BISMARCK, ND - The University of Mary women's basketball team (8-7, 3-4 Northern Sun) returns home from the holidays to host Valley City State University (4-6, 1-0 North Star) on Friday, December 30, at 4 pm. UMary then welcomes Minot State University (5-9, 3-4) to the McDowell Activity Center on Sunday, January 2, at 4 pm.

Last Time Out
The Marauders defeated Bemidji State University 70-67 and the University of Crookston 74-73 in a home sweep. Four clutch late free throws from Megan Zander clinched UMary's victory over BSU. Lexie Schneider had an efficient performance as the senior had 18 points and nine rebounds on 8-of-10 shooting from the field. Macy Williams had 11 points and five assists.  Megan Voit contributed 11 points and three assists. Zander had nine points, four rebounds and five steals.

It was a historic night for Macy Williams as she scored her 1,000-career point in the Marauders come from behind win over UMC. Lexie Schneider scored the game-winning bucket with just four seconds left in the game. Schneider had a double-double, scoring 21 points and grabbing 15 rebounds.

Schneider would earn Northern Sun North Division Women's Basketball Player of the Week due to her performance against BSU and UMC. This marks the second time that she has earned NSIC weekly honors for her Marauders career.

About The Opposition
Valley City State University is 4-6 overall on the year. VSCU has faced off against NSIC competition twice as the NAIA team lost to Bemidji State University (79-46) and Minot State University (76-64). Junior guard Adrianna Torres leads the Vikings in scoring (13.8 ppg) and rebounding (6.8 rpg). Leading VSCU in assists is sophomore guard Hailey Roberts, who has 27 total assists. Junior forward Taryn Dieterle averages 9.8 ppg and 5.4 rpg.

Minot State University is 5-9 overall and 3-4 in the NSIC. MSU defeated UMary earlier this season 85-71 at Minot. Junior forward Amber Stevahn leads the Beavers in scoring, averaging 16.4 ppg. Leading MSU in rebounding is junior center Anna Counts, who averages 5.5 rpg. Junior guard Kate Head leads the NSIC in total assists with 69. 

Numbers To Know
Lexie Schneider leads the team in scoring, averaging 11.7 ppg. She also leads UMary in rebounding with 8.5 rpg. She's second in the NSIC in rebounding, 11^th in blocks (0.7 bpg) and 23^rd in scoring.

Macy Williams leads the Marauders in assists with 52 total and is averaging 9.5 ppg. Williams is 6^th in the NSIC in assist and 11^th in assist to turnover ratio.

Megan Voit is the team leader in three-pointers made with a total of 42 and is third on the team in scoring while averaging 10.7 ppg. She is shooting .378 from behind the arc. She is first in the NSIC three-pointers made per game and third in three-point field goal percentage.

Megan Zander is second on the team in scoring with 11.9 ppg while averaging 5.2 rpg. She's shooting .420 from three on 21-of-50 shooting. She's 18^th in the NSIC in three-pointers made per game (1.4).

Macy Williams
Williams is fourth in all-time assists at UMary with 414. Williams has a chance to become second all-time in assists as she trails Jessica Zundel (415) and Renae Amundson (438).

Coaches
Head coach Rick Neumann is fourth all-time in coaching wins at UMary with 141. In his ninth season, he has a record of 141-125. Hall of Fame coach Roger Haug is the Marauders all-time leader in wins (234), followed by Fred Fridley (170), Cal Collins (150) and Neumann (141).

UMary brought in two assistant coaches Brooke LeMar and Chloe Wanink for the 2020-21 season. LeMar was a two-time all-conference after spending her collegiate career at NCAA Division I North Dakota State University. She then went on to play professionally in several countries including Denmark, Germany, Australia and Sweden. LeMar worked as the Director of Player Development at the California Baptist University.

Wanink was a four-year all-conference performer at NCAA Division I Wofford University. She was a three-year captain at Wofford and led the Southern Conference in scoring her junior season averaging 21 points per game. She was named the 2019-20 SoCon Preseason Player of the Year and was named to the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard watchlist.

Returners
Notable returners to the Marauders include Macy Williams, Lexie Schneider and Megan Voit. Schneider led the NSIC in rebounding and was second on the team in scoring with 12.5 ppg.

Voit led the team in total three-pointers made with 22 while averaging 7.9 ppg.

Williams was first in the NSIC in assists with 75. Williams ranks 7^th all-time for the University of Mary in assists.

Other returners include senior Carly Kottsick, juniors Reese Wishart and Mady Shafer, sophomores Zoe Velde, Lakyn Darras, Cadee Ryckman and Hallie Schweitzer.

New Faces
The Marauders add the University of North Dakota transfer Megan Zander, who averaged 8.8 ppg and 5.9 rpg last season.
UMary brings in five freshmen, who will look to make an immediate impact for the Marauders. Those five include Addison Rozell, Julia Fitterer, Ryleigh Wacha, Moriku Hakim and Ellie Hasz.

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