THIS WEEK
The University of Mary women's basketball team returns home after being on the road for the past couple weeks. The Marauders host their first two NSIC home games of the season this weekend with matchups against Minnesota State University Moorhead and Northern State University. UMary takes on MSUM on Friday, December 13 at 5:30 PM in the McDowell Activity Center. They will follow that up with a game against NSU on Saturday, December 14 at 3:30 PM.

 
LAST TIME OUT
The last time the Marauders took the court was for a weekend split in their first full weekend of NSIC action. UMary kicked off the weekend with a 60-51 win over SCSU. Asvkig scored 21 points and Schneider added 13 points and nine rebounds to lead the Marauders. The Marauders then fell to UMD by a score of 87-75. Askvig and Rotunda both posted big double-doubles. Askvig recorded 24 points and 10 rebounds while Rotunda pitched in 15 points and 10 boards.
 
THE RECORD
The Marauders come into the weekend with a 8-4 record, starting the season 2-1 in NSIC play.

 
OPPO RESEARCH – MSU MOORHEAD
MSU Moorhead comes into the matchup with the Marauders ranked #24 in the nation behind an 8-2 record, starting conference play 3-0. The Dragons lead the NSIC in both scoring defense and scoring margin, sitting just one spot above the Marauders. MSUM holds their opponents to just 52.5 PPG while winning games by an average of 20.2 PPG. Megan Hintz is the leader of the Dragons, averaging 17.5 PPG and 8.8 RPG.

 
LAST MATCHUP
The last time these two teams faced off was in Bismarck last season. The Dragons came out on top by five points with the final score being 63-58. Cassie Askvig recorded an 11 point, 10 rebounds double-double with Macy Williams pitching in ten points and five assists.


HISTORY LESSON
The Marauders are 8-17 against the Dragons since 2006-07… MSUM has won the last eight 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 5-7 against MSUM at the McDowell Activity Center and 3-9 on the road at Alex Nemzek Fieldhouse.

 
OPPO RESEARCH – NORTHERN STATE
Northern State comes into the matchup with the Marauders with a 6-3 record, going 2-1 in NSIC play so far. Northern State shoots and scores the ball very efficiently, knocking down 45 percent of their shots as a team, the second best total in the NSIC. A trio of scorers average double figures for the Wolves. Lexie Wadsworth leads the team with 13.8 PPG. Brianna Kusler is right behind her with 13.6 PPG and a team high of 8.6 RPG. Jessie Marti rounds out the double digit scoring trio, averaging 11.4 PPG.

 
LAST MATCHUP

Last season was the last time these two teams squared off with the Marauders holding the advantage, winning 69-55. UMary used a strong first and fourth quarter to bring down the Wolves. Cassie Askvig posted 13 points with Macy Williams adding 11.


HISTORY LESSON
The Marauders are 11-15 against the Wolves since the 2006-07 season… UMary swept the 2018-19 season series...Before that NSU had one three straight games. 

  
GETTING BUCKETS
UMary is sixth in the Northern Sun in points per game averaging 73.9. The Marauders have a plus 17.8 points scoring margin over the opponents which ranks second in the Northern Sun. Cassie Askvig leads in the conference in scoring, averaging 20.3 PPG. The Marauders lead the conference in field goal percentage (45.7). Askvig ranks fourth in the conference with a field goal percentage of 50.6 percent.
 
A HELPING PASS
The Marauders sure know how to share the ball. The team ranks first in the conference in assists, averaging 16.92 assists per game. Macy Williams ranks third in the conference averaging 3.8 assists per game. Coral Gillette is second in the conference in assist/turnover ratio with Williams right behind her in third. Gillette ranks eleventh in assists with 3.1 per game.
 
DEEEE-FENSE
The Marauders allow just 56.2 points/game, second lowest in the NSIC. Teams are making just 37.1 percent of their shots against UMary, ranking them sixth in the conference in field goal percentage defense.
 
REJECTION
The Marauders are 11^th in the NSIC in blocked shots at 2.17/game. Lauren Rotunda is tied for 21^st in the NSIC with 0.6 blocks/game.
 
THIEVERY
UMary averages 8.58 steals per game this season, ranking them fifth in the Northern Sun. Christal Hearn leads the team with 2.0 steals a game, ranking fourth in the conference. 
 
DOWNTOWN
Averaging 7.5 treys/game, the Marauders rank sixth in the NSIC. Shooting 33.8 percent from behind the arc, UMary is tenth in the conference in three point shooting percentage. Coral Gillette is fourth in the conference averaging 2.5 three pointers per game.
 
CHARITY STRIPE
Shooting 73.1 percent from the free throw line as a team this season the Marauders rank sixth in the NSIC. Cassie Askvig shoots 79.7 percent from the line, ranking her tenth in the NSIC.
 
CRASHING THE GLASS
The Marauders rank fifth in the NSIC in rebounding defense. UMary ranks third in rebounding margin with a plus 6.2 RPG average. Lexie Schneider is fourth in the NSIC in rebounding, pulling down 8.2 boards per game. Askvig joins her in the top 15, coming in tied for 12^th with 6.7 RPG. 

CLIMBING THE MARAUDERS ALL TIME RANKINGS
Cassie Askvig currently has 1,329 career points and 695 career rebounds. She ranks 10^th all-time in points and sixth all-time in rebounds. She also sits sixth all-time in career blocks with 62.
Lauren Rotunda moves into sixth all-time in career steals with 99.
Macy Williams climbs to 22^nd all-time in career assists with 206.
 
700 WINS CLUB
With the teams win over the Northeastern State Riverhawks the Marauders now have 700 all-time program wins!
  
 
LIVING UP TO EXPECTATIONS
Coming into the season as defending NSIC player of the year the expectations are high for senior Cassie Askvig and she is living up to those expectations. The Marauders senior is averaging 20.3 PPG and 6.7 RPG early on this season.
 
 
PACK THE MAC
The Marauders thrive off of a big crowd, boasting a 10-3 record on the home court last season and a 4-0 record so far this year. Come out and pack the MAC and cheer your Marauders onto victory.
 
LISTEN LIVE
University of Mary fans can listen to all Marauders home and conference games live on Fox Sports 710 as Jesse Rostvedt, 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. 
 
FOLLOW LIVE
To find links to live stats, audio and video, go to www.goumary.com/coverage
 
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