WINONA, Minn. -- The No. 9 Winona State women's basketball team looks to continue its record-hot start in 2016 as it opens the new year Saturday at 4 p.m. hosting Northern State before a 2 p.m. Sunday date with MSU Moorhead.

NORTHERN STATE at WINONA STATE FIRST LOOK
Overall Series: Wolves lead 47-10 ... 58th Matchup
First meeting: Jan. 18, 1986 ... NSU won 67-60
Last meeting: Jan. 2, 2015 ... NSU won 50-48
Last WSU win over NSU: Feb. 1, 2013 ... WSU won 49-44
WSU Last Game: W, 69-31 vs Upper Iowa
NSU Last Game: W, 60-59 vs MSU Moorhead

MSU MOORHEAD at WINONA STATE FIRST LOOK
Overall Series: Dragons lead 46-26 ... 73rd Matchup
First meeting: Dec. 17, 1976 ... MSUM won 66-59
Last meeting: Feb. 28, 2015 ... MSUM won 93-84
Last WSU win over MSUM: Feb. 2, 2013 ... WSU won 76-54
WSU Last Game: W, 69-31 vs Upper Iowa
MSUM Last Game: L, 60-59 at Northern State

LAST TIME OUT: The Warriors pushed their record to 13-0, 6-0 NSIC with a dominating 69-31 win over Upper Iowa. WSU's defense held UIU to NSIC season lows in points and shooting percentage (19 percent)

DEFENSIVE BATTLES: When the Wolves and Warriors square off, it's typically been a defensive battle. In the past four meetings, neither team has scored more than 59 points and at least one team has scored in the 40s in each game. That trend could continue, as WSU (51.8 ppg) and NSU (59.8 ppg) are first and fourth in the NSIC in scoring defense.

NSIC TOURNAMENT REMATCH: WSU will look to avenge a loss to MSUM in the quarterfinals of last season's NSIC Tournament. The Dragons won 93-84 behind Heather Strese's 36 points and 13 rebounds. Tara Roelofs scored a then-career high 24 points for WSU.

ABOUT THE WOLVES: NSU is coached by long-time coach Curt Fredrickson, who's 777-287 in his 37th season at the helm and is the second-winningest active women's D2 coach. The Wolves are led by Jill Conrad's 12.5 points per game, while Devon Brecke adds 11.5 ppg. Lauren Deadrick puts in 11.2 ppg and 9.5 rebounds per contest, second best in the NSIC. NSU ranks 3rd in the NSIC in field goal percentage (.424), behind only WSU and USF. On the flip side, the rank fourth in field goal percentage defense (.369), behind WSU, Mary and Augustana. The Wolves also lead the league in rebounding margin at 10.6.

ABOUT THE DRAGONS: MSUM is coached by Karla Nelson, who's in her 16th season at the helm of the program with a record of 264-173. The Dragons are led by Morgan Banasik's 16.6 ppg and 19 steals, while Heather Strese and Savanna Handevidt add 14.0 and 11.7 ppg. The Dragons are shooting 40.2 percent from the field, 31.6 percent from three-point range and 70.2 percent from the free-throw line. MSUM is allowing 65.9 points per game and is outrebounding its opponents, 40.0-38.3.

ATOP THE NATION: The Warriors currently rank in the top 5 in Division II in five statistical categories. WSU is No. 1 in free throw percentage (84.7), No. 2 in scoring margin (28.4) and 3-point field goal percentage (43.9), third in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.45) and fifth in field goal percentage (48.8).

EXTENDING THE RECORD: With WSU's win over Minnesota State on Dec. 12, the Warriors set a new school record for longest winning streak at 12 straight games and extended it to 13 with a win over Upper Iowa. The previous longest winning streak was 11, set from January 23 to March 4, 2009, by the team that would later that season earn WSU's first berth in the NCAA Tournament. 

ON A ROLL-OFS: Junior guard Tara Roelofs' impressive season continues to get better. Roelofs tallied a new career-high 29 points on 10-of-18 shooting in the win over MSU on Dec. 12. Roelofs has reached double figures in all but one game this season and has scored 14 or more in all but three. She's been even better so far in NSIC play, averaging 19.8 points per game in six Warrior wins, which is third best in the league. 

LIMITING STAR PLAYERS: The Warriors went the first 10 games of the season without allowing an opposing player to score 20 points. Concordia-St. Paul's Anna Schmitt finally broke the streak with a 21-point game against the Warriors on Dec. 11. The Warriors, meanwhile, have had a 20-point scorer in seven different games this year.

SUCESS ON BOTH ENDS: The Warriors boast both league's best scoring offense (80.2) and scoring defense (51.8). The Warriors are nearly four percent better on the offensive end than second place Augustana (76.5) and give up more than six points per game less than second place U-Mary (57.9). That adds up to a league-best 28.4 scoring margin, a whopping 11.4 more than the second best mark, Sioux Falls' 17.0.

NAGLE A "DEADLY SHOOTER": Sharp-shooting senior Connor Nagle was named HERO Sports' second deadliest 3-point shooter in Division II. Nagle leads WSU's long range threat with 33 3-pointers on the season (.478).

EASY CHARITY: WSU continues to lead  Division II when it comes to free throw shooting this season, hitting 84.7 percent of its shots from the line. That's more than three percentage points better than second place Tiffin (81.2%). WSU has the top two free throw shooters in the NSIC in Tara Roelofs (32-of-33, 97%) and Alexis Foley (39-of-43, 90.7%).