Winona State (3-2, 1-0 NSIC) welcomes (RV) Augustana (8-1, 1-0 NSIC) and Wayne State (4-2, 0-1 NSIC) to McCown Gymnasium this weekend for a pair of NSIC matchups. Friday, the Warriors have a tough task ahead of them as the Vikings are off to a red-hot start this season after ending WSU's 2017-18 season in the NSIC Tournament championship game. On Saturday, Winona State also looks to avenge a loss to Wayne State as the Wildcats spoiled the Warriors' senior nigh with a buzzer-beater to conclude the regular season a year ago.
 
NOTES
 
FLASHBACK FRIDAY: Winona State has a bit of a bone to pick with Augustana. Last season, the Vikings got the better of the Warriors winning the season series, 2-1. WSU did upset then-No. 10 Augustana late last season with a 71-67 victory. Gabie Doud (19) and Allie Pickrain (18) carried the offensive load in that win over the Vikings. Just 10 days later, after pulling off a few more upsets to reach the NSIC Tournament title game, the two teams met again where Augustana's defense was too much for the Warriors to handle and WSU fell, 64-45.
 
CRASHING THE GLASS: One of Winona State's strengths this season has been grabbing rebounds on both ends of the floor. The Warriors lead the NSIC in rebounding margin (+9.8) and rank second in the league in offensive boards per game (14.2) Two key contributors to Winona State's success on the glass have been Rachel Novotny (28) and Taylor Hustad (26). Novotny leads the team in defensive boards (19) while Hustad has been a key contributor to the Warriors' 57 second-chance points, nabbing 15 boards on offense.
 
SCOUTING THE VIKINGS: Augustana picked up right where they left off last season as the 2018 NSIC tournament champs have compiled an 8-1 record early this season. The Vikings are on a current three-game winning streak coming into Friday, and have won four of their last five. Augie's dominance is to be attributed to their ability to score. As a team, the Vikings are shooting an impressive 47% from the field and hold a +22.2 scoring margin over their opponents. Augie distributes the wealth evenly between the top three scorers as Abby Hora (12.2), Shelby Selland (12.2) and Lyndsey Prosser (12.1) each average over 12 points per game. The Vikings defense is impressive too, ranking seventh in the nation with 33 rebounds per game and fourth when it comes to total steals (117). 
 
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS: Wayne Sate enters this weekend winning two of their last three matchups, having suffered an 81-73 loss to Augustana last weekend. The Wildcats are right in the middle of the conference scoring 70.5 ppg. Wayne State's leading scorer, Erin Norling, is averaging 14.7 ppg so far this season placing her inside the top 10 (8^th) in the conference. Halley Busse has lent a helping hand tallying 4.3 assists per game which is fourth in the NSIC. The Wildcats are a bit prone to turnovers committing 91 turnovers already in the young season.
 
NSIC POLL: WSU has been picked seventh overall and fourth in the South Division by the coaches of the NSIC. The Warriors were in a similar passion last season, but prominently showed that the rankings didn't mean much when it came to the performance on the court, finishing the season as the runner-up in the NSIC Tournament. 2018 NSIC Freshman of the Year, Allie Pickrain, has been selected as Winona State's preseason player to watch.