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LAST TIME OUT: U-Mary struggled early offensively shooting just 8-of-36 in the first half and was never able to recover as it fell 73-59 to Northern State. For the game U-Mary shot just 29.9 percent to NSU's 37.3. The Marauders hit a season-high 12 three-pointers, on season-high 30 attempts, to the Wolves 4-of-14. NSU held a distinct advantage at the free throw line going 25-of-28 to U-Mary's 7-of-11. U-Mary finished the 2014 regular season on a high-note with a convincing win over MSU Moorhead. The Marauders led by double digits nearly the entire game en route to a 78-62 win over the Dragons Saturday night. Connecting at a .526 clip from the field, this is the fourth time the Marauders have shot better than .500 this season. In contrast, the Dragons shot their fourth worst percentage of the season at .317.
 
Playoffs?!? The 16-team NSIC / Sanford Health Men's Basketball Tournament Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Championships are set to take place Sat.-Tues., March 1-4 at the Sanford Health Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.  First round games will be played on the campus of the top eight seeds on Wednesday, Feb. 26.
 
This week the No. 3 seed in the NSIC North, U-Mary, will host the No. 6 seed in the NSIC South, Winona State University, on Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. to open the 2014 NSIC / Sanford Health Women's Basketball Tournament.
 
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.
 
Luncheon: A special Coaches Luncheon for Marauders fans is set for 12 noon on Wednesday, February 26, at Chicks Place, located on the U-Mary campus. Women's basketball head coach Rick Neumann is among the schedule speakers.
 
WHITE OUT: SAAC is sponsoring a WHITE OUT so make sure to wear your white to the Marauders - Warriors game as U-Mary wants to create a WHITE OUT!
 
FREE PIZZA: Courtesy Marauders women's head coach Rick Neumann; U-Mary students receive free pizza between 6:30-7 PM before the women's playoff game.
 
What's on the Line: It's win or go home for both teams in the First Round of the 2014 NSIC / Sanford Health Women's Basketball Tournament. The winner of Wednesday's game will take on the winner of Minnesota State University-Mankato and University of Minnesota Crookston in Quarterfinal play. That game will be played at the Sanford Health Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. on Sunday at noon.
 
SEEDING: Going into last weekend U-Mary had an opportunity to finish anywhere from 1st to 4th in the NSIC North. With a loss on Friday to Northern State University, the Marauders lost their shot at a Division crown. U-Mary's win on Friday and a split by Minot State University over the weekend left the teams tied for 2nd. The Beavers won the tiebreaker as they won both head-to-head match-ups this season.
 
The Records: Winning five of six games to end the regular season, U-Mary finished 15-9 and 14-8 in NSIC play (3rd NSIC North). The Marauders have a 9-3 record at home. Losing 13 of its last 15 games, WSU is 10-16 overall and 6-16 in the NSIC (6th NSIC South). The Warriors are just 1-10 on the road.
 
The Series: Since joining the NSIC (2006), U-Mary is 6-7 overall against Winona State and 5-7 in conference contests. The Marauders have won the last four games in the series, and are 5-2 against the Warriors at home.
 
NSIC PLAYOFF HISTORY: U-Mary is 3-3 all-time in the NSIC Tournament including a perfect 3-home record. Last season U-Mary opened with an 84-62 win over Upper Iowa University behind dominant inside play. Free throws were the difference last season as Augustana, who attempted 41 free throws, knocked U-Mary out of the playoffs in Bismarck last season by a score of 74-59. The Marauders took on the Warriors in the NSIC Tournament back in 2012 as Linda Murray posted her third straight double-double and the University of Mary pulled out a 76-67 win
 
MAC ATTACK: The Marauders have won 50-of-65 NSIC home games at the McDowell Activity Center over the last seven seasons and are 68-34 overall (9-4 in 2006-07, 10-3 in 2007-08, 8-5 in 2008-09, 7-6 in 2009-10, 7-5 in 2010-11, 10-3 in 2011-12, 8-5 in 2012-13, 9-3 in 2013-14) in the MAC. Since Rick Neumann joined the program as an assistant coach in the 2003-04 season, the Marauders are 105-37 at the MAC, which includes a 15-0 mark in 2003-04 and 10-0 in 2005-06.
 
Earlier this season: Going just 1-for-8 from the field, Lindsey Sand came up big down the stretch going 4-for-4 from the free throw line to seal a 65-62 win for the Marauders as they defeated the Warriors to snap their four-game losing streak. Sand's opportunities would not have existed if it were not for the marksmanship of senior forward McKenzie Foster. Scoring a game-high 18 points, Foster was 6-for-8 from three-point range. Foster tied the game at 54-54 to force overtime and scored the first basket of overtime to give the Marauders a 57-54 lead.
 
Last season's meetings: Sparked by a 17-2 first half run, U-Mary defeated Winona State 74-62 in 2013. Four different players scored in double figures for the Marauders including Lindsey Sand with 11. The Marauders led by as many 18 and trailed for just 25 seconds the entire game. U-Mary out shot WSU 50 to 40 percent on the game but were outrebounded 39-31. Despite giving up 16 offensive rebounds, the Marauders only allowed 12 second chance points. Even though they lost the rebounding battle, U-Mary owned the inside with a 40-24 advantage in scoring.
 
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. Winona State was 21-11 overall and tied with U-Mary at 13-9 in NSIC play.
 
AND SHE CAN SHOOT: A standout defender and rebounder, freshman Hannah Larson's offensive game has been not been the emphasis of opposing defenses. However, Larson came out her shell for U-Mary, with her top-two offensive outputs of the season this past weekend. The 6-0 forward scored a season-high 14 points on Friday. Larson finished 4-of-10 from deep for season-highs in both attempts and makes. Larson followed up on Saturday with 13 points.
 
BLOCKFEST led by a U-Mary NCAA era (2006) record-tying (Linda Murray) 8 blocks from Hannah Larson, U-Mary finished with a U-Mary NCAA era record 13 blocks against MSU Moorhead.
 
X-Factor: Fourth on the team in scoring, McKenzie Foster has scored in double digits in 11 games, 10 of which were U-Mary wins. Foster is averaging 12.1 points in wins and 6.2 in losses. The senior sharpshooter is shooting 52 percent from deep in the Marauders 16 wins against 24 percent in nine losses.
 
Double-Double: Fourth in the NSIC in rebounding at 9.7 per game, Linda Murray has nine double-doubles this season. With 9.6 rebounds per game on the season, Murray is currently 0.8 rebounds per game above the next on the single season leader-board in U-Mary's NCAA era (since '06).
 
Well-Rounded: Linda Murray is the only player in the NSIC to rank among the top-10 in scoring, rebounding, blocked shots and field goal percentage.
 
Marksmanship: McKenzie Foster has been displaying her talent to shoot from deep the past four years for U-Mary with over 170 career makes and this year is no different. Making 2.2 threes per game, Foster ranks 3rd in NSIC in three-point percentage at 44.0 percent. On the season, Foster is 20th in the nation at 42.4 percent.
 
Patience is a Virtue: After four years Lindsey Sand has finally received her opportunity to start and is making the most of it. Sand is averaging 11.1 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.6 assists, while playing 32.8 minutes per game.
 
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 34.6 minutes, Dietz is averaging 15.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.
 
Logging Time: Second in the Northern Sun with 35.0 minutes per game, Brittney Dietz has logged extended playing time this season. Averaging 34.6 minutes per game overall, Dietz is averaging more minutes per game than any other player in U-Mary's NCAA era (Since 2006). Dietz has played 31 or more minutes in 23 of 25 games and with a 40 minutes effort against Sioux Falls, she has now played 40 or more minutes three times.
 
Bring a lunch: U-Mary is first in the Northern Sun with 546 free throw attempts and first in makes with 410. However, the Marauders are 14th in free throw percentage at 71.2. U-Mary has allowed opponents to shoot and make more free throws than any other team in the NSIC allowing opponents to go 410-of-532. Opponents are shooting 77.1 percent against the Marauders. For the season U-Mary is 15th of 16 NSIC teams averaging 20.8 fouls per game.
 
Block Party: With Hannah Larson, Linda Murray and Sloan Turner all averaging one block or more per game, U-Mary ranks 9th in the country at 5.2 per game.
 
Climbing the Record Books: Senior Lindsey Sand is quickly climbing the all-time assist list at U-Mary. With 31 assists over her last four games, Sand now has 254 career assists, good for 13th all-time. With six assists Sand will pass Melanie Schell for 12th all-time.
 
Making a Mark: Despite being only playing two years at U-Mary, junior college transfer Linda Murray has cracked the top-25 all-time rebounding list with 476. With six rebounds Murray will pass former teammate Ali Collins for 16th all-time.
 
Consistency is key: Fans may not think of McKenzie Foster as a prolific scorer, but the 5-10 guard has been a mainstay in U-Mary's rotation for four years now as she finds herself 29th all-time on the scoring list with 807 career points. At her current pace Foster will finish will finish 27th or 28th.
 
STUDENT-athlete: Despite spending much of her past five years in the gym, in the weight room and on the road, senior Lindsey Sand found plenty of time to study as evident by her recent receiving of the NSIC Myles Brand All-Academic with Distinction Award. The honor, named for the late NCAA President Dr. Myles Brand, is bestowed to senior NSIC student-athletes who have a cumulative grade point average of 3.75 or higher, are exhausting their eligibility and are on track to graduate.
 
Super Seniors: Seniors Linda Murray, Lindsey Sand and McKenzie Foster have set the tone for the Marauders scoring 37.6 of the team's 74.3 points per game. The trio is averaging 16.8 rebounds and has 183 of the team's 380 assists. Murray has 10 times led the team in scoring and 14 times in rebounding. Sand has led the team in scoring four times and in assists 16 times. Foster has led the team in scoring five times and steals 10 times.
 
Winning: In U-Mary's 16 wins they are averaging 77.0 points, shooting 44 percent from the field and 37 percent from deep. The Marauders only allow 69.2 points per game in wins and hold opponents to 37 percent shooting from the field and 32 percent from deep. The Marauders have a plus 5.6 rebounding margin in wins.
 
Losing: U-Mary's nine losses they are averaging just 69.6 points, shooting 38 percent from the field and 29 percent from deep. The Marauders are surrendering 82.8 points per game in losses, while allowing opponents to shoot 42 percent from the field and 37 percent from deep. The Marauders are even in rebounding in losses.
 
Fab Freshman: It was evident from the beginning that freshman forward Hannah Larson would have an impact on U-Mary this season, but guards Taylor Henningsgard and Dani Clark have come on strong down the stretch as well. Larson has made her presence known around the NSIC as she ranks 15th in the league with 7.1 rebounds and fourth in blocked shots at 2.0 per game. Originally planning to redshirt, Henningsgard has stepped in nicely to the back-up point guard position averaging 13.7 minutes, 2.3 points and 1.3 assists. Clark did not play in eight consecutive games, but has played in each of the last 16 games and is averaging 12.5 minutes, and 2.3 points.
 
Half Time: U-Mary is 12-1 when leading at half with their only loss coming against Minot State when they surrendered a nine point opening half lead. The Marauders are just 4-8 when trailing at halftime.
 
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 841 career points.
 
Unfamiliar Faces: The Marauders will look significantly different than a year ago as they return just four players who saw the floor in 2012-13. U-Mary graduated four starters including its top three scorers. To fill those voids the Marauders added 9 players including four junior college transfers.
 
The Golden State: The Marauders have three players hailing from the state of California including 2011-12 First Team All-NSIC performer Linda Murray. Murray and the three other players 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 17 players on this year's roster, six are from the state of North Dakota including Bismarck native Hannah Larson, and starters Lindsey Sand (Steele) and Brittney Dietz (Beach).
 
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