DICKINSON, N.D. - Looking to shake the rust off the wheels from preseason, the University of Mary Women's Basketball team paid a 90-minute visit west down the highway to take on Dickinson State University in an exhibition match.
 
Playing in a new format for the 2015-16 season, the Marauders lost the tune-up game to the Blue Hawks 59-36 after four 10-minute quarters, with 13 players getting playing time on the evening.
 
Dickinson State got the ball rolling in the first quarter with back-to-back opening jump shots from Janniqua Thomas after Brittney Dietz failed to make the opening shot and Isabel Schmelzer couldn't sink the put back. Hannah Larson got U-Mary on the board early in the first quarter after she made the first free throw but couldn't quite connect on the second, leaving the Marauders down 4-1 early in the game.
 
The Blue Hawks built the lead up to 8-1 before Dietz made her first basket of the game with 7:55 left in the quarter, but Dickinson State kept the pressure up with a 12-3 lead later on. Rachel Weir and Dani Clarke joined in on the shooting fest as Wier made a shot in traffic while in the lane and Clarke sunk a late three-pointer, keeping the Marauders close behind at 14-9 at the end of the quarter.
 
The second quarter turned out a lot slower as several Marauders were subbed in an out, and U-Mary could only manage four points in the quarter off a perimeter shot from Dietz and a made free throw from Schmelzer as U-Mary entered the half down 31-13 to their former DAC-10 rivals.
 
Since it was an exhibition for U-Mary, the Marauders continued subbing players in an out, looking for the right combination to carry them through a potentially tough non-conference schedule before the Northern Sun games pick up in early December. U-Mary found a potent offensive combo starting in the third quarter after falling behind to a 38-13 deficit midway through, but Dietz got the ball rolling on a 13-3 run that lasted to the end of the quarter as she nailed two free throw attempts while Larson provided the bookend with a buzzer-beater layup to end the quarter down 41-26 to the Blue Hawks.
 
Dickinson State responded with a 11-2 run to start the fourth quarter before both teams settled into a rhythm as they traded baskets through the end of the game with the Marauders leaving town with a 59-36 loss.
 
Brittney Dietz led the offense for U-Mary as she recorded 11 points on 3-of-15 shooting, including a 2-of-6 mark from beyond the arc and a 3-of-4 mark from the charity stripe. She also added four rebounds and one steal in 26 minutes on the court.
 
Dani Clarke provided the perimeter threat as she scored six points on 2-of-7 shooting from three-point land as she added four rebounds and one assist in 20 minutes on the floor.
 
Hannah Larson, pegged as U-Mary's player to watch, provided the defensive presence with 10 total rebounds, one offensive and nine defensive, while adding two blocks to go with two assists and five points.
 
Isabel Schmelzer got the start for the Marauders and she responded with three points, three rebounds, one block and one steal in 25 minutes, while Dani Williams rounded out the starters with two rebounds and three assists in 23 minutes.
 
Janniqua Thomas led the Blue Hawks with 19 points and 14 rebounds, while MacKayla Feeney added 15 points and Megan Klein brought down 20 rebounds.
 
The Marauders wrap up their preseason schedule with another exhibition match against Division-I foe South Dakota State University on Thursday, November 5, in Brookings, S.D. starting at 6:00 PM.
 
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