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LAST TIME OUT: Behind hot shooting, the University of Mary picked up its second consecutive weekend sweep with wins over St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth. Behind its best shooting performance of the season, U-Mary led by as many as 19 on its way to an 86-80 win over St. Cloud State University. Linda Murray struggled at times from the field (10-of-21), but finished with 22 points for her seventh 20-point performance of the season. U-Mary handled Minnesota Duluth by a score of 86-75. McKenzie Foster scored a team-high 18 points on 4-of-7 shooting from deep, while also adding a team-high nine rebounds.
 
This weekend U-Mary puts a four-game winning streak on the line as it hosts Bemidji State University of Friday at 6 p.m. and Minnesota Crookston on Saturday at 4 p.m. at the McDowell Activity Center.
 
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. Additionally, Marauders Athletics will donate the gate receipts from Saturday's game to the Welstad family. For more information or to register a team go to goumary.com/3on3.
 
Luncheon: Alumni Weekend tips off with the traditional Coaches Luncheon at the Elks on Friday, Jan. 24. Hosted by U-Mary alumni and former Marauders student-athlete Brock Schoch, head men's basketball coach Jevin Budde and women's head basketball coach Rick Neumann will speak about their upcoming games. Lunch will begin to be served at 11:45 AM and the program will start shortly after noon. Cost for the event is $7.
 
Welcome Back: At halftime of the women's game on Saturday, former Marauders women's basketball players will be introduced to the crowd.
 
All of us Serving You: US Bank is providing complimentary tickets to the Marauders home games against Bemidji State University on Friday, Jan. 24, and the University of Minnesota Crookston on Saturday, Jan. 25. Fans can pick up their complimentary tickets to the games at US Bank locations throughout the community.
 
The Records: U-Mary is 9-6 so far this season and 7-5 in NSIC play. The Marauders have a 5-3 record at home. Bemidji State is 8-8 overall and 4-8 in NSIC play. The Beavers are just 1-5 in road games. Minnesota Crookston is 7-9 overall and 4-8 in NSIC play. The Golden Eagles are 0-5 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: The Marauders had a five game winning streak against the Beavers prior to a 76-73 loss at home last season. U-Mary has defeated UMC in 13 of 14 since the Marauders joined the NSIC.
 
Last Season vs. BSU the series ended with a 1-1 split.  The Marauders beat the Beavers 78-63 behind career-high 24 points from McKenzie Foster. Foster's 24 points came on 8-of-11 three-point shooting.  U-Mary fell 76-73 to BSU at home as the Beavers hit a game-winning three as time expired. Despite the disappointing loss it was a historical night for the Marauders as Shaunna Knife and Ali Collins became the 13th and 14th players to reach 1,000 career points for U-Mary.
 
Last Season vs. UMC, U-Mary won both meetings by at least 20 points. On the road the Marauders had five players in double figures en route to an 88-66 win. Ali Collins led the way with 23 points, six rebounds, five assists and six steals. U-Mary defeated UMC 80-56 at home behind another dominant performance from Collins. Collins recorded a triple double with 10 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists.
 
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. BSU Finished last season with a 11-16 record overall and an 7-15 mark in conference play, which placed them in 13th place in the NSIC. UMC posted an 8-19 mark overall with a 5-17 record in conference play, which was good for 14th place.

BSU is ranked seventh in the North Division and led by seniors Morgan Lee and Kate Warmack. Closing in on 1,200 career points, Lee is averaging 16.2 points, while doing the majority of her damage from beyond the arc. Lee is fourth in the NSIC with 2.38 threes per game, while shooting at a 41 percent clip. In contrast, Warmack has steadied the inside averaging 16.4 points, while ranking 27th in the NCAA with 10.2 rebounds per game. Warmack is 13th in the nation with eight double doubles. The Beavers are averaging 70.4 points per game as a team, but surrender 73.4. BSU struggles from the field offensively shooting an NSIC worst 39.0 %. However, the Beavers are solid defensively allowing opponents to shoot just 38.9 % from the field. The trend continues from deep as BSU shoots just 31.7 %, but only allows opponents to shoot 31.5 %. Getting to and knocking down free throws has been a bit of a struggle for BSU as they average fewer than 14 makes per game, while shooting just 71.9 %. Rebounding has been an issue for the Beavers as they have been outrebounded by an average 4.9 per game and have only outrebounded their opponent in four of 16 games. One thing BSU has had success with is limiting its mistakes. The Beavers are averaging 15.5 per game and maintain a +2.2 margin.
 
UMC is ranked eighth in the North Division and is led by the inside out duo of Katrina Moenkedick and Alexa Thielman. Named to the All-NSIC Freshman Team a year ago, Moenkedick has shown no signs of a sophomore slump averaging 16.3 points per game, while grabbing 7.4 rebounds per contest. Thielman has been able to stretch the floor for the Golden Eagles as she ranks third in the nation in three-point percentage at 51.2 and 29th in makes at 2.69 per game. Offensively, UMC has held its own this season outscoring opponents 73.5 to 72.9, while hitting at a 42.3 % average from the field and the sixth best average from deep in the nation at 38.8 %. Defensively, however, the Golden Eagles struggle allowing opponents to shoot 40.4 % from the field and 32.3 5from deep. One area UMC has excelled at is knocking down free throws. The Golden Eagles are eighth in the nation at 77.6 % from the stripe. With no projected starters above 6-0, UMC has struggled on the glass being outrebounded by an average of 4.4 per game. The Golden Eagles hold a + 0.3 average in the turnover battle, but average +1.3 fewer blocks than opponents.
 
Next Week the Marauders will hit the road for one of their most difficult road trips of the season. U-Mary will take on #25 Minnesota State on Friday and conclude with Concordia-St. Paul, who is receiving votes in the national poll.

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