This Week's Women's Basketball Storylines:
BREAKING INTO THE RANKS: The Winona State women's basketball team has a golden opportunity to break into the NCAA Division II Central Region rankings after being left out this week's initial rankings. The Warriors (18-6, 14-6 NSIC) will take on No. 16 Wayne State (23-3, 17-3 NSIC), which is third in the regional rankings on Friday night at 6 p.m. and Augustana (15-9, 11-9 NSIC), which is 10th in the region on Saturday at 4 p.m., with both games being played in McCown Gymnasium.
CLOSING THE ROAD BOOKS: Winona State closed out its road schedule with a split on the road against Minnesota State and Concordia-St. Paul this past weekend. The Warriors dropped a tough road game at Minnesota State, losing 71-66 in overtime. However, Winona State bounced back with a big road win at Concordia-St. Paul, defeating the Golden Bears 67-59. Winona State swept the season series over the Concordia.
NAGLE'S ALL-AROUND GAME: Junior guard Connor Nagle had a strong performance in all facets of the game Saturday against Concordia. Nagle dished out a career-high eight assists, while scoring 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting, including 3-of-4 from behind the arc and ripping down seven rebounds as well.
McGLONE'S EMERGENCE: Freshman forward Hannah McGlone has evolved into a strong performer for the Warriors this season. This past weekend, McGlone gathered a career-high 12 rebounds in the Minnesota State game, and hit two key free throws in the last 30 seconds to send the game into overtime. In the Concordia-St. Paul game, McGlone was one of four Warriors to score in double-digits with 12 points, scoring six of the Warriors last 13 points in the final 3:30 of the game. She also led the Warriors on the glass with eight rebounds as well.
CHARGING UP THE RECORD BOOK: Sophomore center Kayla Timmerman charged up the single-season blocks chart this past weekend. With six blocks against Minnesota State and two blocks against Concordia-St. Paul, Timmerman now sits in a tie for fifth with Lisa Parsons in the WSU record book with 49 blocked shots on the season. Timmerman is three blocks away from tying Bernie Roskop for fourth in the record book.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS: Wayne State will present one of the biggest challenges the Warriors will have all season at home. The Wildcats are the top team in the NSIC and possess the second-best scoring offense (76.8 ppg) and the second-best scoring defense (55.9 ppg) in the conference and the seventh-best scoring defense in the nation. Wayne State has a balanced scoring attack with six players averaging between 16 and seven points per game. They are led by Jordan Spencer, leading the Wildcats in scoring (15.9 ppg) and rebounding (7.4 rpg).
SERIES HISTORY VERSUS THE WILDCATS: The Warriors are 16-30 all-time against Wayne State and 7-15 under Coach Ballard. The last time both teams met in Wayne, the Wildcats defeated the Warriors 64-44, using a 16-0 run at the end of the first half to put the game away. The last time the Warriors defeated the Wildcats at home was on Dec. 15, 2012 when Winona State came away with a 74-35 victory in McCown Gymnasium.
SCOUTING THE VIKINGS: Winona State will be taking on one of the best offenses in the nation on Saturday when they host Augustana on Saturday. The Vikings are the top scoring offense in the NSIC and seventh nationally at 79.4 ppg. The Vikings are led by Shaunteva Ashley, who leads the NSIC and is sixth in the nation in scoring at 20.6 ppg and leads the NSIC in assists at 5.4 apg. Much like the Wildcats, the Vikings have a balanced scoring team with six players scoring more than six points per game.
SERIES HISTORY VERSUS THE VIKINGS: Winona State is 6-20 all-time against the Vikings and 4-11 under Coach Ballard. The last time the Warriors played the Vikings at home was on Feb. 22, 2014 as Winona State came away with an 84-76 victory. It was a record-breaking night for the Warriors as then-senior Abby Busch scored a school record 39 points in the victory.
A LITTLE ASSURANCE: With the Warriors splitting a pair of games last weekend, the squad did enough to assure itself a home game in the opening round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament, which will be played Wednesday, Feb. 25 in McCown Gym. The Warriors still have a lot to play for, as a pair of wins this weekend could launch them to the No. 2 seed in the South Division, while the possibility still remains of falling as low as the No. 4 seed in the South. The winners of Wednesday's first round matchups head to Sioux Falls to play at The Pentagon next Sunday-Tuesday.
