THIS WEEK
Getting close to crunch time with just four weeks remaining in the regular season, the University of Mary women's basketball takes its farthest road trip of the conference year to Upper Iowa University and Winona State University on Jan. 27-28. The Marauders first visit the Peacocks on Friday, Jan. 27, in Fayette, IA, in the Dormann Center at 6 pm to kick off alumni weekend at UIU. The trip concludes against the 22nd ranked Warriors at McCown Gymnasium on Saturday, Jan. 28, at 4 pm.  

THE RECORD
After splitting a pair of home games, the Marauders are 10-12 overall and 5-9 in the NSIC. Mary is 12th overall in the Northern Sun and 6th in the NSIC North division. The Marauders are just a single game out of the last home playoff slot in the division with eight games to play.

THE SPECTRUM
The Marauders will face teams on both ends of the NSIC standings this weekend. Mary opens at Upper Iowa, which is tied 7th in the NSIC South and tied for 14th overall. Winona State, ranked 22nd nationally, is tied for 1st in the NSIC south and tied for second in the overall conference standings.

LAST TIME OUT
Mary split a pair of home games last weekend, opening with an 80-71 loss to Minnesota Crookston before rebounding to defeat Bemidji State 76-66. After rallying to take an eight point lead over the Golden Eagles, Mary couldn't hold off a UMC squad that outscored the Marauders 22-5 over the final six minutes. Hannah Larson scored 19 points with a career-high 16 rebounds. She also added five assists. Fr. Gabbie Bohl scored 19 points and Lauren Rotunda added  11... The Marauders snapped a four-game losing streak with a 76-66 win over Bemidji State University on Alumni Night. The Beavers controlled the outside with an 11-3 edge in 3-pointers but the Marauders dominated inside, outscoring BSU 44-22 in the paint. Gabbie Bohl led the Marauders with 23 points. Hannah Larson added 14 points, eight rebounds, six assists and five blocks. Rachel Weir chipped in 10 points with seven rebounds and six assists. Lauren Rotunda also had 10 points. Tatum Sheley scored 25 points for the Beavers,.

FUN WITH NUMBERS - 5
Five of the Marauders final eight games this season are against teams with a losing record.  

RANKINGS In 22 games this season the University of Mary has faced five ranked opponents. The Marauders 69-56 home win over Northern State is the second time Mary has defeated a team ranked among the nation's top 25. In the third game of the season the Marauders knocked off #2 Cal Baptist 85-75. Mary has also faced #3 West Texas (L 51-42), #12 Pittsburg State (L 78-30) and #24 Minnesota State (L 73-53). (All rankings at time of game).

RANKINGS II The Marauders have played four games against teams currently ranked in the top 25 of the current WBCA poll or are receiving votes (#9 Pittsburg State, #8 Cal Baptist and #16 MSU Moorhead twice).  

RANKINGS III Mary faces its sixth nationally ranked opponent this season when the Marauders visit #22 Winona State on Saturday.

HISTORY LESSON
Marauders vs. Peacocks
The Marauders are 12-3 all-time against the Peacocks
Mary lost the first meeting between the schools at Fayette, IA, on Dec. 1, 2006, the Marauders first-ever NSIC game
The Marauders are 8-0 at home and 4-3 on the road
Mary's last win at Fayette was 64-60 Jan. 11, 2014
LAST MEETING Leading wire to wire, the Marauders defeated the visiting Peacocks 63-50 on Jan. 16, 2016. Brittney Dietz scored 23 for Mary with Hannah Larson adding 18 and Dani Williams 13 for the Marauders. Carly Pagel scored 17 for UIU.

Marauders vs. Warriors
The Marauders are 8-9 all-time against the Warriors
Mary is 7-2 at home and WSU is 7-1 on its home court
In the NSIC tournament Mary holds a 2-1 edge with both wins coming at home
The lone Mary road win was a 65-62 overtime victory on Jan. 10, 2014.
LAST MEETING The Marauders knocked off visiting #12 Winona State University 83-80 on Jan. 15, 2016. Mary used a 15-2 run to grab a 72-60 lead and held off the Warriors at the end. WSU missed a 3-pointer in the final three seconds and Brittney Dietz blocked a trey attempt at the buzzer to protect the win. Dietz led the Marauders with 26 points. Hannah Larson added 20 points, six rebounds and five assists. Dani Williams chipped in 17. Alexis Foley posted 21 points for Winona State.

University of Upper Iowa Peacocks
2016-17 Record: 2-16 / 2-12 NSIC
Head coach: Micha Thompson   
Record at UIU: 2-16 (1st year)
Tied for last in the NSIC South
Lost last four games and last three home games
Is 1-6 at home
Sr. Carley Pagel became the 12th UIU player to reach 1,000 career points last weekend
So. Blair Klostermann leads the NSIC in scoring at 18.8 PPG

#22 Winona State University Warriors
2016-17 Record: 16-4 / 11-3 NSIC
Head coach: Scott Ballard
Record at WSU: 226-146  (13th Year)
Career Record: 497-280 (26th year)
Ranked 22nd in country
Dropped five slots after losing 80-63 at home last weekend to Augie
Loss to Vikings snapped 7-game home winning streak
Tied for 1st in NSIC South with Sioux Falls and 2nd overall in conference behind MSU Moorhead
Tara Roelfs leads Warriors in scoring at 13.5 PPG. Also in double figures are Jenny Tuttle (11.9) and Kayla Zimmerman (11.3).
Hannah McGlone averages 9.5 points and 8.1 rebounds while shooting 63.5 percent from the floor.
WSU is 3rd in NSIC in scoring defense (57.9 PPG) and second in field goal percentage defense (.353)
The Warriors lead the NSIC in field goal percentage (46.2) and 3-point shooting percentage (37.4)

HISTORY
Hannah Larson has a chance to finish her career in the top ten in four different statistical categories at Mary. The senior forward currently is 13th in scoring and needs 27 points to tie Jessica Slinde for 10th with 1,200. Larson is 10th in assists with 301 to edge past Slinde. The Bismarck, ND, native is fourth in career rebounds with 807. Additionally Larson has 231 career blocks, an NCAA-era career-best mark for Mary.

HANNAH HIGHLIGHTS
All-Northern Sun forward Hannah Larson finds herself on the NSIC leader board in several categories:
Larson is 12th in the NSIC in scoring at 13.7 PPG
She is 9th in rebounding at 7.8/game
Larson is 2nd in blocks with 2.5/game
Five times this season she has posted a double double
17 times in 22 games Larson has reached double figures in points

TRUE BLUE
Christal Hearn, Lauren Rotunda and Cassie Askvig, all true freshmen, are making a mark this season. Rotunda has started all 22 games, leads the team in steals (31), is 2nd on the team in free throw shooting percentage (.844) and playing time (30 minutes), and third in scoring (8.7 PPG), rebounding (4.1/game) and 3-pointers (18) ... Cassie Askvig is 5th on the team in scoring (8.0 PPG) and 3rd in rebounding (4.1 RPG) in a reserve role and is making a team-best 85.7 percent of her free throws... Hearn joins Askvig in a reserve roll. The guard has played all 22 games and averages 13.4 minutes/game. She averages 1.7 PPG and 1.5 RPG. She tied her career-best with five points in the win over #25 Northern State.  

FRESHMAN FORCE
After missing last season due to injury, redshirt freshman Gabbie Bohl has become a force in the middle for the Marauders. The Minot, ND, native averages 13 points and 5.0 rebounds/game, is shooting 48.6 percent from the floor and has .7 blocks/game. All those figures rank second among Mary players. She leads the squad with 76 made free throws. Her numbers are even better in league play. In 14 NSIC games Bohl is averaging 15.2 PPG and shooting 56.2 percent, tops among freshmen in the league.

LEADER After playing limited minutes as a freshman and sophomore, senior Rachel Weir leads the Marauders in court time. She is playing 30 minutes/game. Weir, who averages 6.3 PPG and 4.1 RPG, shoots a team-high 49.5 percent from the floor, makes 70 percent of her free throws, is second on the team in steals (29) and is third in blocks (13).

WILLIAMS WATCH Dani Williams is the Marauders top deep threat this season, leading Mary with 32 treys and a 34.8 3-point shooting percentage. Third on the team with 34 free throws, she is second with a 82.9 percent free throw shooting percentage. The junior guard is also third on the team in assists with 43.

REJECTION The Marauders have blocked the most shots this season in NCAA Division II with 125. In blocks per game, the Marauders are second in the Northern Sun with 5.4, the 9th best total in the country.

Block City Hannah Larson is averaging 2.6 blocks per game, second in the NSIC and 15th in the country. The senior forward is 4th in the country in total blocks (59).

Charity Stripe Mary has went to the free throw line 57 more times then its opponents. The Marauders have been to the free throw line 10-plus times in all but two games this season. Mary has had an advantage in free throws taken in 14 of 22 games. Despite the advantage in total attempts the Marauders have only made 21 more free throws than the opposition.   

RISE AND SHINE: The Marauders are outscoring its opponents 345-325 in the first quarter of games.

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