This Week's Women's Basketball Storylines:

FRIENDLY CONFINES: WSU will look to snap its first two-game losing streak when it returns home to take on Sioux Falls on Friday night at 6 p.m. and Southwest Minnesota State Saturday night at 4 p.m. The Warriors are 3-0 in McCown Gymnasium in NSIC conference play and just 2-3 on the road.

HANGING WITH THE BEST: While the Warriors lost both games this past weekend, WSU proved they are a force to be dealt with against the best team in the NSIC. Winona State only lost by two at No. 7 Northern State, 50-48. The Warriors played far from their best game as the team committed a season-high 18 turnovers and only converted 5-of-10 free throws and still had an opportunity to win the game.

HIGHS FOR HACKMANN: While the Warriors struggled on the road this past weekend, sophomore guard Kali Hackmann set career-highs in both games. Hackmann had a career best 16 points on six field goals, four of which were from behind the arc while also blocking a shot. Hackmann also set a career-high two steals against MSU-Moorhead while playing a career-high 29 minutes.

SCOUTING THE COUGARS: Winona State struggled with Sioux Falls' zone defense in the last meeting at Sioux Falls, a game the Warriors lost 82-65. The Warriors will hope to get a stronger performance out of their starting guards, as the starting backcourt for WSU only shot 10-of-34 from the field and 3-of-14 from behind the arc.

THROWING THEM OUT OF BALANCE: USF is the third-best scoring team in the NSIC at 75.2 ppg and have five players averaging between 12.3 ppg and 8.3 ppg. In the last meeting, Sioux Falls had three players score in double-figures with Sam Knecht scoring 17 points, Teagen Molden scoring 16, and Jaicee Ulmer scoring 12. On cue, the Cougars also got nine points out of Alyson Johnson and eight points from Amber Paden. The Warriors will also need to try to limit the damage as well as keep USF off the glass as they are second in the NSIC in rebounding margin.

GETTING HEALTHY: One of the biggest factors heading into the Sioux Falls game is just getting healthy. The Warriors were without starting forward Emily Wirth for the Northern State game and most of the MSU-Moorhead game due to a sprained ankle. The Warriors will need her outside shooting ability against the Cougars as she is a 40-percent shooter from behind the arc. Sophomore guard Jenny Tuttle is also starting to get healthy, as she played nine minutes against MSU-Moorhead, the most minutes she had played since November.

SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS: The Mustangs picked up their first win of the season last week against Augustana. SW Minnesota State defeated the Vikings on their home court 77-71 and challenged Wayne State College in a 75-61 loss that the Mustangs only trailed by one with 7:54 to go. SMSU seems like a more confident team with senior Ellen Degler back with the team after missing the first meeting against the Warriors due to playing for SMSU's volleyball team during their national championship run.

CONTAINING ROSCH: Junior guard Anessa Rosch is coming off a big weekend for the Mustangs where she scored a season-high 17 points against Wayne State and followed it up by breaking that season-high with a 23 point performance against Augustana. Rosch shot 13-of-26 from the field on the weekend, including 8-of-16 from behind the arc. In the Warriors last meeting with SMSU, WSU contained her to just eight points on 3-of-10 shooting and 2-of-5 from behind the arc.