THIS WEEK
With just six games remaining in the regular season, an important four-game home stand starts this weekend for the University of Mary when the Marauders host the University of Sioux Falls Cougars and the Southwest Minnesota State University Mustangs on Friday and Saturday, Feb, 3-4, at the McDowell Activity Center. The Cougars check out the MAC first on Friday with tipoff set for 6 pm. The Mustangs are up next for a 4 pm contest on Saturday.  

TV TIME - DRAGONS VS. MUSTANGS
The Mary - Southwest Minnesota State men's and women's basketball doubleheader at the McDowell Activity Center on Saturday, Feb. 4, will be broadcast on West Dakota Fox throughout central and western North Dakota in Bismarck, Minot, Williston and Dickinson. Familiar faces will call the Marauders – Mustangs game. Nine-time North Dakota Sportscaster of the Year and KFYR-TV sports director Lee Timmerman is the television play-by-play announcer for the Marauders. Kaleigh Emery, KFYR-TV weekend sports anchor and host of Marauders Weekly, will report from the floor and KFYR-TV sports reporter Clayton Collier provides the color commentary.

THE RECORD
After splitting a pair of home games, the Marauders are 11-13 overall and 6-10 in the NSIC. Mary is 11th overall in the Northern Sun and 5th in the NSIC North division. The Marauders are just a single game out of the last home playoff slot in the division with six games remaining.

THE SPECTRUM
For the second straight week the Marauders face teams on both ends of the NSIC South standings this week. Last week Upper Iowa was in last and Winona State was first. This week SMSU is last while Sioux Falls is second, one game behind WSU.

LAST TIME OUT
Gabbie Bohl posted her third double double with 22 points and 11 rebounds and Larson had 15 points and six rebounds to lead UM to a 59-57 road win over Upper Iowa. Mary owned a 44-22 scoring edge in the paint, was +10 in rebounds and didn't hit a trey in the victory... Poor shooting and a -7 turnover margin doomed the Marauders in a 65-47 loss at #22 Winona State. Larson led Mary with 12 points and Bohl had 10 points and eight rebounds.

FUN WITH NUMBERS - 4
The Marauders four-game home stand that starts today is the longest of the season for Mary.

RANKINGS In 24 games this season the University of Mary has faced six 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), #24 MSU Moorhead (L 73-53) and at #22 Winona State (L 65-47). (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 (#11 Pittsburg State, #7 Cal Baptist, #16 MSU Moorhead twice, and #22 Winona State).  

PLAYOFF PUSH
With three weekends and six games remaining, the Marauders are tied for 5th with Minnesota Crookston in the NSIC North and a game back of St. Cloud State. Mary lost to UMC at home but beat SCSU on the road. Mary has games against both - at UMC and home against SCSU.

University of Sioux Falls Cougars
2016-17 Record: 16-4 / 12-4 NSIC
Head coach: Travis Traphagen   
Record at UIU: 171-85 (9th year)
Career Record: Same
Third overall and second in the NSIC South
On a 3-game road winning streak
5-2 overall in road games
Defeated #16 MSU Moorhead 66-61 last game out
Won 27 games last season, won the NSIC tournament and made first NCAA tournament appearance
Sam Knecht (13.8 PPG) and Madi Robson (10.1) the only two Cougars averaging double digit points
Allowing a league-low 53.1 PPG

Southwest Minnesota State University Mustangs
2016-17 Record: 2-18 / 2-14 NSIC
Head coach: Tom Webb
Record at SMSU: 2-18  (1st Year)
Career Record: 93-139 (9th year)
Currently 15th overall in the NSIC and 8th in the NSIC South
Is 0-9 at home, 2-6 on road and 0-3 at neutral sites
In midst of 5-game losing streak
Next to last in NSIC in points scored  (59.8) and points allowed (74.2)
Lauren Hedlund (12.7 PPG) and Caleigh Rodnin (12.6) top two scorers for SMSU
Hedlund one of top rebounders in NSIC at 9.7/game

HISTORY LESSON
Marauders vs. Cougars
Mary leads the NCAA Division II series 3-1
Marauders are 2-0 at home and 1-1 at USF
After Mary won three first three meetings Sioux Falls got in the win column last season
Of the four contests, only one has been decided by more than four points
LAST MEETING USF scored the last six points of the game to edge Mary 69-67. The Marauders didn't score in the last two minutes in the road loss. Brittney Dietz led the Marauders with 22 points and Hannah Larson had 15 points, nine rebound and six assists. Alyson Johnson led USF with 18 points and Taylor Varsho had 17 points and 10 boards.   

Marauders vs. Mustangs
Mary has won five straight meeting dating back to the 2011-12 season
The last two games have gone to overtime including a double-overtime game last year which Mary won in Marshall, 80-77
Mary leads the all-time series 10-3
The last win for SMSU was an 80-69 road victory on Jan. 14, 2011.
LAST MEETING The Marauders overcame a double digit second half deficit to defeat Southwest Minnesota State 80-77 in double overtime. Haley Hibbs stole the ball with 15 seconds left in the 2nd OT and hit two free throws to seal the win. Dietz had 26 points and eight rebounds. Dani Clarke added 17 points and Dani Williams had 11 points and 12 rebounds.

HISTORY
Hannah Larson will finish her Marauders career in the top ten in four different statistical categories at Mary. The senior forward currently has 1,200 points to tie Jessica Slinde for 10th on the all-time scoring list. Larson is 10th in assists with 308. The Bismarck, ND, native is fourth in career rebounds with 816. Additionally Larson has 234 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 15th in the NSIC in scoring at 13.5 PPG
She is 10th in rebounding at 7.4/game
Larson is 2nd in blocks with 2.5/game
Five times this season she has posted a double double
19 times in 24 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 24 games, leads the team in steals (34), is 2nd on the team in free throw shooting percentage (.844) and playing time (30 minutes), and third in scoring (8.6 PPG), rebounding (4.3/game) and 3-pointers (19) ... Cassie Askvig is 5th on the team in scoring (7.6 PPG) and 3rd in rebounding (4.2 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 24 games and averages 13.7 minutes/game. She averages 1.6 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 13.2 points and 5.4 rebounds/game, is shooting 48.3 percent from the floor and has .7 blocks/game. All those figures rank second among Mary players. She leads the squad with 84 made free throws. Her numbers are even better in league play. In 16 NSIC games Bohl is averaging 15.3 PPG and shooting 54.6 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 6.5 PPG and 4.2 RPG, shoots a team-high 51 percent from the floor, makes 70 percent of her free throws, is second on the team in steals (30) 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 32.0 3-point shooting percentage. Third on the team with 37 free throws, the junior guard is fourth on the team in assists with 47.

REJECTION The Marauders have blocked the most shots this season in NCAA Division II with 138. In blocks per game, the Marauders are first in the Northern Sun with 5.5, the 6th best total in the country.

Block City Hannah Larson is averaging 2.5 blocks per game, second in the NSIC and 13th in the country. The senior forward is 4th in the country in total blocks (62).

Charity Stripe Mary has went to the free throw line 76 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 16 of 24 games. Despite the advantage in total attempts the Marauders have only made 30 more free throws than the opposition.   

RISE AND SHINE: The Marauders are outscoring its opponents 374-346 in the first quarter of games.