ABERDEEN, SD – The University of Mary Women's Basketball team picked up right where they left off in Hawaii and opened Northern Sun action in dominating fashion. A second-quarter spark, a Megan Zander double-double, and an overall tremendous defensive and team effort propelled the UMary Marauders to a 70-57 win over Northern Sun in the conference opener. This is the second straight win for the Marauders and their fourth straight game on the road to open the season. 

UMary (2-2, 1-0 NSIC) opened the game in a back-and-forth first quarter with the Wolves (6-2, 1-1 NSIC) with the Marauders leading 12-11. The Marauders then embarked on perhaps their most impressive quarter of play through the first four games in the second when they outscored NSU 27-9, the most points scored in a quarter for the Marauders this season and also the fewest scored for the Wolves. UMary rallied off five total treys and pressured the Wolves into five turnovers to enter halftime with a commanding 39-20 lead.

"Great second quarter for us," said head coach Rick Neumann. "We found an action that was working against the way they were defending our ball screens and credit to the girls for making the right play."

The Wolves would slowly chip away at the lead and score 21 off the bench, but their efforts ultimately came short as their six-game winning streak would be snapped by the Marauders in the 70-57 final. UMary successfully connected on 40.7% of their shots and once again enjoyed success from long range making 8 of 22 three-pointers (36.4%). UMary was once again tough at the boards outrebounding NSU 45 to 34 and holding the Wolves to a season-low 57 points scored. 

"Extremely excited for the team, winning on the road is very difficult and Northern was undefeated at home," said coach Neumann. "Our kids stepped up big time and coach Chloe Lamb had us ready to play on the defensive end with a great scout."

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Megan Zander continues her impressive start to the 22-23 season with a career night. The senior guard from Mandan, ND led the Marauders scoring for the third-consecutive game with 18 points, and 10 rebounds gave Zander her first double-double of the season. Zander also dished out three assists.

Megan Voit knocked down four of six treys to contribute 14 points to the Marauders scoring, and she also grabbed six rebounds. 

Ryleigh Wacha turned in a nice performance with 11 points, seven rebounds, and blocked a shot. 

Addison Rozell contributed 11 points as well as three assists and four rebounds. 

Carly Kottsick paced the Marauders with four assists. The senior from Fargo, ND also scored five points and swiped two steals and five rebounds. 

Moriku Hakim was solid off the bench scoring 8 points and taking three steals from the Wolves. 

UP NEXT
The Marauders will return to Bismarck for their long-awaited home opener Saturday afternoon when they host Minnesota State University Moorhead (4-2, 1-1 NSIC) at 2:00. "1-0 feels great, now we need to take care of the home court the next four times out," said coach Neumann. 

CLOSING IN ON HISTORY
Thursday night's contest marked the 149th career victory for Rick Neumann at the helm of UMary Women's Basketball. Neumann could potentially achieve a landmark 150th victory at home this Saturday with a win over MSU Moorhead. Neumann currently holds a winning 149-135 overall record in his tenth season as head coach. 

DIAL INTO 710 AM FOX SPORTS
Listen to "Voice of the Marauders" Jesse Rostvedt call all Marauders Northern Sun games and select conference contests on 710 AM Fox Sports.
 
LIVE STATS AND WEBCASTS
Links to radio broadcasts, web streams, and live stats are found at www.GoUMary.com/coverage
 
TICKETS
Tickets can be purchased at www.UMaryTickets.com. A tournament pass is available for both days. Also, any ticket purchased for either Friday or Saturday provides admission for all four games that day.
 
Game tickets for Marauders athletics are available online at www.UMaryTickets.com and at the gate for all UMary athletics
Adults | $10 + fees online and $15 (CASH ONLY) at the gate
Seniors (65+) and youth 13-18 | $5 + fees online and $10 (CASH ONLY) at the gate
Children 12 and under accompanied by an adult | Free
Children 12 and under with no adult present| $5
UMary students and faculty and staff with their MCard and youth 12 and younger are admitted free
 
Please note that ticket sales at the gate are CASH ONLY purchases. Fans receive a discounted rate on tickets when purchased online at www.umarytickets.com than at the gate. Fans are also able to purchase tickets using credit and debit cards when ordering online while sales at the ticket booth are cash only.
 
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