WINONA, Minn. -- The No. 10 Winona State women's basketball teams heads to Northern Minnesota to take on Bemidji State Friday at 6 p.m. before traveling to Minnesota Crookston for a 4 p.m. tap on Saturday.

WINONA STATE at BEMIDJI STATE FIRST LOOK:
Overall Series: Beavers lead 42-32 ... 75th Matchup
First meeting: Feb. 23, 1974 ... WSU won 41-37
Last meeting: Jan. 30, 2015 ... WSU won 65-63
Last BSU win over WSU: Dec. 9, 2011 ... BSU won 69-62
WSU Last Game: W, 63-49 vs Wayne State
BSU Last Game: L, 75-67 vs MSU Moorhead

WINONA STATE at MINNESOTA CROOKSTON FIRST LOOK:
Overall Series: Warriors lead 16-14 ... 31st Matchup
First meeting: Feb. 14, 1998 ... WSU won 90-63
Last meeting: Jan. 31, 2015 ... WSU won 70-58
Last UMC win over WSU: Jan. 4, 2014 ... UMC won 71-58
Last WSU win in Crookston: Jan. 13, 2012 ... WSU won 71-59
WSU Last Game: W, 63-49 vs Wayne State
UMC Last Game: L, 76-70 vs Northern State

LAST TIME OUT: The Warriors swept a pair of important NSIC South games at home, holding both opponents under 50 points in a 73-49 win over Augustana and a 63-49 win over Wayne State. All five WSU starters reached double figures in the win over Augustana, while Kayla Timmerman and Hannah McGlone both recorded double-doubles.

ABOUT THE BEAVERS: BSU is coached by Chelsea DeVille, who owns a 6-12 record in her first season at the helm of the Beavers. Bemidji State is led by the balanced scoring of four players who average in double figures - Aimee Pelzer (13.7 ppg), Sierra Senske (13.6), Tatum Sheley (12.6) and Hanna Zerr (11.0). BSU is ranked 10th in the NSIC in scoring offense (67.6 ppg) and 11th in scoring defense (68.1). The Beavers are 14th in field goal percentage (37.7%) and 11th in FG defense (41%). Pelzer ranks third in the NSIC in steals (2.3 per game) and fourth in 3-pointers made (41).

ABOUT THE GOLDEN EAGLES: UMC is coached by Mike Roysland, who has a record of 92-168 in his 10th season at the helm of the program. Crookston is led by Katrina Nordick's 17.2 ppg, which ranks third in the NSIC. Alexa Thielman averages 16.3 ppg and is the NSIC leader in 3-point field goal percentage (46.6%) and 3-pointers made (3.4 per game). The Golden Eagles rank fifth in the NSIC in scoring offense (73.8 ppg) and seventh in defense (64.3), while ranking fourth in FG percentage (42.3%) and first in 3-point field goal percentage (42.7%).

200 FOR BALLARD: WSU head coach Scott Ballard's next victory will be the 200th of his Winona State tenure spanning 12 seasons. Ballard, the winningest coach in program history, enters weekend play with a 199-140 record at WSU. 

ATOP THE NATION: The Warriors currently rank in the top five in Division II in three major statistical categories. WSU is No. 1 in free throw percentage (80.4), No. 3 in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.38) and tied for No. 5 in scoring defense (53.4 ppg). The Warriors are also ninth in field goal percentage defense (33.8%).

TIMMERMAN'S BLOCK PARTY: Kayla Timmerman continues to be a defensive force in the post. In a win over SMSU on Jan. 9, she became the third Warrior in career history to reach 100 blocks in just her second season. The junior's 55 blocks this season ranks sixth-most in Division II. Her six swats against Northern State on Jan. 2 tied her career-high for the fifth time.

CLEANING THE GLASS: Sophomore Hannah McGlone has become a major rebounding threat as of late. After not pulling down double-digit rebounds through the first 14 games of the season, she's now accomplished the feat in six of the past seven games. On 1/8/16 against Sioux Falls, she notched WSU's first double-double of the season with a 10-point, 12 rebound effort. She then had a career night on the glass the following night against SMSU, grabbing an R/A Facility record 19 boards, putting her second in WSU single-game history. Her second double-double of the season came last weekend against Augustana with a 10-point, 11-rebound effort.

LIMITING STAR PLAYERS: The Warriors have allowed just two opposing players to reach 20 points this season. Concordia-St. Paul's Anna Schmitt put together a 21-point game against the Warriors on Dec. 11 after WSU went the first 10 games without allowing one. WSU surrendered its second 20-point scorer in an 83-80 loss to U-Mary when Brittney Dietz scored 26. The Warriors, meanwhile, have had a 20-point scorer in 12 different games this year.

RECORD WINNING STREAK: WSU put together a historical start to the season, as its 13-game winning streak was not only the best start to a season in history, it was the longest winning streak in program history. 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. 

NATIONAL RANKINGS: The Warriors jumped four spots to No. 10 in the latest USA Today Sports Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll. WSU was ranked No. 16 in the preseason poll - its first ever top 25 ranking - and has been as high as No. 9 this year. WSU also jumped seven spots in the D2SIDA media poll and are ranked No. 3 in the nation by HERO Sports.