MINOT, N.D. -- The Minot State women's basketball team will open the home portion of its Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference schedule this weekend as it hosts Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State. The Beavers will meet the Bulldogs on Friday (Dec. 7) at 5:30 p.m. in the MSU Dome and then host the Huskies on Saturday (Dec. 8) at 3:30 p.m.

Minot State enters the weekend with a 5-2 overall record and an 0-1 mark in the NSIC.

Minot State opened NSIC play on Dec. 1 at Mary and the Marauders prevailed 64-58. The Beavers held a 49-48 lead with 6:01 to play in the game, but Mary outscored Minot State 16-9 down the stretch to pull out the win. Kari Clements led Minot State with 18 points, while Haley Hildenbrand scored 12 points and Madison Wald had 11 points and eight rebounds.

Wald leads the Beavers in both scoring and rebounding through seven games as the senior is averaging 14.6 points and 4.9 rebounds per contest. She has reached double figures in scoring in six of the seven games and scored a season-high 21 points in the Beavers victory over Dickinson State.

Clements ranks second on the team averaging 14.4 points per game and has scored in double figures in each of the last four games.

Mariah Payne also is averaging in double figures for Minot State as she is scoring 12.7 points per contest. She also leads the Beavers with 28 assists and is averaging 4.0 per game.

Hildenbrand ranks second on the squad averaging 4.4 rebounds per game, while Anna Counts is third on the team with a 4.3 rebounds per game average.

Minnesota Duluth is 2-1 on the season and 1-0 in the NSIC, while St. Cloud State is currently 3-2 overall and 0-1 in league play.