, the highest total in the conference.