GAME NOTES FOR FEB. 10-11

THIS WEEK: Facing perhaps its toughest weekend of the season, the University of Mary women's basketball team takes on the top two teams in the Northern Sun in the Marauders final scheduled road trip of the season. Third-place U-Mary first faces the NSIC-leading and 3rd ranked Wildcats of Wayne (NE) State College on Friday, February 10, at 6 PM. The trip concludes against the 2nd-place Augustana College Vikings, who are receive votes in the national poll, at 4 PM on Saturday, February 11.

THE RECORDS: The Marauders are 15-6 overall and third in the Northern Sun at 12-5... The #3 Wildcats are 21-2 overall and 15-2 and first in the NSIC... The Vikings are 17-4 and second in the NSIC at 17-4.

LAST OUTINGS: U-Mary split a two-game road trip, defeating Minnesota Crookston 72-51 before suffering a 98-92 loss at MSU Moorhead... Wayne State extended its win streak to six with road wins over Southwest Minnesota State 63-52 and Minnesota State 83-45... Augustana saw its 10 game win streak snapped 98-95 in overtime at Minnesota State before rebounding for a 71-61 win at Southwest Minnesota State.

HISTORY / LAST MEETING
U-Mary vs. Wayne State College: The Marauders are 3-9 against Wayne State. The Marauders won the first meeting 67-66 at home on 12.9.06 as Nikki Landdeck scored 21 points... U-Mary snapped a seven-game losing streak against Wayne State College with a 72-64 home win over the then 4th ranked Wildcats on December 10, 2011. It is the highest ranked NCAA Division II team the Marauders have ever beaten. The Marauders built a 17 point lead in the second half behind an 11-0 run. Linda Murray led the Marauders with 20 points and 14 rebounds. Shaunna Knife scored 16 points with six rebounds and Kayla Schmidt had 14 and 7. All-American Ashley Arlen led WSC with 14 and 9.

U-Mary vs. Augustana: U-Mary is 3-5 all-time against Augustana. The Vikings won the first matchup 86-55 at home on 1.17.06. The Marauders then swept two NSIC conference games from the Vikings during the 2008-09 season before Augie claimed both conference matchups in 2009-10. Last season the two teams split with each team winning at home... In the last game between the two teams, Augustana rolled to a 93-65 road win at U-Mary on December 9, 2011. Ali Collins led the Marauders with 19 points and Laura Petersen added 12. Augustana hit 14 treys and five players reached double figures, led by 16 points by Shaunteva Ashley. Alex Feeney added 14 points and 10 rebounds and Faith Tinkelberg had 13 and 12.

ROAD WARRIORS: The Marauders have experienced tremendous success on the road this season, winning nine of 12 games and exceeding last year's total of six road wins. U-Mary's road sweep of NSIC foes Minnesota Duluth and Bemidji State on December 16-17 was the Marauders first road sweep of conference foes since January 11-12, 2008.

ROAD WARRIORS 2.0: The nine road wins for the Marauders is the most for the program since winning 11 in 2005-06.

THREE: The Marauders are currently sitting solidly in third place in the Northern Sun. U-Mary trails second place Augustana by two wins and leads fourth-place Minnesota Duluth and Minnesota State by two wins, though UMD has one more game left to play than U-Mary.

FOUR: The top four teams in the Northern Sun standings will host first round games in the Northern Sun post-season tournament. The Marauders remain in a battle for one of the four slots.

FIVE: U-Mary has five Northern Sun regular season games remaining on the schedule.  

12: The Marauders 12 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, the only season U-Mary has hosted a conference tournament game.

15: U-Mary has 15 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 15 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.

WAITING TO CLINCH: Despite sitting in third place in the NSIC with three weeks to play, the Marauders have not yet clinched a playoff slot. In a tight conference race U-Mary could mathematically still finish anywhere from first to tenth.

BENCH PLAY: The Marauders reserves have outscored the opponent's bench 14 times in 21 games. U-Mary is 3-4 in games where the opposing bench has had the scoring edge, with the losses coming against Minnesota Duluth, Augustana and Minot State at home and MSU Moorhead on the road. The Marauders wins are against St. Cloud State on the road and Wayne State and Bemidji State at home in the other contests.

DEEEEEFENSSSSSE: U-Mary is one of the most difficult teams to score on in the nation. Teams are shooting an anemic 33.8 per cent from the field against U-Mary, 11th in the country. The Marauders allow just 61.4 points per game. Twelve times in 21 games the Marauders have held an opponent to 59 or fewer points.

SCORING: The Marauders are second in scoring in the NSIC, posting 69.6 points per game. The team's scoring margin of +8.2 pointer per game is fourth.

190: The Marauders and Dragons combined to score 190 points in U-Mary's 98-92 loss at MSU Moorhead. It is the most points allowed by the Marauders this season and the second best offensive total for U-Mary. The 190 combined points is the most in a U-Mary game since the Marauders and Augustana Vikings scored 193 in a 99-94 home win for U-Mary on 2.12.11. The last time the Marauders allowed more points was in a 108.74 loss at Concordia - St. Paul on 2.18.11.

MAGNIFICENT MURRAY: Linda Murray has anchored the paint for the Marauders this season. The junior forward from Fresno, CA, averages 9.8 points and 7.4 rebounds and has posted a team-high 39 blocks. Five times this season she has posted a double double. She is ranked among the NSIC leaders in blocked shots (3rd), rebounding (6th), field goal percentage (13th) and scoring (29th).  

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 9.8 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Haag is scoring 9.7 points and pulling down 6.9 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 leads U-Mary in scoring (11.2 PPG), assists (3.4/game), steals (46) and free throw attempts (81). The dynamic guard also pulls down 5.2 rebounds per game. Collins snared 11 boards at Minnesota State, tying her career high. She set a career-high in scoring with 26 points last weekend 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. She had a nine-game stretch of reaching double digits in points snapped in a home win over Bemidji State. In those nine games she 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:
• 11th in field goal percentage defense (33.8)
• 22nd in blocks per game (5.1)
• 36th in rebounding margin (+5.8)
• 37th in three-pointers made per game (6.6)
• 60th in winning percentage (71.4)
• 62nd in scoring margin (+8.4)
• 67th in Free Throw percentage (72.2)

NATIONAL NOTE - INDIVIDUAL: Several Marauders are mentioned among the top 100 on the NCAA individual stat leader boards:
• Kayla Schmidt 40th in three point field goals made/game (2.4)
• Kayla Schmidt is 93rd in three-point field goal percentage (31.3)
• Linda Murray is 54th in blocked shots/game (1.9)
• Linda Murray is 83rd in double doubles (5)
• Shaunna Knife is 100th in blocked shots/game (1.3)

BOARD GAMES: The Marauders are first in the NSIC in rebounds per game (44.6) and fourth in rebounding margin (+5.7/game). The Marauders were out-rebounded four times in 21 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 7.6 rebounds per game is fifth in the NSIC. Teammate Kaitlyn Haag averages 6.9 rebounds and is 9th in the conference. The Marauders are the only team in the league to have two rebounders in the top nine.  

BLOCK PARTY: The Marauders average 5.1 blocks per game, second in the NSIC. Leading the way is Linda Murray with 1.9 blocks per game, third in the NSIC. Shaunna Knife is 8th with 1.29 blocks/game.

DOWNTOWN: The Marauders are averaging 6.62 treys made per game, fourth among schools in the NSIC. Leading the way is senior guard Kayla Schmidt, who is fourth in the Northern Sun with an average of 2.43 treys per game.

CRIME SCENE: U-Mary averages 9.05 steals per game, third in the NSIC. Ali Collins is the leader of the crime ring, averaging 2.19 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 12 times, Kaitlyn Haag and Linda Murray ten times. Shaunna Knife seven times, Kayla Schmidt eight times, Laura Petersen and McKenzie Foster five times and Lindsey Sand three times.

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

SHARING THE LOAD v3: Only one player averages double figures in scoring - Ali Collins at 11.2 PPG. Four players check in at over eight points per game: Linda Murray (9.8), Kaitlyn Haag (9.7), Shaunna Knife (8.3) and Kayla Schmidt (8.4). Right behind is Laura Petersen (7.0) and McKenzie Foster (6.1).

TAKING TURNS: Only twice 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. During one five game stretch five different Marauders have paced the team in scoring.

MAC ATTACK: The Marauders have won 33-of-53 NSIC home games the last six seasons and are 47-26 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, 6-3 in 2011-12) in the McDowell Activity Center. Since Fred Fridley became head coach in the 2003-04 season, the Marauders are 84-28 at home, which includes a 15-0 mark in 2004 and 10-0 in 2006.

TV TIME: The Marauders have two televised games remaining this season. The next appearance is February 17 on Midco Sports Net against Concordia University - St. Paul. The last broadcast is February 18 on the NBC ND Sports Network (KFYR-TV in Bismarck, KMOT-TV in Minot, KUMV-TV in Williston, and KQCD-TV in Dickinson) against St. Cloud State. U-Mary already appeared on Midco against Winona State on January 2 and University of Minnesota Duluth on January 28.

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.

EIGHT STRAIGHT: U-Mary's eight game winning streak earlier this season was the program's longest since capturing eight straight in 2004-05.  

LOVE LOST: The Marauders earned four votes in each of the first two USA Today ESPN Division II Top 25 Women's Basketball Coaches' Polls released in January, 2012.  

RALLY TIME: The Marauders overcame a 16-point deficit to defeat Bemidji State 81-77 behind a 20 point explosion from Kayla Schmidt that included six three pointers. Earlier this season U-Mary overcame a 19 point deficit in a 58-56 win at St. Cloud State.

BIG WIN: The Marauders win over 4th ranked Wayne State College 72-64 on 12.10.11 is the highest ranked NCAA Division II opponent the Marauders have defeated.   

RANKED: The 72-64 win over #4 Wayne State College on 12.10.11 is the third win for the Marauders over a nationally ranked NCAA Division II opponent. U-Mary previously defeated #20 Concordia University-St. Paul 67-66 on 1.23.10 and #25 Augustana to open the 2008-09 NSIC season.   

104-24: The University of Mary came close to two records in its 104-24 win at Johnson and Wales in Miami, FL. The margin of victory was just short of the 85 points in a 105-20 Marauders win over Briercrest College on 11.13.10. The 24 points allowed against JWU was second to the 20 points allowed against Briercrest.  

CONTINUITY: The Marauders return four starters, five of their top six scorers and 10 of 14 players from last season. Headlining the U-Mary team is Ali Collins. The junior guard led the Marauders in scoring (11.2 ppg), assists (3.2 apg), and steals (51) and was third in rebounding (4.4 rpg). Junior forward Shaunna Knife averaged 10.4 points per game and led the team in rebounds (6.5 per game) and blocked shots (32). Sophomore forward McKenzie Foster averaged 9.3 points per game off the bench and shot 44.9 per cent behind the arc and .854 at the free throw line. The lone projected senior in the lineup, guard Kayla Schmidt averaged 8.5 points and made 89.5 per cent of her free throws. Entering her third year as a starter, junior guard Laura Peterson scored 8.1 points per game. Returning guards Lindsey Sand and Taylor Luke and forward Mia Gilreath will continue to play key roles.