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Last week the University of Mary picked up its first conference win of the season in a 77-75 decision over MSU Moorhead and completed the weekend with a sweep defeating Northern State 87-83. Linda Murray and McKezie Foster were dominant on the weekend combing for 71 points.
 
This weekend U-Mary will make its first weekend conference road trip facing Minnesota Duluth on Friday at 6 p.m. and St. Cloud State on Saturday at 4 p.m.
 
The Records: U-Mary is 4-2 so far this season and 2-1 in NSIC play. The Marauders hold a two-game winning streak. Minnesota Duluth is 5-2 overall and 2-1 in conference play. The Bulldogs have won two consecutive games. St. Cloud State is 6-1 and 2-1 in NSIC play. The Huskies split last weekend. Both UMD and SCSU are 1-0 at home; U-Mary is 1-2 on the road.
 
Follow along with all of this weekend's live coverage at goumary.com/coverage. There will be live video, audio and stats available for both games. For those in the Bismarck area the radio coverage for both games will also be broadcast on Bismarck's ESPN 710 AM.
 
Last Season's Finishes: 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. UMD Finished last season with a 14-13 record overall and an 11-11 mark in conference play, which tied for ninth in the NSIC. SCSU posted a 19-9 mark overall with a 14-8 record in conference play, which was good for 4th place.
 
Last season's meetings between the Marauders are and Bulldogs ended with each team winning at home. U-Mary fell 71-61 to UMD on the road last season due largely to 23 turnovers that led to 22 Minnesota Duluth points. In the rematch at home U-Mary out scrapped the UMD winning 63-53. The Marauders held the Bulldogs to just 23 percent shooting and had seven different players score six or more points.
 
The Series: Since joining the NSIC, U-Mary has faced UMD eight times, the Bulldogs holding a 5-3 edge. Over the past two seasons the teams have split 2-2. In that same time period, SCSU and U-Mary have faced off nine total times, eight of which were conference games, with SCSU holding a 5-4 lead. The Marauders had a three-game winning streak prior to being swept by the Huskies last season.

UMD, led by two time NSIC Player of the Week Hannah Rutten, us is off to a 5-2 start, with a 2-1 mark in conference play. Already with four double-doubles, Rutten is averaging 17.4 points and is 13th in D2 with 11.3 rebounds per game. Also shouldering much for the Bulldogs is senior forward Katrina Newman, who was named 1st team All-NSIC a year ago. A streaky player offensively, Newman is averaging 13 points per game, with her best performance coming in a 25-point effort against Minnesota Crookston. UMD has outscored opponents by an average of 80.3 to 69.7 this season. UMD hold a rebounding margin of +7.7 and a turnover margin of +2.1. The Bulldogs are shooting 44 percent from the field and 73 percent from the line, but struggle from deep shooting just 32 percent so far this season. As a team UMD is allowing opponents to shoot 44 percent from the field and 34 percent from three.
 
SCSU, led by a pair of All-NSIC second team performers from a year ago in seniors Jessica Benson and Sam Price is off to a 6-1 start, with a 2-1 record in conference play. Despite an 8-for-25 shooting performance last weekend, Benson is still shooting 47 percent on the season and averaging 15 points. Benson is 33rd in D2 with 10.1 rebounds per game. Scoring 12.9 points per game, Price is one of the top three-point shooters in the nation. Shooting 16-for-32 on the season, Price is 21st in D2 from beyond the arc. The Huskies are outscoring opponents 85.0 to 70.9, while maintaining a +5.1 rebounding margin and a +3.0 turnover margin. St. Cloud State has been one of the top shooting teams in the nation ranking in the top-15 in the nation in field goal percentage, three-point percentage and free throw percentage. The Huskies are 11th from the field at 48.1 percent, 14th from deep at 39.8 percent at 1st from the line at 84.8 percent. However, SCSU has struggle defensively allowing opponents to shoot 44 percent from the field and 37 percent from deep.
 
Next week U-Mary will be back at home next weekend as they host Minot State University on Friday at 6 p.m.

For full game notes click HERE