Photo by Samantha Davis: Southwest Minnesota State University's Maddie Thorfinnson brings the ball up the court against UMary on Jan. 17 in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference game. The Mustangs will host Minnesota State University Moorhead on Friday this week and Minnesota Crookston on Saturday.

MARSHALL — The Southwest Minnesota State University womens basketball team enters this weekend looking to keep its stride going with another pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference wins over Minnesota State University Moorhead and Minnesota Crookston.

The Mustangs completed a weekend sweep over Minot State and UMary last Friday and Saturday.

Friday’s matchup against the Dragons (9-7, 6-6 NSIC) for Faith and Family Night will tip off at 5:30 p.m. at SMSU’s R/A Facility. The Mustangs will then host the Golden Eagles (4-13, 3-8 NSIC) for their annual Tropical Night on Saturday at 5 p.m.

A radio broadcast of both games can be found on 105.1 FM KARL, with live video and stats online at SMSUmustangs.com.

A look at the standings

Including this weekend’s two matchups, SMSU has 10 games remaining in the regular season before the NSIC Tournament begins in just over a month.

Entering Friday, SMSU (10-7, 8-4) sits in third in the NSIC South and fifth in the complete conference standings. Winona State (12-6, 9-3) and undefeated Minnesota State (18-0, 12-0) occupy second and first, respectively, in the South.

MSUM and Crookston come from the NSIC North. The Dragons come into the weekend in third place in the North and seventh in the conference, while the Golden Eagles sit seventh in the South and 13th overall.

The Mustangs most recently shot a season-high in points and field-goal percentage at 57% in last Friday’s 92-73 win over Minot State, along with career highs from Brynn Busse’s 14 points and Nicole Maenke’s eight assists to no turnovers.

SMSU’s 3-point shooting has continued to shine. The Mustangs currently sit in second in the NSIC in both 3-point percentage and 3s made. The Mustangs had 12 in the win over the Beavers, including six that were made consecutively in the second quarter.

Against UMary last Saturday, SMSU shot a season-best 64% from the perimeter, going 7 for 11. Audrey Swanson and Natalie Nielsen led the charge in the 89-75 win, both logging double-doubles.

A date with the Dragons

SMSU has won six of the last seven meetings against MSUM, dating back to the 2019-2020 season, and will look to continue that same momentum on Friday.

The Dragons are currently averaging 70.9 points a game to the Mustangs’ 73.6, and are aiming to bounce back from a 68-51 loss to Wayne State last Saturday. Prior to that loss, MSUM had won five of its last six games.

Although SMSU holds a notable advantage against MSUM in 3-point shooting, as the Dragons currently rank last in the NSIC in shooting percentage from deep and second from last in 3s made per game, the Mustangs will look to win the rebounding battle against the top team in the conference on the glass.

MSUM leads the NSIC with an average of 40.3 rebounds a game, while SMSU ranks 10th with 37.3.

The Dragons also hold a 6.4 rebounding margin, which is second in the conference behind Winona’s 7.6.

Terryn Johnson leads MSUM with 12.9 points and seven rebounds a game, while Abby John follows with 11.3 points.

SMSU will also look to manage Ashton Safranksi, averaging 11.1 points, along with leading the Dragons with 39 steals on the season so far. She ranks third in the conference individually, averaging 2.4 a night.

Swanson remains as SMSU’s leading scorer, averaging 16.9 points, along with a second-best eight rebounds a game.

SMSU has four players averaging double-figure scoring, while Nielsen leads the team with 8.3 rebounds.

The Dragons and Mustangs last met in the NSIC Tournament last season on March 1, 2025, with SMSU coming away with an 87-79 win behind Swanson’s 25 points.

Gearing up for the Golden Eagles

The Mustangs will look to keep their streak going against UMC after winning the past six meetings consecutively.

The Golden Eagles most recently snapped a four-game skid with a 93-70 win over Augustana University last Saturday.

Emma Miller led UMC in the win with 24 points behind four 3-pointers, while Natalie Mikrot finished with 22 points and shot a team-high 6 of 9 from deep.

Crookston currently averages 68.7 points a game.

Particularly, UMC ranks fourth in the NSIC with 3.71 blocks a game.

SMSU will look to protect the ball from 5-foot-11 freshman Anna Westby, who leads the NSIC with 2.3 blocks a game and has tallied 39 blocks on the season so far.

Westby had four blocks alone in the team’s win over Augustana last week.

Miller is the Golden Eagles’ leading scorer with 19.9 a game to her 5.6 rebounds, while Rayna Klejeski leads the team with 5.8 boards.

SMSU defeated UMC 88-74 in the last meeting between the two on Feb. 15, 2025. Swanson led the Mustangs’ current players with 19 points, 15 rebounds and four steals, and Nielsen logged 16 points to her nine boards.

The Mustangs also heavily outrebounded UMC 45-27 in the matchup.

Following this weekend

After completing its four-game homestand this weekend, SMSU will head back out on the road for the next two weeks.

The Mustangs will first take on new NSIC opponent Jamestown (4-12, 2-10) next Friday at the Harold Newman Arena, and then will meet with Northern State (10-8, 5-7 NSIC) on Saturday at Wachs Arena.

SMSU will next return to Marshall on Feb. 12 and Feb. 13 to host Winona State and Concordia-St. Paul.