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Saturday marks the beginning of conference play for the University of Mary women's basketball team. U-Mary will head north to take on in-state rival Minot State University on Saturday Nov. 30 at 4 p.m.
 
The Records: U-Mary is 2-1 so far this season, while Minot State maintains a perfect 4-0 record.
 
Follow along with all of the action at http://bit.ly/IhLX4e. The game will have a live video stream produced by Minot State. The video stream will include commentary and a live scoreboard. Rick Anthony, voice of the Marauders, will be doing play-by-play for Bismarck's ESPN 710. Live stats will also be available.

Last Season's Finish: U-Mary finished the 2012-13 season with a 19-11 record overall and a 13-9 conference record, which was good for 5th place overall in the NSIC. Minot State was 13-14 overall and finished in 11th place with a 9-13 conference record in its first season as part of the NSIC.

The Series: The Marauders and Beavers have faced off a total of 72 times. U-Mary holds a commanding 45-27 advantage in the all-time series. U-Mary has won 12 of the last 15 meetings. The two teams split last season, with each team winning on the road. The Marauders had a chance against the Beavers at the Civic Center a year ago, but were unable to convert in the final minute falling 74-73. U-Mary avenged its loss later in the season with a 70-58 road win.

Last week U-Mary was idle. The Marauders have not played since Nov. 16 when they defeated Biola University.

Next week U-Mary will host their first conference games of the season as MSU Moorhead comes to town on Friday, Dec. 6, and Northern State visits on Saturday.

What the Coaches Say: Despite winning 19 games in 2012-13, U-Mary was tabbed to finish 10th overall and 6th in the North Division. Four teams who finished behind the Marauders in the overall standings, as well as in the North Division standings, have been selected to finish ahead of them this season. Named the All-NSIC Freshman Team in 2012-13, Brittney Dietz was selected as U-Mary's 2013-14 NSIC Player to Watch.

Round 2: Thrust into duty the week of U-Mary's first practice a year ago, Head Coach Rick Neumann enters his second season as head coach of the Marauders with his first opportunity at a full offseason. Behind a strong recruiting class, Neumann hopes to build off of a successful inaugural campaign in which he led U-Mary to their second consecutive 19 win season in addition to picking up his first career playoff win.

Holes to Fill: For the previous three seasons Ali Collins and Shaunna Knife were integral to U-Mary's success. The duo, which each ranked in the top-20 all-time in points, rebounds and assists, have graduated and left big shoes to fill for the 2013-14 squad. The Marauders also graduated four-year starter Laura Peterson, who finished 24th all-time in scoring with 832 career points.

Unfamiliar Faces: The Marauders will look significantly different than a year ago as they return just four players who saw the floor at all in 2012-13. U-Mary graduated four starters including its top three scorers. To fill those voids the Marauders added nine players including four junior college transfers.

KEY RETURNERS

McKenzie Foster, who started 29 of 30 games last season, is the only returner to the starting line-up. The teams leading three-point shooter (50-for-136) from a year ago, Foster will fill on vital role for the Marauders on the perimeter.

Lindsey Sand, who has not started a game in her career, has played in all 75 games of her career averaging over 18 minutes per game. Sand was a spark off the bench last season averaging 4.2 points and could notch the first start of her career this season.

Brittney Dietz, who was U-Mary's top reserve a year ago, could make the leap to the starting line-up this season after an impressive 2012-13. Dietz was the team's third leading scorer, and despite only starting one game was fourth on the team in minutes played.

Linda Murray, who sat out last season, is expected to play a key role in 2013-14.  Murray started all 29 games for U-Mary in 2011-12 averaging 12.3 points and 8.1 rebounds. If Murray can return to her 2011-12 form she will add a post presence the team lacked last season.

KEY NEWCOMERS

Hannah Larson (F, 6-0, Bismarck, N.D./Century HS), named North Dakota Miss Basketball, averaged 15.0 points, 11.3 rebounds, 2.8 blocks, 2.7 assists and 2.2 steals per game last season.  A proven winner, Larson led Century to back-to-back North Dakota State Championships.

Ashlee Harper (G, 5-10, Etiwanda, Calif./Chaffey CC), a junior college transfer, was twice named All-Foothill Conference while attending Chaffey Community College. For her career Harper averaged 11.4 points, 7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.4 steal per game.

Sloan Turner (F, 6-2, Huntington Beach, Calif. /Cyprus College) holds the Cyprus record for most career blocks with 182 and is second all-time with 597 rebounds. Turner was named 1st team all-state and conference MVP as a sophomore as she led the conference in blocked shots, field goals, shooting percentage and defensive rebounds. For the season Turner averaged 12.8 points, 10.7 rebounds and 3.9 blocks.

Strength in Numbers: This year's squad boasts a total of 20 players, four more than last year's squad.  The Marauders have 13 active players and seven redshirts.

Height Advantage: After having just one player on the active roster 6-0 and above much of last season, U-Mary has four players 6-0 or taller, including two 6-2 players.

Guard Happy: Of the 13 players on the active roster, eight of them are guards.  Of the 20 total players, 12 are guards.

The Golden State:  The Marauders have four players hailing from the state of California including 2011-12 First Team All-NSIC performer Linda Murray. Murray and the three other plays got a chance to play in their home state as they played a pair of games against NAIA opponents in Southern California.

Local Talent: Of the 20 players on this year's roster, seven are from the state of North Dakota including Bismarck native Hannah Larson, and starters Lindsey Sand (Steele) and Brittney Dietz (Beach).

Road Tested: Two of U-Mary's three regular season games have been on the road this season, with those two road games being played in California. Prior to beginning the regular season, the Marauders made a trip to Utah and Idaho, where they took on a pair of NCAA D1 opponents. Finally, before the season officially began, U-Mary made a trip to Canada where they played a series of off-season games.

Picking up where she left off Lindsay Murray has proven why she earned first team All-NSIC recognition in 2011-12. Missing the entire 2012-13 season due to injury, Murray is back and better than ever scoring 19 or more in each of the teams three games so far this season. Murray's top performance this season was 22-point 11-rebound effort against No. 1 NAIA opponent Vanguard University.

Patience is a Virtue: After four seasons in the program, senior Lindsey Sand has finally received her opportunity to start and is making the most of it.  Sand is averaging 11.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists. The 5-8 senior has committed just five turnovers on the season. Sand is shooting 60 percent from both the field and from deep, while connecting at a 72 percent clip from the line.

Smooth Transition: Despite being fourth on the team in minutes last season, Brittney Dietz started just one game as a redshirt freshman. Dietz has made the transition into the starting line-up this season seamlessly. Averaging 32.0 minutes, Dietz is averaging over 16 points and nearly seven rebounds per game.

Career-High: McKenzie Foster, known primarily for her deft touch from beyond the arc, set a career-high with six assists against NAIA No. 1 Vanguard University.

Bench Spark: Scoring just two points in her first game for U-Mary, Ashlee Harper has scored 15 points in each of her last two games. The junior college transfer has also shown her ability to distribute the ball dishing out seven assists already this season.

Team Basketball: Eighty percent of U-Mary's field goals this season have come off of an assist. In comparison, only 56 percent of the Marauders baskets game off of assists last season.

Taking Care of the Ball: Last season U-Mary has just a 0.84 assist/turnover ration. So far this season the Marauders have an impressive 1.31 assist to turnover ratio. 

Foul Trouble: In U-Mary's first two games the team combined for a total of 54 personal fouls. Three different Marauders fouled out against No. 1 NAIA opponent Vanguard University.  In those first two games U-Mary allowed its opponents to attempt a total of 78 free throws, 60 of which were converted. In the Marauders third game they committed just 16 fouls, which led to just 13 free throw attempts.

Off Target: After going 9-for-17 in their first game from deep, the Marauders were 7-for-22 in their next game and just 1-for-10 in their most recent contest. 

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