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Last year came to a close with the Marauders falling to #14 Fort Lewis in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. This was the first time that the U-Mary has qualified for the tournament in team history. The Marauders 19 wins overall and 15 Northern Sun victories mark program bests since joining the NCAA in 2006.
Last week U-Mary saw their first action of the season as they hosted Concordia College (Minn.) in an exhibition game. The Marauders defeated the Cobbers handily 80-60. Kaitlyn Haag and Brittney Dietz both posted 15 points for the Marauders. Shaunna Knife added 13 and Laura Petersen had 11.
This week the University of Mary will have their first chance to face live competition as they head the Kansas to participate in the Pittsburg State Tip-Off Classic. U-Mary's first game of the season will be on Friday against Missouri Southern State University. You can follow the game with live audio and stats at mssulions.com. On Saturday the Marauders will square off against Pittsburg State. The game against Pitt State, who qualified for the Elite Eight last season, will not be broadcast, but you can follow live stats pittstategorillas.com.
NSIC: With the release of the 2012 NSIC Women's Basketball Coaches Poll, U-Mary was voted fifth with 171 points. Augustana College (S.D.), with 225 points, was picked to win the Northern Sun with 15 out of 16 first place votes. The Marauders, who finished third in the NSIC last year, were the only other team to receive a first place vote. In the North Division, the Marauders were voted second with 41 points. Minnesota Duluth edged U-Mary with 46 points. This is the first season of divisional play in the NSIC. Last season the Marauders finished first among the teams that make up the North Division this year. With the release of the pre-season poll, the Northern Sun also announced their players to watch. Ali Collins was named a Northern Sun Player to Watch.
ESPN: The University of Mary women's basketball team received four votes in the USA TODAY Sports/ESPN COACHES' POLL. Ashland University (Ohio), who finished last season ranked number two, was voted the top team in Division II. Wayne State was voted 16th in the coaches poll. Wayne finished last season with a 32-3 record and was fourth in the final poll. WSC is the top rated Northern Sun team in the preseason poll. Augustana College aslo found themselves ranked in the top 25. Augustana, who finished 24-7 overall last year, was voted 18th by the coaches. Minnesota Duluth and Concordia St. Paul were the only two other NSIC schools to receive votes.
Projected U-Mary starters
No. Name
22 Ali Collins
23 Shaunna Knife
24 McKenzie Foster
30 Laura Petersen
40 Kaitlyn Haag
Key reserves
No. Name
12 Taylor Luke
13 Lindsey Sand
32 Kelsey Peltier
35 Shanara Clark
42 Britney Dietz
Missouri Southern was 8-18 last season with a 4-16 record in the MIAA. The Lions do return their top player from last season in Erin Rice. Rice, a 6-2 forward, led the team in both scoring and rebounding with 14.9 and 5.3 respectively. MSSU is 0-2 so far this season in two exhibition games including a match-up with D1 San Francisco.
Pittsburg State is ranked third in nation in the USA Today/ESPN Pre-Season Coaches Poll. Pitt State advanced all the way to the Elite Eight last season defeating two ranked opponents in their tournament run before falling to eventual champion Shaw. The Gorillas fell to Nebraska in an exhibition game to open the season. Lizzy Jeronimus, who led the team in scoring last year for her sophomore season. In her first year Jeronimus was named MIAA Freshman of the Year.
