GAME NOTES

THIS WEEK: Postseason play begins today when the University of Mary women's basketball team hosts Winona State University in the opening round of the Northern Sun / Sanford Health Women's Basketball Tournament. The third-seeded Marauders tip off against the six-seeded Warriors at 7 PM on Wednesday, February 29, at U-Mary's McDowell Activity Center.

AT STAKE: The winner of tonight's game between the Maraudars and Winona State will advance to the semifinals of the NSIC / Sanford Health Tournament to face the winner of the #2 Augustana - #7 MSU Moorhead contest at 5 PM on Saturday, March 3, at the Taylor Center in Rochester, MN. The conference championship is set for Sunday, March 4, at 2 PM. The winner of the NSIC tournament will earn automatic qualification to the NCAA Central Region Tournament on March 9-10, 12 at a site yet to be determined.

THE RECORDS: The Marauders finished the regular season 18-8 overall and third in the Northern Sun at 15-7... The Warriors are 18-10 and tied for fifth in the NSIC with a 13-9 record.

LAST OUTINGS: U-Mary closed out the regular season on a three-game winning streak with a 78-73 win over Northern State University at home... WSU split a pair of road games, losing at Minnesota Duluth 76-70 in overtime before closing with a 73-59 win at Bemidji State University.

HISTORY / LAST MEETING
U-Mary vs. Winona State University: Since U-Mary joined the NCAA and NSIC in 2006-07, the Warriors own a 7-3 advantage over the Marauders. In 2006-07 and 2007-08, the two teams split their first four meetings with both teams winning on their home court... The Marauders snapped a five game losing streak to the Warriors with a 64-55 win at home on January 2, 2012. Down by three at intermission, the Marauders outscored the Warriors 37-25 in the second half. Ali Collins led the Marauders with 15 points and Kaitlyn Haag came off the bench to score 14. U-Mary knocked down 20-of-22 free throws in the game. Abby Busch led Winona State with 18 and 17 from Katie Wolff.

2012 NSIC / Sanford Health Women's basketball Tournament Schedule
Wednesday, Feb. 29 2012  - First Round
Game A: No. 8 Northern State at No. 1 #3 Wayne State 7 pm
Game B: No. 7 MSU Moorhead at No. 2 #25 Augustana 7 pm
Game C: No. 6 Winona State at No. 3 University of Mary 7 pm
Game D: No. 5 Minnesota State at No. 4 Minnesota Duluth 7 pm

Saturday, March 3, 2012 - Semifinal Games
Site - Taylor Center - Rochester, Minn.
Semifinal Game A Winner vs. Game D Winner 12 noon
Semifinal Game B Winner vs. Game C Winner 5:00 pm
Sunday, March 4, 2012 Championship Game
Site - Taylor Center - Rochester, Minn.
Championship Semifinal Winner vs. Semifinal Winner 2 PM

The NSIC Women's Basketball Tournament Champion earns automatic qualification to the 2012 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Central Regional Tournament held March 9-10 and 12 at a site to be determined. The winner of the Central Region will advance to the Elite Eight to be held March 20-21, and 23, 2012 at Bill Greehey Arena in San Antonio, Texas. Host: St. Mary's University.

LEAP YEAR: The only other U-Mary appearance in the NSIC basketball tournament was 2008, the last leap year prior to 2012.

PLAYOFF NOTES: The Marauders are 6-6 against the other teams in the Northern Sun tournament and Winona State is 3-7. U-Mary is 2-0 vs. Northern State, 1-1 vs. Wayne State, 1-1 vs. MSU Moorhead,  1-0 vs. Winona State, 0-2 vs. Augustana, 1-1 vs. Minnesota Duluth and 0-1 vs. Minnesota State. Winona State is 0-2 vs. UMD, 1-1 vs. MSU, 0-1 vs. U-Mary, 0-1 vs. Northern State, 2-0 vs. MSU Moorhead, 0-1 vs. Wayne State, 0-1 vs. Augustana,

BOARD BATTLE: The Marauders were out-rebounded just five times this season and are 2-3 in those games. U-Mary is 16-5 when outrebounding its foes. Winona State is 16-3 when it outrebounds its opponents but 2-6 when the other team collects more boards.  

U-MARY NSIC PLAYOFF HISTORY: U-Mary is 1-1 in Northern Sun playoff history with both games coming in 2008. In their first year eligible for NCAA postseason play, the Marauders earned the third seed in the 2008 conference tournament. In the opening round, U-Mary won a home game 80-78 over Bemidji State on March 1, 2008. Nikki Landdeck went 12-of-16 from the field to score 26 points and pulled down 10 rebounds.  Kayla Rogers added 19 points and ten assists and Kristin Bear scored 15. Amy Lawson led the Beavers with 25 points. In the NSIC semifinals, the Marauders lost 70-58 to Wayne State College on March 7, 2008. Rogers hit four treys and led the Marauders with 18 points. Landdeck added 11 and Ashley Fridley pulled down 10 rebounds. Andrea Schoepf paced the Wildcats with 22 points and Kylee McGee had 19 points and 11 rebounds.  

MARAUDERS SIXTH IN FINAL REGULAR SEASON CENTRAL REGION POLL: In the final NCAA Division II Central Region Ranking of the regular season, the University of Mary maintains its hold on sixth place. The Marauders have been ranked sixth in all three of the Central Region polls this year... 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 16-8 record against NCAA Division II foes and are also 16-8 against teams in the Central Region. U-Mary tied the University of Minnesota Duluth for third in the final Northern Sun standings and enter the NSIC tournament as the third seed... There was no change in the poll from last week.  

NCAA CENTRAL REGION POLL
1. Wayne State College (NSIC, 25-2 vs. NCAA Division II, 25-2 vs. In-Region teams)
2. Metro State (RMAC, 23-2, 23-2)
3. Augustana (NSIC, 19-5, 19-5)
4. Fort Lewis (RMAC, 21-4, 21-4)
5. Colorado State-Pueblo (RMAC, 21-5, 20-5)
6. U-Mary (NSIC, 16-8, 16-8)
7. Minnesota Duluth (NSIC, 17-8, 17-8)
8. Minnesota State (NSIC, 15-9, 13-9)
9. Winona State (NSIC, 14-10, 14-10)
10. MSU Moorhead (NSIC, 13-11, 12-11)

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.
 
NCAA REGIONAL TOURNAMENT ANNOUNCEMENT SET FOR SUNDAY: The 64 teams selected to compete in each of the eight NCAA Division II regions will be announced on the NCAA selection show, webcast on NCAA.com on Sunday, March 4, at 9:00 PM (CST).

NCAA REGIONAL BRACKET WATCH PARTY: Announcements of any bracket release watch party for the U-Mary women will be posted on www.GoUMary.com.

15: The Marauders 15 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.

18: U-Mary has 18 wins this season. It is the most wins for the Marauders since finishing 21-8 in 2005-06.

MAC ATTACK: The Marauders have won 36-of-56 NSIC home games the last six seasons and are 50-26 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, 9-3 in 2011-12) in the McDowell Activity Center. Since Fred Fridley became head coach in the 2003-04 season, the Marauders are 87-28 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 26 games. U-Mary is 5-5 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 five wins include two against St. Cloud State and home games against Wayne State, Bemidji State and Northern State.

DEEEEEFENSSSSSE: U-Mary is one of the most difficult teams to score on in the nation. Teams are shooting an anemic 34 per cent from the field against U-Mary, 9th in the country. The Marauders allow just 62.3 points per game. Fourteen times in 26 games the Marauders have held an opponent to 59 or fewer points.

SCORING: The Marauders are second in scoring in the NSIC, posting 70.1 points per game. The team's scoring margin of +7.8 points per game is fourth.

DOUBLE DOWN: Linda Murray posted her eighth double double of the season in the 78-73 Marauders win over Northern State to close out the season. Murray posted 22 points and 14 rebounds in the game. Most of the damage was done in the second half when she scored 19 of her points and recorded 13 rebounds.

MAGNIFICENT MURRAY: Linda Murray has anchored the paint for the Marauders this season. The junior forward from Fresno, CA, leads the team in scoring (11.7 PPG), rebounding (8.0 RPG) and blocks (52). Eight 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 (4th), field goal percentage (8th) 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 11.7 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. Haag is scoring 9.0 points and pulling down 6.3 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 (10.8 PPG) and leads in assists (3.5/game) and steals (51). The dynamic guard also pulls down 5.3 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 9th in the NSIC in field goal percentage and 13th 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 67 nationally in several categories:
• 9th in field goal percentage defense (34.0)
• 21st in blocks per game (5.1)
• 33rd in rebounding margin (+5.5)
• 56th in three-pointers made per game (6.3)
• 67th in winning percentage (69.2)
• 65th in scoring margin (+7.9)
• 64th in scoring (70.2)

NATIONAL NOTE - INDIVIDUAL: Several Marauders are mentioned among the top 100 on the NCAA individual stat leader boards:
• Kayla Schmidt 45th in three point field goals made/game (2.4)
• Kayla Schmidt is 100th in three-point field goal percentage (29.5)
• Linda Murray is 45th in blocked shots/game (2.0)
• Linda Murray is 58th in double doubles (8)
• Shaunna Knife is 92nd 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 five times in 26 games, losses to Augustana, Minnesota State and MSU Moorhead and two wins over Northern State.   

WINDEX: Linda Murray is the Marauders leading glass cleaner this season. Her average of 8.0 rebounds per game is fifth in the NSIC. Teammate Kaitlyn Haag averages 6.3 rebounds and stands 13th in the conference. The Marauders are one of only two teams in the league to have two rebounders in the top 13.  

BLOCK PARTY: The Marauders average 5.12 blocks per game, second in the NSIC. Leading the way is Linda Murray with 2.0 blocks per game, second in the NSIC. She had a season-high eight against Minnesota State this season. Shaunna Knife is 7th with 1.35 blocks/game.

DOWNTOWN: The Marauders are averaging 6.27 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 2.38 treys per game.

CRIME SCENE: U-Mary averages 8.54 steals per game, fourth in the NSIC. Ali Collins is the leader of the crime ring, averaging 1.96 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 14 times, Linda Murray 13 times, Kaitlyn Haag and Shaunna Knife 12 times, Kayla Schmidt ten times, Laura Petersen eight, 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 nine 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 11.7 points per game and Ali Collins at 10.8 PPG. Three more players check in at over eight points per game: Kaitlyn Haag (9.0), Shaunna Knife (8.8) and Kayla Schmidt (8.2). Right behind is Laura Petersen (8.0) and McKenzie Foster (5.0).

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.