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FRIDAY: The University of Mary prepares to write a new chapter in its successful women's basketball program's history book when the Marauders face #12 Fort Lewis College in the opening game of the NCAA Division II Central Region tournament. The Marauders and Skyhawks tip off at 1 PM on Friday, March 9, at Rice Auditorium on the campus of Wayne State College in Wayne, NE.  

AT STAKE: The winner of the Marauders - Skyhawks game will advance to the second round of the NCAA Central Region tournament and keep their hopes of a national championship alive. The U-Mary - Fort Lewis victor will face the winner of the Metro State - Minnesota Duluth contest.

THE RECORDS: The Marauders are 19-9 overall and finished third in the Northern Sun standings with a mark of 15-7 and advanced to the semifinals of the NSIC / Sanford Health tournament... The #12 Skyhawks are 25-4 overall and finished second in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with a record of 19-3. Fort Lewis won the 2012 RMAC Shootout.

LAST OUTINGS: U-Mary lost 78-67 to #22 Augustana in the semifinals of the NSIC / Sanford Health Tournament... #12 Fort Lewis picked up three wins in the RMAC Shootout, defeating Colorado Christian 96-64, UC-Colorado Springs 68-65 and Western State 87-78 to win the postseason tournament.

HISTORY / LAST MEETING
U-Mary vs. #12 Fort Lewis College: This is the first meeting between U-Mary and Fort Lewis College.  

FIRST: The Marauders are making their first NCAA tournament appearance.

SUPER 64: U-Mary is one of just 64 that qualified for NCAA tournament play.

2012 NCAA Division II Central Regional Tournament
March 9-10, 12 at Wayne State College in Wayne, NE

Friday, March 9 – First Round
1 PM - #3 seed Fort Lewis (25-4) vs. #6 seed Mary (19-9)
3 PM - #2 seed Metro State (25-3) vs. #7 seed Minnesota Duluth (18-9)
6 PM - #1 seed Wayne State (29-2) vs. #8 seed Minnesota State (18-10)
8 PM - #4 seed Augustana (23-6) vs. #5 seed CSU-Pueblo (21-6)

Saturday, March 10 – Semi-Finals
5 PM – FLC/MARY winner vs. Metro/UMD winner
7 PM – WSC/MSU winner vs. AC/CSUP winner

Monday, March 12 – Championship Game
7 PM – Semi-Finals winners
ELITE EIGHT: The eight NCAA regional tournaments are set for March 9-10 and 12. The regional winners will advance to the 2012 Elite Eight to be held March 20-21 and 23 at Bill Greehey Arena in San Antonio, Texas. The championship host is St. Mary's University.

NATIONAL TOURNAMENT HISTORY: The Marauders are making their first national tournament appearance since advancing to the second round of the NAIA tournament in 2005. U-Mary qualified for the NAIA national tournament eight times and won a national championship in 2000. Overall this will be the ninth time U-Mary has competed in a national tournament.

EXPERIENCE: #12 Fort Lewis College is making its sixth NCAA tournament appearance and fifth straight. The Skyhawks reached the national championship game in 2010 and the regional championship in 2009.

NSIC POSTSEASON HISTORY: Since becoming eligible for Northern Sun postseason play in 2008, the Marauders are 2-2 in the conference tournament. U-Mary was 1-1 in 2008, defeating Bemidji State in the opening round before losing to Wayne State College in the semifinals. This season the Marauders opened up postseason play with a 76-67 win over Winona State before losing 78-67 to Augustana in the semifinals of the 2012 NSIC tournament.

MURRAY AND COLLINS NAMED TO ALL-NSIC TEAMS: Linda Murray was the only player in the league selected to both the All-Northern Sun first team and the All-Defensive Team and Ali Collins earned All-NSIC second team recognition.

Murray, a 6-2 center from Fresno, CA, averages 12.4 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game while shooting 48.4 per cent from the floor. Murray has posted nine double doubles on the season.
 
A transfer from Merced Community College, Murray reached double digits in rebounds 10 times this season. Six times she has scored 20 or more points in a game. In her last three games, all wins, Murray scored at least 20 points and pulled down double digit rebounds each time out. Second in shot blocks in the NSIC, Murray had a season high eight against Minnesota State University.
 
Murray becomes the first U-Mary player named to the All-Defensive team and the first Marauders player to earn first team honors since Nikki Landdeck in 2008.
 
Collins led the Marauders in assists and steals and is second on the squad in scoring. A junior from Mandan, ND, the 5-9 guard keyed the Marauders offense that was second in the conference in scoring. She averages 11.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.9 steals per game. Six times she led the teams in scoring while pacing the team in assists 19 times.

MARAUDERS STAY SIXTH IN CENTRAL REGION POLL: Named the sixth seed in the NCAA Central Region Tournament, the Marauders grabbed an early hold on the sixth slot. In the three regular season rankings, U-Mary was sixth each time.

CENTRAL REGION NOTES: U-Mary is 2-6 this season against teams participating in the NCAA Central Regional. The Marauders are 1-1 against both Wayne State College and Minnesota Duluth, 0-3 vs. Augustana and 0-1 against Minnesota State. U-Mary has not faced any of the teams out of the RMAC.

FRESH FOES: U-Mary has never faced Metro State, Fort Lewis College and Colorado State - Pueblo.

BENCH PLAY: The Marauders reserves have outscored the opponent's bench 16 times in 28 games. U-Mary is 6-6 in games where the opposing bench has had the scoring edge.

DEEEEEFENSSSSSE: U-Mary is one of the most difficult teams to score on in the nation. Teams are shooting an anemic 34.4 per cent from the field against U-Mary, 12th in the country. The Marauders allow just 63.1 points per game. Fourteen times in 28 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 +7.1 points per game is fifth.

DOUBLE DOWN: Linda Murray posted her ninth double double of the season in the 76-67 Marauders playoff win over Winona State.

MAGNIFICENT MURRAY: Linda Murray has anchored the paint for the Marauders this season. The junior forward from Fresno, CA, leads the team in scoring (12.4 PPG), rebounding (8.1 RPG) and blocks (54). Nine 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 (3rd), field goal percentage (6th) and scoring (14th).  

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 12.4 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Haag is scoring 8.4 points and pulling down 5.9 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 is second on U-Mary in scoring (11.1 PPG) and leads in assists (3.6/game) and steals (54). The dynamic guard also pulls down 5.5 rebounds per game. Collins set a career-high in rebounds with 12 against Augustana in the NSIC tournament semifinals. She set a career-high in scoring with 26 points at MSU Moorhead.

MOTHER DAUGHTER: SR G Kayla Schmidt and her mother are the first set of mothers and daughters to play for the Marauders.

NCAA TEAM STATISTICAL RANKINGS: The Marauders rank in the top 68 nationally in several categories:
• 12th in field goal percentage defense (34.4)
• 22nd in blocks per game (4.9)
• 37th in rebounding margin (+5.1)
• 57th in three-pointers made per game (6.2)
• 67th in winning percentage (67.9)
• 68th in scoring margin (+7.3)
• 63rd in scoring (70.3)

NCAA INDIVIDUAL STATISTICAL RANKINGS: Several Marauders are mentioned among the top 103 on the NCAA individual stat leader boards:
• Kayla Schmidt 39th in three point field goals made/game (2.4)
• Kayla Schmidt is 101st in three-point field goal percentage (30.2)
• Linda Murray is 47th in blocked shots/game (1.9)
• Linda Murray is 54th in double doubles (9)
• Shaunna Knife is 103rd in blocked shots/game (1.3)

BOARD GAMES: The Marauders are first in the NSIC in rebounds per game (44.5) and fourth in rebounding margin (+5./game). The Marauders were out-rebounded six times in 28 games; losses to Augustana, Minnesota State and MSU Moorhead, two wins over Northern State and a win over Winona State.   

WINDEX: Linda Murray is the Marauders leading glass cleaner this season. Her average of 8.1 rebounds per game is third in the NSIC. Teammate Kaitlyn Haag averages 5.9 rebounds and stands 16th in the conference.   

BLOCK PARTY: The Marauders average 4.93 blocks per game, second in the NSIC. Leading the way is Linda Murray with 1.9 blocks per game, second in the NSIC. She had a season-high eight against Minnesota State this season. Shaunna Knife is 7th with 1.29 blocks/game.

DOWNTOWN: The Marauders are averaging 6.21 treys made per game, fifth among schools in the NSIC. Leading the way is senior guard Kayla Schmidt, who is second in the Northern Sun with an average of 2.43 treys per game.

CRIME SCENE: U-Mary averages 8.25 steals per game, 6th in the NSIC. Ali Collins leads the crime ring, averaging 1.96 steals/game

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.

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 10th in the NSIC in field goal percentage and 16th 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.

SHARING THE LOAD: Eight different Marauders have reached double digits in points this season. Ali Collins scored 10 or more points 15 times, Linda Murray 14 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 ten 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 12.4 points per game and Ali Collins at 11.1 PPG. Three more players check in at over eight points per game: Kaitlyn Haag (8.6), Shaunna Knife (8.6) and Kayla Schmidt (8.4). Right behind is Laura Petersen (7.8) 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.

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.

19: U-Mary has 19 wins this season. It is the most wins for the Marauders since finishing 21-8 in 2005-06.

MAC ATTACK: The Marauders have won 37-of-57 NSIC home games the last six seasons and are 51-26 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, 10-3 in 2011-12) in the McDowell Activity Center. Since Fred Fridley became head coach in the 2003-04 season, the Marauders are 88-28 at home, which includes a 15-0 mark in 2004 and 10-0 in 2006.

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, but have been shut out since.

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.