THIS WEEK
The University of Mary women's basketball team will play their final games of the 2020-21 season as they take on Minot State University on Friday and Saturday, February 19-20. Game time is 6:00 pm on Friday with Saturday's tip-off set for 2:00 pm at the Dome in Minot, ND. The Marauders enter this series with a record of 3-9 overall and 3-7 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. MSU is 4-8 and 4-6 in the NSIC.

LAST TIME OUT

UMary lost both of their weekend games against Minnesota State University Moorhead. They lost Friday's game 86-75 to MSU Moorhead. Saturday's game was a close back-and-forth affair as neither team could grab a big lead. The Marauders would lose 76-75 after MSU Moorhead hit a last-second free throw and UMary was unable to score before the final buzzer sounded.

Senior guard Lauren Rotunda played fantastic in her last two home games as a Marauder. The senior averaged 29 points and 11 rebounds while shooting 40% from three over the two games. Junior forward Lexie Schneider averaged 14.5 points and 7.5 rebounds a game over the weekend.

 HOW TO FOLLOW YOUR MARAUDERS LIVE ONLINE
Links to live streaming video, game stats and radio streams are available at

www.GoUMary.com/coverage … Fox Sports 710 AM radio broadcasts of home games are available online at https://foxsports710.iheart.com/
 
MARAUDERS HOME BASKETBALL GAMES AIRING LIVE ON FOX SPORTS 710
All home University of Mary men's and women's basketball games will air live on Fox Sports 710 AM. Voice of the Marauders Jesse Rostvedt will call all the action this season from the McDowell Activity Center.
 
NSIC, UMARY BASKETBALL COVID-19 PANDEMIC CHANGES
In order to compete safely this season during the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Mary, the NCAA and the Northern Sun have created several new policies. Here are just a few changes implemented for the 2020-21 men's and women's basketball season….

• The 2020-21 season for Northern Sun members started Jan. 2
• NSIC teams will play 16 games, all against conference competition (teams normally play 26 regular-season games that includes a 22-game NSIC schedule)
• All teams will play two games against a single conference opponent each weekend (usually play two different teams each weekend)
• All NSIC schools host home games for eight straight weeks as either the men's or women's team will play at home with the other team on the road (no men's and women's doubleheaders)
• The NSIC will only declare North and South Division champions and not an overall champion for 2021
• Eight teams will advance to the NSIC tournament (all teams previously made the tournament with first-round games at home sites)
• Marauders home games are currently closed to the general public
• Only home Marauders basketball games will air on Fox Sports 710 (follow road Marauders basketball games live video streams at www.GoUMary.com/coverage)
• Game programs are only available online and will not be printed
• Winter scholar-athletes will maintain their year of eligibility independent of whether they compete or not

RECORDS
UMary is 3-9 overall and 3-7 in the NSIC this season… MSU is 4-8 overall and 4-6 in the NSIC.

HISTORY OF THE UMARY-MSU MATCHUP
The Marauders are 11-7 against the Beavers since the 2011-12 season… UMary has won the last five meetings.

NUMBERS TO KNOW

Lauren Rotunda is tied for 3^rd in the NSIC in scoring (18.1 ppg), 3^rd in rebounding (7.9 rpg), 4^th in field goal percentage (.476%), 9^th in free throw percentage (.833%) and tied for 11^th in blocks (0.8 spg)… Macy Williams is first in the NSIC in assists (5.1 apg) and 3^rd in assist/turnover ratio... Megan Voit ranks 18^th in the NSIC in three-point field goals per game (1.5 per game)… Lexie Schneider 4^th in rebounding (7.5)… Both Rotunda and Williams are in the top ten of minutes played, with Williams being 7^th (33.9 mpg) and Rotunda at 4^th (34.5 mpg).
 
OPPO RESEARCH – MINOT STATE UNIVERSITY
Minot State University went 7-20 overall and 4-18 in the conference last season, finishing fourth in the NSIC North. They are currently fifth in the NSIC North this season. Ryan Clark is the head coach at Minot after taking over for Mark Graupe, who was relieved of his duties after MSU started 2-6 on the year. The Beavers have gone 2-2 since Clark took over.

Junior forward Amber Stevahn leads MSU in scoring and rebounding as she averages 14.8 points and 6.7 rebounds a game. Senior guard Calli Delsman is second on the team in scoring as she 8.8 points per game while grabbing 6.3 rebounds a game.

RECORDS TO LOOK OUT FOR

• Lauren Rotunda is looking to move up in several record categories for UMary. She ranks 13^th all-time in scoring (1,247 points), 7^th in blocks (66), 3^rd in steals (139), 12^th in assists (294) and 7^th in rebounding (672). Rotunda could pass Hannah Larson (1,276) for 12^th all-time in scoring.
• Macy Williams ranks 29^th in scoring (848 points) and 7^th in assists (355) all-time in Marauders history.

ROSTER RUNDOWN
Head coach Rick Neumann returns 10 players from last year's 22-win team, including five players who started ten or more games and five of six of the squad's leading scorers. An experienced crew features three seniors and five juniors.
 
Returning to the Marauders will be senior guard Lauren Rotunda who averaged 13.6 points and 7.6 rebounds a game last season. Rotunda was named the Marauders NSIC Player to Watch for women's basketball after earning 1^st team All-Northern Sun honors last year. Senior guard Macy Williams will be returning after leading the team in assists last season (4.0). The four-year starter added 8.3 points/game. Senior guard Coral Gillette led the team in total three-pointers, hitting 84 of them while shooting 36%. She averaged 9.3 points/game and led the NSIC in assist-to-turnover ratio. Junior forward Lexie Schneider will look to improve upon her sophomore season where she averaged 9.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. Sophomore guard Megan Voit started 10 games last season and was second on the team with 45 treys. Junior guards Raquel Doll and Carly Kottsick also saw significant floor time for UMary. Anna Michaud and Reese Wishart both played key minutes in the frontcourt. Mady Schafer saw limited play at guard.
 
The Marauders roster also features several newcomers. Junior guard Claire Borot transferred to UMary from Miles Community College. At Miles CC she averaged 12.7 points per game her sophomore year while shooting 36% from the field. Freshman forward Ella Grove averaged 15 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists per game her senior year at Alexandria (MN) Area High School. Grove earned All-State and All-Conference honors at Alexandria. Also joining UMary this season is sophomore guard Klara Dolk, a transfer from West Texas A&M, and freshmen Laykn Darras (F, Mandan HS), Emma Passa (F, Velva (ND) HS), Cadee Ryckman (G, Bismarck HS), Hallie Schweitzer (C, Bismarck St. Mary's HS) and Zoe Velde (G, Pipestone (MN) HS).

ALL HANDS ON DECK
With the NCAA allowing all players to compete this season without losing a year of eligibility, all eligible scholar-athletes are available to play this season with no need to redshirt.
 
BORDER PATROL
The Marauders feature eight North Dakotans on the 2020-21 team, including four from Bismarck-Mandan. Laykn Darras (Mandan HS), Coral Gillette (Bismarck HS), Cadee Ryckman (Bismarck HS) and Hallie Schweitzer (Bismarck St. Mary's HS) all grew up in the shadow of UMary. Others from the Roughrider state are Raquel Doll (Hazen), Carly Kottsick (Fargo Davies HS), Emma Passa (Velva) and Lauren Rotunda (Fargo Shanley HS).
 
NEW COACHES
UMary has brought in two new assistant coaches Brooke LeMar and Chloe Wanink. 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.

131
Rick Neumann is fourth all-time in coaching wins at UMary with 131. In his ninth season, he has a record of 131-118. 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 (131).

MARAUDERS PICKED 4^th IN NSIC NORTH PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
The Marauders are projected to finish fourth in the NSIC North Division according to the NSIC preseason coaches' rankings. The University of Minnesota Duluth is projected to win the NSIC North getting seven first-place votes. St. Cloud State University is projected to finish second followed by MSU Moorhead, University of Mary, Northern State University, Bemidji State University, Minot State University, and the University of Crookston.
 

HALL OF FAME CONNECTIONS
A pair of Marauders have fathers in the Marauders Hall of Fame. Coral Gillette's father Rusty was inducted into the Hall of Fame after scoring 1,167 points in his Marauders basketball career. Hallie Schweitzer's father Toby was a two-time All-American and the Marauders football all-time leader in tackles.
 
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