Following their longest road trip of the conference season, the Warriors return to McCown Gymnasium to face Southwest Minnesota State (8-9, 5-7 NSIC) and Sioux Falls (12-6, 7-5 NSIC), two teams that are sandwiched on the outside of the Warriors in the NSIC South standings. This weekend will mark the first of two meetings with each of these teams as WSU will head west on Feb. 15-16 to close out the season series.
Tipoff against SMSU is set for 5:30 p.m. on Friday with Saturday's final against Sioux Falls is slated for 3:30 p.m.
The Warriors are coming off a roller coaster weekend where they defeated Minnesota Crookston in dramatic come-from-behind fashion on Friday night, but ended the road trip with a disappointing loss at Bemidji State the night to find themselves back at the .500 mark. Winona State looks to extend their eight-game win streak against SMSU and defeat the USF for the second-straight year as they enter the final month of the season.
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SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS: Southwest Minnesota State enters Friday's tilt coming off a pair of competitive home games – losing in OT to Minot State and edging UMary, 64-62. The Mustangs currently sit sixth in scoring offense, averaging 70.1 points per game while allowing 70.8 to their opponents, which is near the bottom of the league. SMSU is shooting just 38.5% from the field while their opponents are shooting a league-best 42.9% against them. Caleigh Rodning leads the Mustangs in points (233) and rebounds (125). Meleah Reinhart is the Mustangs' hottest shooter as of late leading, SMSU in the scoring column over the past three games by averaging 17 points per contest over that stretch.
SCOUTING THE COUGARS:Sioux Falls enters the weekend just ahead of the Warriors in the NSIC South standings. The Cougars have made a habit this season of distancing themselves from their opponents by averaging 71.3 PPG and outscoring opponents by 11.9 points. USF will put up a fight on the offensive glass as the Cougars average 12.2 offensive boards per game which is inside the top five in the NSIC. Kaely Hummel leads the Cougars on the offensive side of the ball averaging 15.4 PPG while knocking down an NSIC-best 2.4 three-pointers per game. USF is balanced on defense when it comes to pulling down boards, but is led by Anna Goodhope. The redshirt-sophomore has led the Cougars in rebounding over the past five games, averaging eight per night.
TEETER-TOTTER SEASON: The Warriors have had a bit of a back-and-forth year to date as seen by their even record through two thirds of the 2018-19 campaign. Despite not winning more than two consecutive games at any point thus far, WSU has played competitive basketball all season and holds a slight scoring margin advantage over its opponents (4.8). With just under a month left in the regular season, the Warriors look to leverage their remaining four home games after this weekend to climb the rankings towards home court advantage in the first round of the NSIC Tournament.
SWIPE RIGHT: Four Warriors have been very opportunistic when it comes to transitioning off opponents' turnovers. On a nightly basis, Winona State turns the oppositions' mistakes into 12.6 PPG. Aiding in the effort is a core of four Warriors. Allie Pickrain (19), Kayla Schaefer (18), Rachel Novotny (16) and Emily Kieck (15) who have each reached double digits in steals as WSU combines to average 6.3 steals per game.
LEADING BY EXAMPLE: Senior Rachel Novotny has asserted herself as a threat on both sides of the ball this season. The New Berlin, Wisconsin native leads WSU with 11.1 PPG and is a huge asset on the boards bringing down a team-leading 119 rebounds this year. Novotny's is recognized as one of the best defensive players in the NSIC as her 7.4 rebounds per game has her inside the top-10 in the NSIC (9th) while her 1.6 blocks per game ranks fifth. Fellow senior Kayla Schaefer ranks second on the team in scoring with 10.8 PPG on 43.7% shooting.
