THIS WEEK
Wrapping up a four game homestand, the University of Mary women's basketball team welcomes #14 University of Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State to Bismarck for matchups this weekend. The Marauders battle USF on Friday, January 17 at 5:30 PM in the MAC. They follow that up with a game against SMSU on Saturday, January 18 at 3:30 PM.

 
LAST TIME OUT
The last time the Marauders took the court was for a weekend split. The Marauders started the weekend by handing Minnesota Duluth their first conference loss of the season in a 76-67 win. Askvig led the way by dropping a career high of 36 points. Lauren Rotunda added a big 18 point, 13 rebound double double. The Marauders would fall to St. Cloud State 65-80 in the second game of the weekend. Askvig continued her domination posting 34 points on the game.


 
THE RECORD
The Marauders come into the weekend with a 12-7 record, starting the season 6-4 in NSIC play.

 
OPPO RESEARCH – SIOUX FALLS
Sioux Falls comes into the game with the Marauders with a 15-2 record, starting conference play 8-2. The Cougars, on a six game winning streak, have proven to be one of the best teams in the nation, ranking #14 in the most recent poll. USF is led by Kaely Hummel who averages 18.3 PPG, the third highest average in the NSIC. USF can certainly shoot the three. Averaging 8.2 treys per game, the Cougars lead the NSIC. They don't just make a lot of threes, they do it efficiently, knocking down 37.3 percent of their shots from deep.


 
LAST MATCHUP
The last time these two teams met; the Marauders claimed a 70-63 road win over the Cougars. Cassie Askvig had 19 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. Coral Gillette pitched in 16 points off four three pointers. UMary held the Cougars to just 19 first half points in the game to help separate themselves from USF.


HISTORY LESSON
Mary leads the NCAA Division II series with the Cougars 5-2… Marauders are 2-1 at home and 3-1 at USF… After UMary won the first three meetings, USF has captured two of the last four… Of the seven contests, only two have been decided by more than five points
 
OPPO RESEARCH – SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE

Southwest Minnesota State comes into the weekend with a 7-8 record, starting off NSIC play going 2-8. The team is led by Meleah Reinhart who averages 15.9 PPG. Jenna Borchers averages double digit points for the Mustangs as well, recording 12.1 PPG. SMSU knows how to protect the rim, ranking second in the NSIC with 4.4 blocks per game. Abuk Akoi leads the conference in blocked shots with 2.7 per game, nearly a whole block above second.
 
 
LAST MATCHUP

The Marauders narrowly fell to SMSU the last time the two teams squared off with the Mustangs earning a 64-62 win. UMary held a 20-4 lead seven minutes into play but SMSU was able to chip away at that lead, claiming victory. Cassie Askvig led the way for UMary with 29 points and six rebounds.


HISTORY LESSON
UMary has won six of the last eight meetings with SMSU dating back to the 2011-12 season… Three of the last five games have gone to overtime, including a double-overtime game in UMary's visit to SMSU in 2016… UMary leads the all-time series 11-5.

  
GETTING BUCKETS
UMary is fourth in the Northern Sun in points per game averaging 73.9. The Marauders have a plus 11.8 points scoring margin over the opponents which is second in the Northern Sun. Cassie Askvig leads the conference in scoring, averaging 21.1 PPG. The Marauders lead the conference in field goal percentage (45.4). Askvig ranks fourth in the conference with a field goal percentage of 51.2 percent.
 
A HELPING PASS
The Marauders sure know how to share the ball. The team ranks first in the conference in assists, averaging 16.95 assists per game. Macy Williams is second in the conference averaging 4.6 assists per game. Williams leads the conference in assists / turnover ratio. Gillette ranks 17^th in assists with 2.8 per game.
 
DEEEE-FENSE
The Marauders allow just 62.1 points/game, fourth lowest in the NSIC. Teams are making just 39.9 percent of their shots against UMary, ranking them 12^th in the conference in field goal percentage defense.
 
THIEVERY
UMary averages 7.68 steals per game this season, ranking them eighth in the Northern Sun. Christal Hearn leads the team with 1.5 steals a game, ranking tied for tenth in the conference. Right behind her with 1.4 steals per game is Lauren Rotunda, tying her for 16^th in the Northern Sun.
 
DOWNTOWN
Averaging 7.3 treys/game, the Marauders rank sixth in the NSIC. Shooting 34.2 percent from behind the arc, UMary is seventh in the conference in three point shooting percentage. Coral Gillette is second in the conference averaging 2.6 three pointers per game.
 
CHARITY STRIPE
Shooting 75.1 percent from the free throw line as a team this season the Marauders rank fifth in the NSIC. Cassie Askvig shoots 83.3 percent from the line, ranking her sixth in the NSIC.
 
CRASHING THE GLASS
The Marauders rank fourth in the NSIC in rebounding defense. Lexie Schneider is sixth in the NSIC in rebounding, pulling down 7.7 boards per game. Askvig and Rotunda join her in the top 15. Rotunda is ninth with 7.2 RPG and Askvig is 12^th with 6.5 RPG.
 
NSIC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
The Marauders have had two athletes earn NSIC athlete of the week honors.
 Lauren Rotunda earned the honor for her 19 point, eight rebound, six assist performance against Minot State during a dominant 81-60 win.
Cassie Askvig earned hers after averaging 34 PPG and 5.5 RPG. She also dropped a career high of 36 points over the weekend.

CLIMBING THE MARAUDERS ALL TIME RANKINGS
Cassie Askvig currently has 1,485 career points and 738 career rebounds. She ranks eigth all-time in points and fifth all-time in rebounds. She also sits sixth all-time in career blocks with 65.
Lauren Rotunda moves into sixth all-time in career steals with 104.
Macy Williams climbs to 16^th all-time in career assists with 237.
 
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 21.1 PPG and 6.5 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 an 8-1 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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