THIS WEEKEND
Making their inaugural road trip of 2018 and playing away from home for the first time in nearly a month, the University of Mary women's basketball team visits #19 Northern State University and MSU Moorhead on Friday and Saturday, January 5-6. The Marauders first tangle with the nationally-ranked Wolves at 6 pm on Friday at Wachs Arena in Aberdeen, SD. The weekend wraps up against the NSIC North second-place Dragons at Alex Nemzek Fieldhouse in Moorhead, MN, at 4 pm on Saturday.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Marauders split their weekend home series on New Year's Eve weekend. UMary won a second straight NSIC contest with a 65-51 win over Minnesota Duluth as Cassie Askvig scored 25 points, hauled down 18 rebounds and blocked five shots. The weekend concluded with a 65-56 New Year's Eve loss to St. Cloud State. Askvig has 16 points and 12 rebounds and Gabbie Bohl scored 21 points.
 
THE RECORD
The Marauders are 6-8 overall and 2-6 in the NSIC.
 
GAMES MOVE TO KFYR 550 FOR JANUARY 6 AND JANUARY 13 GAMES
Make sure to adjust your radio dial the next two Saturdays (January 6 and January 13) from Fox Sports 710 to KFYR 550 AM to hear award-winning Voice of the Marauders Rick Anthony call the UMary men's and women's basketball contests.
 
FAST BREAK

• Including this weekend's games against Northern State and MSU Moorhead, the Marauders have played teams in the top eight of the Northern Sun standings in eight of their first ten league games
• After already completing their season home-and-away series with Minot State, the Marauders will do the same this weekend with Northern State and MSU Moorhead. There are still eight NSIC teams UMary has yet to play this season.
• The combined NSIC record for the Marauders first ten opponents is 38-16
• Starting the weekend of Jan. 12, the current league record of UMary's next eight opponents is 22-39 as just two of eight foes sporting winning records
• The last road trip for the Marauders was Dec. 8-9 at Wayne State and Augustana, four weeks ago
• The Marauders game at #19 Northern State on Friday is the fourth time this season UMary has faced a nationally-ranked team: vs. #11 Central Missouri, #16 Northern State and at #23 Augustana (rankings at time of game)
• Sr. G Dani Williams has 898 career points and is poised to become the 24^th UMary women's basketball player to crack 900 career points. The last UMary player to reach 900 points was Hannah Larson, who finished her career last spring with 1,276 points.
• Soph. F Gabbie Bohl has 695 career points in 44 games
• The Marauders have allowed 69 or fewer points in nine of 14 games, including 7-of-8 home games

 
OPPO RESEARCH – NORTHERN STATE UNIVERSITY WOLVES
#19 Northern State University is 11-2 overall and 7-1 in the Northern Sun (1^st NSIC North, 2^nd overall)… NSU owns wins over #3 Harding and #5 CSU Pueblo... The Wolves only losses are a neutral site loss to #11 Central Missouri and 64-61 in overtime at MSU Moorhead… Sr. C Miranda Ristau leads the Wolves with 18.5 ppg and 7.7 rpg and shoots 54.1 percent from the floor. She is the league's leading scorer in NSIC contests… Sr. F Jill Conrad posts 12.7 ppg and 6.0 rpg while making 52 percent of her field goal attempts… Alexis Tappe is a 3^rd senior in the Wolves starting lineup and averages 7.2 ppg… One of two NCAA Division II women's coaches to surpass 700 wins, head coach Curt Fredrickson has 820 career wins in 38 seasons at Northern State. His teams have won six NSIC titles… The Wolves are 3^rd in the NSIC in scoring (74.9 ppg) and 7^th in defense (61.6 ppg allowed). NSU makes 46.1 percent of its shots (2^nd in the NSIC) and leads the league in field goal defense (.353) and rebounding margin (+14.0).
 
HISTORY LESSON The Marauders are 9-14 against the Wolves since the 2006-07 season… UMary's last win over Northern State was 69-56 on Jan. 6, 2017. Hannah Larson posted 25 points and 11 rebounds and Lauren Rotunda had 19 points (4-of-5 on treys) against the #25 Wolves... NSU has won seven of the last meetings.
 
LAST MEETING: #16 Northern State defeated UMary 72-61 on Dec. 2, 2017, in the Marauders NSIC home opener. The Wolves led from wire-to-wire, building an 18-point lead in the first half. Lauren Rotunda and Gabbie Bohl both had a team-high 18 points for the Marauders. Bohl had three blocks and Rotunda made five steals. Sara Tvedt posted 20 points off the bench for NSU. Jill Conrad had 15.
 
OPPO RESEARCH – MSU MOORHEAD DRAGONS
MSU Moorhead is 9-3 overall and 6-2 in the NSIC (2^nd in the NSIC North, tied for third overall in the NSIC)… Defending NSIC Player of the Year Drew Sannes became the 22^nd MSUM player to clear 1,000 career points prior to the Christmas break. The senior forward averages 11.3 ppg and 9.4 rpg… Four Dragons average double figures in points. In addition to Sannes, Jacky Volkert averages 13.5 ppg and 5.7 apg, Cassidy Thorson chips in 11.3 ppg and Megan Hintz chips in 10.3 ppg… Head coach Karla Nelson is in her 18^th season at MSUM and has a career record of 311-185.
 
HISTORY LESSON The Marauders are 8-14 against the Dragons since 2006-07… MSUM has won the last five meetings... The Marauders last win was a 69-64 home victory on Jan. 9, 2015, behind 17 points, 11 rebounds and five assists from Brittney Dietz… UMary is 5-6 against MSUM at the McDowell Activity Center and 3-7 on the road at Alex Nemzek Fieldhouse.
 
LAST MEETING Cassie Askvig scored 25 points for homestanding UMary but MSU Moorhead held a 44-36 edge in rebounds, committed fewer turnovers (12 vs 17) and made nine more free throws in the 64-54 Dragons road win. Lauren Rotunda had 11 points and 11 rebounds and Gabbie Bohl posted 11 points and nine rebounds. MSUM was led by Jacky Volkert with 24 points.
 
ASKVIG NAMED NSIC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
A dominant weekend on the glass and in the scoring column earned University of Mary sophomore Cassie Askvig Northern Sun Women's Basketball Player of the Week honors….
A first-time recipient of the NSIC honor, Askvig averaged 20.5 points, 15.0 rebounds, 4.0 blocks and 2.0 rebounds as the Marauders split a pair of home Northern Sun games over the weekend. She hit a combined 15-of-28 shots from the floor and finished 9-of-12 at the line… The Minot, ND, native equaled her career-high with 25 points against Minnesota Duluth and tied the Marauders NCAA record -era for rebounds with 18. She also had a career-best five blocks, distributed two assists and was 9-of-15 from the field and 6-of-7 at the free throw line in a 65-51 victory over the Bulldogs… Askvig wrapped up the weekend with her fourth double double of the season, pairing 16 points and 12 rebounds against St. Cloud State University. She also had three blocks and two assists against the Huskies… Among the Northern Sun leaders in several categories, Askvig is ninth in the league in scoring (14.0 ppg), third in rebounds (9.7 rpg), ninth in blocks (1.5 bpg) and 12th in 3-pointers per game (1.5)… Askvig is the first Marauders NSIC Player of the Week since teammate Gabbie Bohl won the honor on February 5, 2017.
 
DEEEE-FENSE
The Marauders allow 60.1 points/game, 4th in the NSIC. Teams make just 36.8 percent of their shots against UMary… The 45 points allowed against Minot State was the fewest in a conference game for UMary since defeating Minnesota Duluth 54-44 on January 23, 2016. The Marauders followed up their performance against the Beavers by allowing UMD to score just 51 points and shoot 28.8 percent from the floor.
 
PICKPOCKET
UMary averages 6.9 steals/game, the 7th best total in the NSIC. Lauren Rotunda is the leader in thievery with 1.8 steals/game, 5th in the league.
 
REJECTION
The Marauders are 4th in the NSIC in blocked shots at 4.6/game. Cassie Askvig leads the Marauders in blocks with 19 and Gabbie Bohl has 18… UMary ranks 26^th nationally in blocked shots/game.
 
DOWNTOWN
Averaging 6.9 treys/game, the Marauders are fourth in the NSIC. Sr. G Dani Williams leads UMary with 2.2 made treys/game, fourth in the NSIC. Cassie Askvig is 12th in the league (1.5).
 
MAC ATTACK
The Marauders are 5-3 at home this season at the McDowell Activity Center
 
FOUR SCORE
Four Marauders nearly average double digits in points. Gabbie Bohl (18.2 ppg) leads the way, followed by Cassie Askvig (14 ppg), Lauren Rotunda (10.3 ppg). Dani Williams is at 8.9 ppg.
 
YOUNG
Dani Williams may almost feel out of place in the Marauders starting lineup as the senior guard is the only upperclassmen among the five starters. She is joined by sophomores Gabbie Bohl, Lauren Rotunda and Cassie Askvig and freshman Macy Williams.
 
POWER PLAY
The 2017 NSIC Freshman of the Year and an all-conference second team selection, sophomore post Gabbie Bohl is a dominant force in the middle for the Marauders. The Minot, ND, native is third in the NSIC in scoring (18.2 points per game), 9th in field goal percentage (.524), 12th in rebounding (6.7 rpg) and 10^th in blocks (1.4/game)… She just missed her career scoring mark when she posted 30 points at #23 Augustana, making 14-of-17 free throws in the game. Bohl had 21 points the day before at Wayne State… She has scored in double figures in all 13 games this season… Bohl has two double doubles (24 and 13 vs. Dickinson State and 14 and 10 vs. Minnesota Duluth) and missed two others by a single rebound.
 
THREE FOR THREE
While her uniform number may be coincidental, senior guard Dani Williams is the Marauders leading 3-point shooter. She is shooting 42.6 percent from behind the arc and has knocked down 29 treys this season. Williams is fourth in the NSIC in 3-pointers per game at 2.2 and is fifth in 3-point field goal percentage among players with at least 15 attempts.
 
GROWTH
In her first season as a starter, Cassie Askvig is off to a tremendous start. The sophomore forward leads the team in rebounds (9.7 rpg is 3rd in the NSIC) and blocks (19, 9^th in the NSIC). She is second on the squad in scoring (14 ppg, 9^th in the NSIC), 3-pointers (20) and assists (2.5/game). She is shooting 46.9 percent from the floor and 38.5 percent behind the arc. Askvig scored a career-high 25 points against MSU Moorhead and Minnesota Duluth.
She also had career-highs with 18 rebounds and five blocks against the Bulldogs.
 
SOUND ALL-AROUND
A member of the NSIC All-Freshman team last spring, sophomore Lauren Rotunda has taken another step forward this season. The Fargo, ND, native averages 10.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.8 steals while shooting .394 from the floor and .743 at the free throw line. Rotunda had her third double double with 11 points and 11 rebounds against MSU Moorhead.
 
LISTEN LIVE
University of Mary fans can listen to all Marauders conference games live on Fox Sports 710 as Rick Anthony, the Voice of the Marauders, brings you all the game action. You can also listen live online at www.foxsports710.com. Click the "Listen Live" link to stream the game in real time.
 
BACK AT THE MAC
After the Marauders take a road trip to Northern State and MSU Moorhead on Jan. 5-6, UMary hosts Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota State at the McDowell Activity Center on Jan. 12-13.
 
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