Minnesota State Opens 2010-11 Season at Maverick Classic

MSU Plays Grand View and California (PA) to Open Season

Looking Ahead: Minnesota State hosts the Maverick Classic this weekend as it welcomes Grand View, California (PA) and Bemidji State. MSU will play against Grand View on Friday at 7 p.m. and California (PA) on Saturday at 5 p.m. Bemidji State will also be in the tournament, but Minnesota State will not play the Beavers over the weekend.

MSU-Grand View Notables: Friday’s contest will be the sixth meeting in the two school’s history. The Mavericks lead the series 4-1 in the previous games and the last time the two teams played was in 1987 when they played two games, with MSU earning both wins over the Vikings.

A Bit About the Vikings:  Grand View finished 26-9 last season, owning a 12-3 record in the Midwest Collegiate Conference. Grand View returns two of five starters, including sophomore Jennifer Jorgenson, who averaged 17.2 points per game and 8.4 rebounds per game a year ago. Senior center Danielle Ballard returns for the Vikings,  averaging 7.5 points per game and 3.9 rebounds per game. Grand View averaged 69.8 point per game last season and shot 44.1 percent from the field. Garey Smith is in his ninth year as head coach at Grand View.

MSU- California (PA) Notables: Saturday’s game will be the first match up between the two schools.

Valuable Vulcan Info: The Vulcans are coming off a 24-8 record and an 11-3 record in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. California returns three of its five starters, including Kayla Smith who averaged 15.4 points per game and 11.9 rebounds per game last season. Junior Amy Jones returns after averaging nine points per game and 5.9 rebounds per game last season. Sophomore Stephanie Michael returns at guard and averaged shooting 39 percent from beyond the arc.

Mark Swasey is in his second season with the Vulcans, owning an all-time 204-119 record.

Bemidji State notes: The Beavers concluded with a 12-15 record and a 6-14 record in the last season in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. Bemidji State returns all five of its probable starters, including sophomore center Jessie Althoff, who averaged 10.1 points per game, shooting 43.4 percent from the field. Junior guard Sydney Epema returns after posting 9.9 points per game a year ago. Leading rebounder Emily Kaus, averaged 5.4 rebounds per game last season and one the three sophomores returning to the Beavers lineup this season. Bemidji State is coached by fifth year man Mike Curfman, who owns a 43-68 mark at BSU.

All-Time: The 2010-11 season marks the 46th year of women’s basketball as a varsity sport at Minnesota State. MSU currently holds a 578-520 (.526) and has made three NCAA Tournament Appearances in 1986, 2008 and 2009.

And They Meet Again: California (PA’s) head coach Mark Swasey is no stranger to the Mavericks. In 2009, Swasey was the Head Coach at Franklin Pierce, the team that Minnesota State defeated, 103-94, for the National Championship

Live Stats: All Minnesota State home women’s basketball games will be stream over the Internet on livestats. Simply direct your browser to: www.msumavericks.com and click on the multimedia tab, then women’s basketball.