Box Score Aberdeen, S.D.—Needing to win a pair of games this weekend to lock up the second seed in the North Division, the University of Mary did just that as they completed the weekend sweep with a victory over Northern State University 68-62.
 
Brittney Dietz sparked the Marauders off the bench for the second straight night. The redshirt freshman scored 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. Dietz has now scored in double figures in seven of the last eight games. During that stretch Dietz is averaging over 13 points a game. Senior Laura Petersen also came up big finishing with 13 points and career-high 11 rebounds for her first career double double. With 827 career points, Petersen has now cracked U-Mary's top 25 all-time scoring list.
 
With three players in double figures, Alison Kusler's team-high 17 points and nine rebounds paced Northern State (15-11, 11-11 NSIC).
 
The Marauders and Wolves went back and forth in the first half with four lead changes and five ties. U-Mary took their largest lead of the half at five when McKenzie Foster nailed a three-point shot with 5:47 left in the opening frame. NSU answered with a 5-0 run to tie the game just two minutes later. After briefly losing the lead U-Mary entered the break up one after Shanara Clark scored inside. 
 
U-Mary hit 5-of-8 threes in the first half and shot 45 percent from the field, but foul trouble by the Marauders and eight turnovers allowed the Wolves to stick around.
 
Northern State started the second half hot as they built a six point lead in the opening minutes. The Marauders responded with a 12-0 run behind 10 points from senior Shaunna Knife. Knife was 3-of-3 from the field during the run including a three-point shot. However, the Wolves were able to battle back and tie the game at 48 with 10:47 to play. The Marauders kept the pressure on and built their largest lead of the night at nine with 5:14 remaining as Knife set-up Petersen for a three. Northern State battled back to close the gap to two with 2:11 left in the game, but were never able to take the lead as U-Mary held on for a 68-62 victory.
 
Despite a slow first half, Knife scored a game-high 19 points and led the Marauders in assists with six. The 5-11 senior continued her excellent defensive play finishing the game with four blocks. The Northern Sun's leader in blocks, Knife has blocked three or more shots in a game 10 times this season.
 
For the game the Marauders held a 40-32 advantage in field goal percentage and a 44-33 edge in three-point shooting.  Behind 16 offensive rebounds, Northern State held a 46-44 edge in rebounding and 14-4 in second chance points.
 
U-Mary (18-10, 13-9 NSIC) finishes the regular season tying their win total from a year ago when they advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. With the win the Marauders have clinched the second seed in the North Division and will host Upper Iowa, the seventh seed from the South Division. U-Mary defeated Upper Iowa 85-76 back on Jan. 12. The game will be played on Wednesday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. at the McDowell Activity Center.

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