This Week: The University of Mary women's basketball is at Minot State Saturday, Dec. 17 at 4 p.m. It'll be the second meeting between these two Northern Sun teams this season. The Marauders received a career-high 29 points from Gabbie Bohl in Mary's 67-54 win over the Beavers earlier this season. The Beavers are 2-9 this season, with a an 0-5 record in the NSIC and are coming off a 75-45 loss to Wayne State College. The Beavers two wins this season came against Lake Superior State and Mayville State.

Last Time Out: The Marauders have hit a three-point wall but did make 41.7 percent of its three-pointers Tuesday night in an exhibition game against the University of North Dakota. However, the Marauders have yet to make at least 40 percent from beyond the arc in the last six games. Mary is currently on a four-game losing streak and lost to Augustana, 88-54 on Dec. 10. The Marauders were outscored 53-25 in the second and fourth quarters of that contest and shot 34.5 percent from the field and 12.5 percent from the three-point line. Gabbie Bohl scored a team-high 13 points for the second straight night and led the Marauders defensively with six rebounds. The Marauders trailed 15-11 after the first quarter and took an eight point lead after a Hannah Larson three-pointer with 7:27 to go in the second quarter but the Vikings used a 25-7 run over the last 7:13 of the quarter to take a 41-31 lead into halftime that lead eventually turned into the win for the Vikings.

About Minot State: The Beavers come into the weekend with a 2-9 record and a 0-5 record in the NSIC. MSU is currently on a five-game losing streak and is coming off a 30-point loss to Wayne State College. The Beavers struggle coming out of the gate as they are being outscored 198-153 in the first quarter and are being outscored 833-706 in four quarters. MSU likes to shoot the three ball as they have attempted 20-plus three-point shots eight times this season. Offensively, Kari Clements is averaging a team-high 11.8 points per game and averages 2.8 assists per game. Kori Eurich is second  on the team with 9.6 points per game and is shooting 43 percent from the field. Defensively, Clements leads the team in steals with 21 on the seaosn and Diondra Denton and Kristal Flowers both average just above 5 rebounds per game. The Beavers are 10th in scoring out of the 16 teams in the NSIC, 13 in scoring defense, 13th in scoring margin, 14th in field goal percentage, 12 in three-point percentage, seventh in three-pointers made, seventh in free throw percentage, first in offensive rebounds, 16th in defensive rebounds and 15th in blocked shots.

The History: The Marauders and Beavers have played 11 times dating back to 2011. The two teams have split wins and losses down the middle. MSU has won the last two out of three games but the Marauders beat the Beavers 67-54 on Nov. 26 of this year. Mary has a 3-2 record at MSU and a 2-4 record at home against its in-state rival.

Leading the Pack: Gabbie Bohl may not lead the Marauders in scoring this season but she has been the top scorer twice in Mary's last two games. Bohl is averaging 13 points per game and 5 rebounds per game in Mary's last contests.

Free Throw Opportunities: The Marauders are second in the NSIC in free throws attempted and have shot 58 more free throws then its opponents this season. Unfortunately, Mary isn't the most successful at the charity stripe. This season the Marauders are shooting 68.3 percent from beyond the line and are ranked 14th in the NSIC in free throw percentage. 

Block City: The Marauders lead the NSIC with 75 blocks, nine more then the next team. Mary is also ranked No. 1 in the NCAA for team blocked shots as Hannah Larson is second in the nation and first in the NSIC with 36 total blocks.

Magic Number - 5: In five of the Marauders six wins, the team made at least five three-pointers. In Mary's last four losses the team has made a total of 11 three-pointers.  

Sharing the Basketball: The Marauders are 4-0 when the team records 15 or more assists. On the year, three Marauders are averaging 2.1 assists or more. Dani Williams leads the squad with 2.6 assists per game this season.

Limit the Turnovers: Every team wants to limit the turnovers but when the Marauders turn the ball over less then 15 times a game, they win 80 percent of its games. Mary is 4-1 this season when committing 15 or less turnovers in a game.

Get Those Blocks: It's no secret the Marauders know how to block shots but Mary has blocked five or more shots in seven games this season. Five of those seven games have been wins for the Blue & Orange. So, record five blocks and chances are the Marauders will come away with the win.

Score: The more points a team scores, the better chance they have at beating the other team. Mary is 5-0 when they score 66 points or more.

Make the Deep Ones: The Marauders have struggled from the three-point line as of lately and have made 11 shots (61 attempts) from beyond the arc in the last four games. Mary couldn't miss from long range earlier this season and have recorded a 40 percent or better from the three-point line five times this season, four of those have been wins.

Up Next: After the Minot State game the Marauders will have 13 days in between its next contest when they travel to Duluth, Minn., to take on the University of Minnesota Duluth Dec. 30 at 6 p.m.

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