GAME NOTES

THIS WEEK: With a Northern Sun tournament berth secured, a home playoff game likely and with the opportunity to finish third, the University of Mary women's basketball team closes the regular season at home against its travel partner. In the lone U-Mary game of the weekend, the Marauders host the Wolves of Northern State University on Saturday, February 25. Tip off is set for 4 PM at the McDowell Activity Center.   

THE RECORDS: The Marauders are 17-8 overall and third in the Northern Sun at 14-7... The Wolves are 15-12 and 10-11 in the NSIC and tied for eighth.

LAST OUTINGS: U-Mary snapped a three-game losing streak with a pair of home wins, an 81-52 rout of Concordia University and a 67-50 victory over St. Cloud State... NSU won a pair of home games, rolling past St. Cloud State 61-43 and beating Concordia 64-60.

HISTORY / LAST MEETING
U-Mary vs. Northern State University: Northern State leads the all-time series with U-Mary 28-9. Since joining the Northern Sun and NCAA Division II in 2006-07, the Wolves hold a 7-4 lead in the recent series with the Marauders. U-Mary is 2-3 at home and 2-4 on the road. In the first three seasons, the series was split each year. In the 2007-08 season, the road team won both times... In the last meeting between the two teams earlier this season, U-Mary defeated Northern State 73-71 on the road at Wachs Arena on January 21, 2012, breaking a four-game winning streak for the Wolves. Kaitlyn Haag posted a double double for the Marauders with 16 points and 10 rebounds, Kayla Schmidt drained five three-pointers and scored 15 points and Ali Collins also had 15 points for the Marauders. Emily Becken and Jenna Higgins both scored 16 points for the Wolves and Mikayla Barondeau added 12 points and 11 rebounds. The Marauders lost a 13 point lead in the game. Schmidt blocked a shot at the end of regulation to preserve the win.

ON THE LINE: Based on the third tiebreaker used by the Northern Sun - a point rating system - we believe that the Marauders will host a first-round NSIC tournament game on Wednesday, February 29, no matter the outcome of this weekend's games. What appears to be up for grabs is whether U-Mary finishes third or fourth in the NSIC and is the third or fourth seed. THE FINAL AND OFFICIAL DETERMINATION OF PLAYOFF SEEDING WILL BE MADE BY THE NSIC SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25, AFTER THE COMPLETION OF ALL CONFERENCE GAMES. Here is a brief rundown of how we see the weekend scenarios for the Marauders:
• A win by the Marauders over Northern State and U-Mary will finish third in the Northern Sun. Based on the point rating system, it is anticipated the Marauders will be the third seed in the NSIC tournament. If the University of Minnesota Duluth sweeps Winona State and Upper Iowa, and ties U-Mary for third place, the Marauders have a higher point rating than the Bulldogs so we currently believe the Marauders would get the higher seed.
• A loss by the Marauders and two wins by the University of Minnesota Duluth would drop U-Mary to fourth in the final conference standings and the fourth seed in the NSIC tournament.
• Should Winona State defeat Minnesota Duluth Friday night, that should clinch third place and the third seed for the Marauders.
• Should the Marauders lose to Northern State, Winona State defeats both Minnesota Duluth and Bemidji State, and should Minnesota Duluth then defeat Upper Iowa, there would be a three-way tie for third place. Entering the weekend, we believe the Marauders have the highest point rating total and would win the tiebreaker to claim the third seed.

NORTHERN STATE SCENARIO: Should the Wolves beat the Marauders on Saturday, Northern State makes the playoffs. The Wolves also qualify if Concordia University defeats St. Cloud State.

NSIC / Sanford Health Tournament Schedule
Quarterfinals - Wednesday, February 29, 2012 (Top Four Seeds Host)

Semifinals - Saturday, March 3, 2012 - Taylor Arena - Rochester, Minn.
12 noon     Women's Semifinal - #1/8 Seed vs. #4/5 Seed
2:30 PM    Men's Semifinal - #1/8 Seed vs. #4/5 Seed
5:00 PM    Women's Semifinal - #2/7 Seed vs. #3/6 Seed
7:30 PM    Men's Semifinal - #2/7 Seed vs. #3/6 Seed

Championship- Sunday, March 4. 2012 - Taylor Arena - Rochester, Minn.
2:00 PM Women's Championship
4:30 PM        Men's Championship  

MARAUDERS SIXTH IN CENTRAL REGION POLL: Entering the final weekend of the regular season, the University of Mary maintains its hold on sixth place in the NCAA Division II Central Region Rankings. This is the second of three regional rankings prior to the release of the NCAA regional tournament brackets... The NCAA Central Region is comprised of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The eight teams selected for the NCAA Central Region Tournament will be released March 4 with the tournament set to start March 9... The Marauders have a 15-8 record against NCAA Division II foes and are also 15-8 against teams in the Central Region. U-Mary currently holds third place in the NSIC with one game remaining... The top six teams in the regional poll remain unchanged from last week.

NCAA CENTRAL REGION POLL
1. Wayne State College (NSIC, 23-2 vs. NCAA Division II, 23-2 vs. In-Region teams)
2. Metro State (RMAC, 22-2, 22-2)
3. Augustana (NSIC, 17-5, 17-5)
4. Fort Lewis (RMAC, 19-4, 19-4)
5. Colorado State-Pueblo (RMAC, 19-5, 18-5)
6. U-Mary (NSIC, 15-8, 15-8)
7. Minnesota Duluth (NSIC, 15-8, 15-8)
8. Minnesota State (NSIC, 14-9, 12-9)
9. Winona State (NSIC, 13-9, 13-9)
10. MSU Moorhead (NSIC, 13-9, 12-9).

CENTRAL REGION POLL NOTES: U-Mary is 4-6 against teams in the current regional ranking. The Marauders beat Winona State in the only meeting between the two teams, split with MSU Moorhead, Wayne State and Minnesota Duluth, lost their only game with Minnesota State and lost two games to Augie.
 
FOUR YEARS COMING: The last time the Marauders were mentioned in the regional poll was at the end of the 2007-08 season when U-Mary checked in at number 10.

2007-08: The Marauders have clinched their first NSIC tournament berth since 2007-08, when U-Mary placed third in the conference and earned home court in the first round.

14: The Marauders 14 Northern Sun conference wins is the most ever recorded by U-Mary since joining the NSIC in 2006-07. The Marauders previous high was in 2007-08 when U-Mary finished the season 11-7 and third in the league.

17: U-Mary has 17 wins this season with five regular season games to play, exceeding last year's win total of 13. It is the most wins for the Marauders since finishing 17-11 in 2007-08.

WINNING SEASON CLINCHED: With 17 wins, the Marauders have clinched a winning season for the first time since going 15-12 in 2008-09. U-Mary finished 13-13 last year.

MAC ATTACK: The Marauders have won 35-of-55 NSIC home games the last six seasons and are 49-26 overall (9-4 2006-07, 10-3 in 2007-08, 8-5 in 2008-09, 7-6 in 2009-10, 7-5 in 2010-11, 8-3 in 2011-12) in the McDowell Activity Center. Since Fred Fridley became head coach in the 2003-04 season, the Marauders are 86-28 at home, which includes a 15-0 mark in 2004 and 10-0 in 2006.

BENCH PLAY: The Marauders reserves have outscored the opponent's bench 16 times in 25 games. U-Mary is 4-5 in games where the opposing bench has had the scoring edge, with the losses coming against Augustana twice, Minnesota Duluth and Minot State at home and MSU Moorhead on the road. The Marauders four wins include two against St. Cloud State and home games against Wayne State and Bemidji State.

DEEEEEFENSSSSSE: U-Mary is one of the most difficult teams to score on in the nation. Teams are shooting an anemic 33.9 per cent from the field against U-Mary, 8th in the country. The Marauders allow just 61.9 points per game. Fourteen times in 25 games the Marauders have held an opponent to 59 or fewer points.

SCORING: The Marauders are second in scoring in the NSIC, posting 69.8 points per game. The team's scoring margin of +7.9 points per game is fourth.

CAREER HIGH: Laura Petersen scored a career-high 25 points in the Marauders home win over Concordia University - St. Paul. Her former high was 23 points, also against the Golden Bears.

MAGNIFICENT MURRAY: Linda Murray has anchored the paint for the Marauders this season. The junior forward from Fresno, CA, leads the team in scoring (11.2 PPG), rebounding (7.8 RPG) and blocks (49). Seven times this season she has posted a double double, including twice against NSIC-leading Wayne State. She is ranked among the NSIC leaders in blocked shots (2nd), rebounding (5th), field goal percentage (9th) and scoring (16th).  

POWERFUL POST PLAY: Marauders post players Kaitlyn Haag and Linda Murray have been a tremendous post pair for the Marauders this season. Murray starts and averages 11.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. Haag is scoring 9.4 points and pulling down 6.6 boards per game in a relief role.

STAT STUFFER: JR G Ali Collins continues to post tremendous numbers all across the board for the Marauders. The Mandan, ND, native is second on U-Mary in scoring (10.7 PPG) and leads in assists (3.5/game) and steals (51). The dynamic guard also pulls down 5.6 rebounds per game. Collins snared 11 boards at Minnesota State, tying her career high. She set a career-high in scoring with 26 points at MSU Moorhead.

BENCH BOOST: SO F Kaitlyn Haag has provided a tremendous bench boost for the Marauders this season. Despite coming off the bench she is third on the team in scoring and second in rebounding. Haag is 7th in the NSIC in field goal percentage and 11th in rebounding. She had a nine-game stretch of reaching double digits in points snapped in a home win over Bemidji State. During that nine-game run Haag averaged 14.2 points per game and 7.8 rebounds while shooting 53.8 per cent from the field and 79.4 per cent at the free throw line.

NATIONAL NOTE-TEAM: The Marauders rank in the top 74 nationally in several categories:
• 8th in field goal percentage defense (33.9)
• 21st in blocks per game (5.0)
• 34th in rebounding margin (+5.9)
• 52nd in three-pointers made per game (6.3)
• 74th in winning percentage (68.0)
• 67th in scoring margin (+8.0)
• 69th in scoring (69.9)

NATIONAL NOTE - INDIVIDUAL: Several Marauders are mentioned among the top 1112 on the NCAA individual stat leader boards:
• Kayla Schmidt 42nd in three point field goals made/game (2.4)
• Kayla Schmidt is 94th in three-point field goal percentage (29.7)
• Linda Murray is 46th in blocked shots/game (2.0)
• Linda Murray is 62nd in double doubles (7)
• Shaunna Knife is 109th in blocked shots/game (1.3)

BOARD GAMES: The Marauders are first in the NSIC in rebounds per game (44.7) and fourth in rebounding margin (+5.8/game). The Marauders were out-rebounded four times in 25 games, losses to Augustana, Minnesota State and MSU Moorhead and a win at Northern State.   

WINDEX: Linda Murray is the Marauders leading glass cleaner this season. Her average of 7.8 rebounds per game is fifth in the NSIC. Teammate Kaitlyn Haag averages 6.2 rebounds and stands 11th in the conference. The Marauders are the only team in the league to have two rebounders in the top 11.  

BLOCK PARTY: The Marauders average 4.96 blocks per game, second in the NSIC. Leading the way is Linda Murray with 1.96 blocks per game, second in the NSIC. Shaunna Knife is 8th with 1.28 blocks/game.

DOWNTOWN: The Marauders are averaging 6.32 treys made per game, fifth among schools in the NSIC. Leading the way is senior guard Kayla Schmidt, who is third in the Northern Sun with an average of 2.4 treys per game.

CRIME SCENE: U-Mary averages 8.72 steals per game, third in the NSIC. Ali Collins is the leader of the crime ring, averaging 2.04 steals/game, fourth among NSIC players.  

ALL IN: Twice this season all 12 Marauders have scored in a single game; a win over Minot State and a loss at Concordia University. The squad nearly accomplished that feat against Johnson and Wales when 11 of the 12 players who appeared in the game scored.

SHARING THE LOAD: Eight different Marauders have reached double digits in points this season. Ali Collins scored 10 or more points 13 times, Kaitlyn Haag and Linda Murray 12 times. Shaunna Knife 11 times, Kayla Schmidt ten times, Laura Petersen seven, and McKenzie Foster five times and Lindsey Sand three times.

SHARING THE LOAD v2: Five Marauders have led the team in scoring, including Linda Murray a team-high eight times, Ali Collins and Kaitlyn Haag six times each, Kayla Schmidt and Laura Petersen twice apiece and Shaunna Knife once each.  

SHARING THE LOAD v3: Only two player averages double figures in scoring - Linda Murray at 11.2 points per game and Ali Collins at 10.7 PPG. Three more players check in at over eight points per game: Kaitlyn Haag (9.4), Shaunna Knife (8.4) and Kayla Schmidt (8.2). Right behind is Laura Petersen (7.8) and McKenzie Foster (5.2).

TAKING TURNS: Only three times this season has the same player led the Marauders in scoring in consecutive games, Kaitlyn Haag against SMSU, MSU and NSU, and Linda Murray vs. BSU and UMD and at Wayne State and Augustana. During one five game stretch five different Marauders have paced the team in scoring.

MURRAY'S GREAT EIGHT: JR F Linda Murray swatted away eight shots in a loss at Minnesota State University on January 14. It is the most by a player in the Northern Sun this season. The eight blocks are also the most by a U-Mary player since the Marauders began NCAA Division II play in 2006-07. The figure may also be an all-time single game record for U-Mary.