THIS WEEKEND
Winners of three straight and five out of six games, a hot University of Mary women's basketball team begins a four-game road trip with a visit to Northern Sun South division foes University of Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State University on Friday and Saturday, February 2-3. The weekend opens against the USF Cougars at 6 pm Friday in the Stewart Center in Sioux Falls, SD. On Saturday, UMary travels to Marshall, MN, to face the SMSU Mustangs at 5 pm on "Hawaiian Night" in the R/A Facility. 
 
LAST TIME OUT
UMary extended their home win streak to four with a sweep of Upper Iowa and Winona State University. The Marauders defeated the Peacocks 73-38. UMary jumped out to a 25-10 lead after the first quarter and held UIU to seven points in the second. The Marauders shot 51 percent from the floor to 31 percent for the Peacocks. UMary also held a 47-21 advantage on the boards. Cassie Askvig led the Marauders with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Gabbie Bohl added 20 points and Danie Williams 13… The weekend concluded with an 81-64 win over Winona State. Down two points at half, the Marauders outscored the Warriors 21-6 to take control of the game. Bohl had a game-high 25 points and nine rebounds. Askvig added 10 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and three blocks. Lauren Rotunda had 12 points, six rebounds and three assists and Macy Williams chipped in ten points. Christal Hearn had a career-high 11 points off the bench.
 
THE RECORD
The Marauders are 11-11 overall and 7-9 in the NSIC (6^th NSIC North, 10^th overall).
 
MIDCO SPORTS NETWORK AIRING MARAUDERS-COUGARS GAME ACROSS REGION
The University of Mary men's and women's basketball teams make their season debut on Midco Sports Network when the Marauders visit the University of Sioux Falls. Broadcast throughout the region on Midco Sports Network, the women's contest tips off at 6 pm with the men's game to follow at 8 pm from the Stewart Center in Sioux Falls, SD on Friday, February 2. David Brown calls the game for MidcoSN with Jordan Dalton handling the color. MidcoSN is available on cable Ch. 622 (HD) and Ch. 26 (SD) in the Bismarck area. Go to https://www.midcosn.com/ for more information. 
 
 
FAST BREAK

• The Marauders have won three straight games and four of their last five
• UMary has swept its last two home series and is now 9-3 this year at the McDowell Activity Center
• With six games remaining, the Marauders are two wins out of third place (SCSU 9-6) and one win out of fourth (UMD 8-7, Minot State 8-8). The top four teams in both the NSIC North and South divisions host opening round games in the conference tournament, provided the higher seed has a better conference record than the lower seed (new rule).
• While the season series with Minot State is complete after splitting two games, the Marauders have a road weekend at SCSU and UMD on Feb. 9-10. UMary defeated UMD at home but lost to SCSU.
• The Marauders are 4-2 against the NSIC South this season with home wins over Minnesota State, Concordia-St. Paul, Upper Iowa and Winona State. UMary lost on the road to Augustana and Wayne State, the top two teams in the NSIC South. 
• UMary has played games against four nationally-ranked teams this season: home and away against #19 and #16 Northern State, neutral site game against #11 Central Missouri and at #23 Augustana (rankings at time of game)
• Just the 24^th UMary women's basketball player to crack 900 points in her career, Sr. G Dani Williams is up to 18th on the all-time scoring list with 977 points after passing Kayla Rogers (974) last weekend. Next on the list at #17 is Maren Loe (991). UMary's all-time leading scorer is Brittney Dietz with 1,836 points, set from 2012-16. 
• Soph. F Gabbie Bohl is up to 852 career points in 50 games
• Soph. F Cassie Askvig cracked 500 career points and has 549 in 52 games
• Soph. G Lauren Rotunda is closing in on 500 career points with a current total of 492
• The Marauders have allowed 69 or fewer points in 15 of 22 games, including 10-of-12 home games
• Gabbie Bohl (18 ppg) and Cassie Askvig (14.4 ppg) combine to average 32.4 ppg, tops among any pair of teammates in the NSIC. Next is Northern State's combo of Miranda Ristau (18.9 ppg) and Jill Conrad (11.6 ppg) at 30.5 ppg. 

 
OPPO RESEARCH – UNIVERSITY OF SIOUX FALLS COUGARS
Sioux Falls is 13-7 overall and 10-6 in the NSIC (3^rd NSIC South, 5^th overall)… coming off a four-game road trip that ended 2-2 with losses last weekend at MSU Moorhead and Northern State… 3-3 against teams in the NSIC North… 7-2 at home… So. G Kaely Hummel leads the Cougars in scoring at 16.6 ppg… Jr. F Jacey Huinker is second in the NSIC in rebounding at 10.3 rpg. She also averages 7.0 ppg and a team-high 3.2 apg… 3^rd  in the NSIC in scoring defense at 60.3 ppg allowed… Teams are shooting just 37.2 percent against USF… Head Coach Travis Traphagen is in his tenth season at USF and has a career record of 191-97. He led the Cougars to their first NCAA tournament berth in 2016.
 
HISTORY LESSON Mary leads the NCAA Division II series with the Cougars 3-2… Marauders are 2-1 at home and 1-1 at USF… After UMary won three first three meetings, USF has captured the last two games… Of the five contests, only one has been decided by more than five points
 
LAST MEETING Gabbie Bohl had 26 points and eight rebounds and Lauren Rotunda added 14 points but visiting Sioux Falls scored the last eight points of the game to edge the Marauders 65-60 on February 3, 2017. USF held a 30-4 advantage in points off turnovers as the Marauders committed 26 turnovers to just eight for the Cougars. Hannah Larson added six points, 11 rebounds and five assists and Cassie Askvig had ten rebounds. Andi Mataloni scored a team-high 19 points off the bench for USF. 
 
OPPO RESEARCH – SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE UNIVERSITY MUSTANGS
Southwest Minnesota State is 4-15 overall and 3-13 in the Northern Sun (7^th in the NSIC South, t-14^th NSIC overall)… Lost four straight games, all on the road at Concordia-St. Paul, Minnesota State, MSU Moorhead and Northern State… 3-5 at home with wins over Waldorf, Upper Iowa and Bemidji State… Sr. Lauren Hedlund is the 19^th player to post 1,000 career points for SMSU and is sixth all-time in rebounding. She is averaging 5.2 ppg and 4.3 rpg… Caleigh Rodning averages 12.9 ppg and 7.6 rpg, both team highs… Erin Baxter adds 11.1 ppg… Head Coach Tom Webb is in his second year leading the Mustangs and has a two-year mark of 7-39 at SMSU.
 
HISTORY LESSON UMary has won six straight meetings with SMSU dating back to the 2011-12 season… The last three games have gone to overtime, including a double-overtime game in UMary's last visit to SMSU in 2016… UMary leads the all-time series 11-3… The last win for SMSU was an 80-69 road victory on Jan. 14, 2011.
 
LAST MEETING Dani Williams hit two treys in overtime to help the Marauders down visiting Southwest Minnesota State 82-76. Williams had six 3-pointers in the game and scored 23 points. Hannah Larson scored four of her six points in overtime and added 12 rebounds, 10 assists and six blocks. Gabbie Bohl scored 23 points – 11 in the fourth quarter – and pulled down eight rebounds. Cassie Askvig added 12 points. Caleigh Rodning led SMSU with 24 points and 12 rebounds.
 
LINE PLAY
After struggling at the line much of the season, the Marauders have picked up the pace over the last six games, converting 104-of-133 (.782). For the year UMary is shooting 68.7 percent.
A big factor in the upsurge is Gabbie Bohl, who made 38-of-47 free throws (81 percent)  over those six contests.
 
DEEEE-FENSE
The Marauders allow 62.3 points/game, 7th in the NSIC. Teams make just 38.6 percent of their shots against UMary.
 
DEEEE-FENSE V2
The 38 points the Marauders surrendered to Upper Iowa was the fewest allowed by UMary in an NSIC game. The previous low was 42 at Minnesota Crookston on February 16, 2007, a 62-42 UMary win.
 
PICKPOCKET
UMary averages 6.3 steals/game. Lauren Rotunda is the leader in thievery with 1.5 steals/game, 6th in the league.

REJECTION
The Marauders are 3rd in the NSIC in blocked shots at 4.6/game. Cassie Askvig leads UM in blocks with 31 and is 10^th in the NSIC at 1.5 blocks/game Gabbie Bohl is second on the Marauders with 30 blocks and ranked 11^th in the NSIC 1.4 rejections per game. … UMary ranks 20^th nationally in blocked shots with 101.

DOWNTOWN
Averaging 6.9 treys/game, the Marauders are 7th in the NSIC. Sr. G Dani Williams leads UMary with 2.1 made treys/game, 5th in the NSIC.
 
MAC ATTACK
The Marauders are 9-3 at home this season at the McDowell Activity Center.

FOUR SCORE
Four Marauders nearly average double digits in points. Gabbie Bohl (18 ppg) leads the way, followed by Cassie Askvig (14.4 ppg) and Lauren Rotunda (10 ppg). Dani Williams is at 8.6 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 points per game), 8th in field goal percentage (.513), 11th in rebounding (6. rpg) and 11^th in blocks (1.4/game)… She just missed her career scoring mark by a point 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 20 of the 21 games she has played 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. Williams is shooting 42.3 percent from behind the arc and has knocked down 44 treys this season. Williams is 5th in the NSIC in 3-pointers per game at 2.1 and is 4th in 3-point field goal percentage among players with at least 30 makes.

GROWTH
In her first season as a starter, Cassie Askvig is having a tremendous season. The sophomore forward leads the team in rebounds with 8.8 /game (5^th in the NSIC) and blocks with 26 (11^thin the NSIC). She is second on the squad in scoring at 14.4 ppg (6^th in the NSIC), and assists (2.7/game) and third in 3-pointers (28). She is shooting 45.6 percent from the floor and 33.7 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… Askvig was named the NSIC Player of the Week January 2 after averaging 20.5 points, 15.0 rebounds, 4.0 blocks and 2.0 rebounds in a weekend split over Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State… She has seven double doubles this season.
 
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 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.5 steals while shooting .383 from the floor and .803 at the free throw line. Rotunda five double doubles this season, including one against Northern State. 
 
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.

ON THE HORIZON
The Marauders continue a four-game road trip with a visit to St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth on February 9-10.
 
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