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LAST TIME OUT: Riding a four-game losing streak heading into the weekend, the University of Mary women's basketball team was in dire need of a pair of wins last weekend. U-Mary did just that with a sweep of Winona State and Upper Iowa. U-Mary made things interesting both nights needing overtime on Friday, and escaping with a four point win on Saturday.
 
This weekend U-Mary will look to build on the momentum it gained last weekend with a road sweep as it hosts St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth in a pair of Northern Sun rematches.
 
The Records: U-Mary is 7-6 so far this season and 5-5 in NSIC play. The Marauders have a 3-3 record at home. St. Cloud State is 9-5 overall and 5-5 in NSIC play. The Huskies are just 2-4 in road games. Minnesota Duluth is 9-5 overall and 6-4 in NSIC play. The Bulldogs are 4-3 on the road so far this season.
 
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.
 
The Series: Since joining the NSIC, U-Mary has faced UMD nine times, with the Bulldogs holding a 5-4 edge. Over the past three season's U-Mary has a 3-2 edge. In that same time period, SCSU and U-Mary have faced off 10 total times, nine of which were conference games, with SCSU holding a 6-4 lead. The Marauders had a three-game winning streak prior to losing the last three games of the series.
 
Last season's meetings between U-Mary and SCSU ended with the Marauders losing both games by fewer than 10 points. The Marauders and Bulldogs ended with each team winning at home.
 
REMATCH:  Taking a commanding lead at 16-4, U-Mary led wire to wire in its 76-68 win over Minnesota Duluth on the road earlier this season. The following night the Marauders started strong with a 9-2 start, but St. Cloud State countered with a 19-3 run as it cruised to a 100-80 win.
 
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.
 
SCSU, led by a pair of All-NSIC second team performers from a year ago in seniors Jessica Benson and Sam Price was 6-1 the last time it played U-Mary, but has dropped four of seven to fall to 9-5 overall (5-5 NSIC). Benson is sixth in the NSIC in scoring at 16.8 points per and 10th in the nation overall in rebounding at 11.1 per game. Price is scoring 15.1 points per game, and is one of the top three-point shooters in the nation shooting 40.4 percent and making 2.57 per game. The Huskies are one of the top scoring teams in the nation at 80.3 points per game, while maintaining a +4.8 scoring margin, a +1.7 rebounding margin and a +1.57 turnover margin. St. Cloud State has been one of the top shooting teams in the nation ranking in the top-25 in the nation in field goal percentage, three-point percentage and free throw percentage. The Huskies are 23rd from the field at 45.3 percent, 19th from deep at 37.4 percent and 1st from the line at 84.4 percent. However, SCSU has struggle defensively allowing opponents to shoot 46.1 percent from the field and 41 percent from deep.

UMD, led by two time NSIC Player of the Week Hannah Rutten, us is off to a 9-5 start, with a 6-4 mark in conference play. Already with five double-doubles, Rutten is averaging 14.8 points and is 25th in D2 with 10.4 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 14.4 points per game. Last weekend Newman put up 27 against Sioux Falls and followed against Southwest Minnesota St. with two. As a team, UMD has outscored opponents by an average of 73.9 to 70.1 this season. UMD holds a rebounding margin of +4.7 and a turnover margin of +1.14. The Bulldogs are shooting 41 percent from the field and 72 percent from the line, but struggle from deep shooting just 31 percent so far this season. As a team UMD is allowing opponents to shoot 44 percent from the field and 34 percent from three.
 
Next Week The Marauders will remain at home. U-Mary will host Bemidji State and Minnesota Crookston for alumni weekend.
 
Alumni Weekend/3-on-3 Tourney: The U-Mary men's and women's basketball teams will be holding alumni weekend January 24-25. Instead of holding an alumni game, the Marauders will be hosting a 3-on-3 tournament to benefit former players Nate and Karie Welstad, whose newborn son, Karson, is facing medical complications. For more information or to register a team go to goumary.com/3on3.

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