WINONA, Minn. - The Winona State University women's basketball team is well-positioned to extend their winning streak to four games when they host Minot State University on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 3:30pm.
The Warriors (10-9, 7-8 NSIC) will look to best the Beavers (8-10, 6-6 NSIC) with the opportunity to earn back-to-back NSIC weekend sweeps after claiming road wins at Northern State and MSU - Moorhead. On Friday, WSU beat UMary 68-64 while Minot State fell at Upper Iowa, 80-71.
Read on for more regarding Saturday's contest which will tip off at 3:30pm in McCown Gymnasium on the campus of Winona State University.
Who:Â Winona State University vs Minot State
What: The Warriors (10-9, 7-8 NSIC)  will face the Beavers (8-10, 6-6 NSIC)
When:Â Saturday, January 29Â with a 3:30 pm CST start.
Where:Â McCown Gymnasium on the campus of Winona State University.
Winona State - Minot State WBB Notables:
Winona State Warriors:
The Warriors return home after a successful road trip to MSU Moorhead and Northern State. It is first time Winona State has defeated MSUM and NSU on the road in the same weekend in program history.
WSU has not played Minot State since the 2019-20 season. The Beavers defeated the Warriors in that game by a score of 68-53 in Minot, N.D. Prior to the 2019-20 season, Winona State won the previous three meetings.
This weekend is the last weekend of cross-divisional play, as WSU will have six NSIC South Division games left to wrap up the regular season. Winona State currently sits sixth in the NSIC South, but they are just 1.5 games out of third.
Taylor Hustad earned NSIC South Division Player of the Week after averaging 20.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in two road wins last weekend. She scored a season-high 24 points against MSUM and shot 18-28 (0.64) from the field across the two games.
The Warriors are currently 10-9 overall and 7-8 in the NSIC. Last weekend, WSU went on the road and earned two important road wins over MSU Moorhead and Northern State.
In Friday's 75-66 win over MSUM, the Warriors went a perfect 14-14 from the free-throw line. It was the first time WSU shot 100% from the line in a game with at least 10 attempts since March 12, 2016 when they went 15-15 against Emporia State in the NCAA Tournament.
Against UMary, WSU hit 11-of-13 free throws in the four-point win. The Marauders were 6-of-12 at the charity stripe in the game.
WSU currently leads the NSIC with a 0.779 free-throw percentage, making 159 of 203 attempts from the free throw line this season.
Emily Kieck leads the way from the free-throw line, as she has knocked down a league second-best 86.2% of her free-throws this season.
Taylor Hustad is the NSIC-leader in field goal percentage, knocking down 55.6% of shots from the field, while leading the Warriors with 12.8 points/game. She is also seventh in the conference averaging 7.2 rebounds per game.
Kieck (10.4 ppg), Emma Fee (9.8 ppg), Caitlin Riley (9.2 ppg), and Mattie Schimenz (7.6 ppg) round out the scoring for the starting five.
Caitlin Riley is fourth in the NSIC in 3-point field goals made per game with 2.2. She has made 40 3-pointers this season on 118 attempts.
Emily Kieck leads WSU with 3.8 assists/game, a mark that is eighth in the conference.
Winona State will return to the road next week when they travel to Wayne State College and Augustana University.Â
More on Minot State:
The Beavers are 8-10 overall and 6-5 in the NSIC. They are currently riding a three-game win streak, and are coming off a weekend sweep at home over Minnesota State and Concordia-St. Paul.
Minot State is averaging 67.2 points/game on offense and give up an average of 69.8 points/game to their opponents, the most in the NSIC.
The Beavers have the fourth-best 3-point field goal percentage in the league, averaging 32.2% from downtown.
MSU is led offensively by Amber Stevahn who averages 17.9 points/game, the second most in the NSIC. She has a .532 field goal percentage and is .800 from the line, both are top-10 in the conference.
Kate Head is second in scoring for the Beavers with 10.9 points/game. Anna Counts averages 9.4 to round out the top-three scorers.
Stevahn also co-leads Minot State with 6.1 rebounds/game along with teammate, Anna Counts.
Lucy Chapman leads the Beavers with 21 made 3-pointers, six of which came in a game against Maryville (Mo). She averages 6.8 points for MSU.
Minot State lost at Upper Iowa Friday evening, 80-71, providing the Peacocks their second NSIC win this year.Â
The Beavers will travel to Bemidji State and Minnesota Crookston next weekend, returning to NSIC Divisional play.Â
For the most up-to-date news in Warrior Athletics, please visit: www.WINONASTATEWARRIORS.com and @WinonaStateATH.
About Winona State University Athletics:Â
The Winona State University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, as an integral part of the educational mission of the institution, is committed to offering opportunities to experience academic and athletic excellence for our student-athletes through two simple words: Graduate Champions. Â
Fourteen Warrior programs compete at the NCAA Division II level within the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).  Winona State University competes as an affiliate member of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) in the sport of women's gymnastics
