MINOT, ND – The University of Mary Women's Basketball team braved another historic snowfall up Highway 83 for a rescheduled matchup with rivals Minot State. The Marauders (5-4, 4-2 NSIC) overcame an early offensive struggle and completed a tremendous fourth-quarter comeback to sweep the Beavers on the season with a 59-54 win Saturday afternoon. 

The game started slowly with Minot State (5-7, 1-5 NSIC) edging the Marauders 11-9 after the first ten minutes. The Beavers, behind Natasha Elliott who led with 16 points, created separation in the second quarter to enter halftime with a 30-21 lead. UMary could only hit 7 of 22 contested shots (31.8%) and turned the ball over 11 times in the first half. 

At one point trailing by 14 in the third quarter, the Marauders would finally start clicking offensively in the second half behind the perimeter shooting of Megan Voit and the inside scoring of Reese Wishart. 

Megan Zander would put UMary ahead 50-49 by draining a pair of free throws during a stretch where the Marauders outscored the Beavers 19-4 in the fourth. UMary would continue to pressure the reeling Beavers until the final whistle, pulling off the comeback 59-54. 

"Really proud of our kids to persevere through three uninspiring quarters," said head coach Rick Neumann. "Fourth quarter, we picked up the defensive intensity and started to make shots!"

To complement their clutch offensive effort, the Marauders defense was relentless by limiting the Beavers fourth quarter shooting to only three made baskets out of 15. Offensively, UMary made 20 of 46 shots (43.5%). On the contrary, the Marauders swiped nine steals and blocked six total shots. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
For the second straight game, Reese Wishart highlighted the Marauders scoring by leading the team with 17 points. The senior forward from Buffalo, MN made 7 of 10 shots while collecting four rebounds and three assists. 

Megan Voit was on fire from long range as the senior guard from Sauk Rapids, MN hit 5-8 three-pointers for 15 points. Voit also had four rebounds, a pair of assists, a block, and a steal. 

"Reese and Voit were huge," said coach Neumann. "We joked afterwards that two Minnesota girls carried us to the North Dakota rivalry win! Very happy for the seniors to sweep the series versus the team up north." 

Megan Zander finished her ninth consecutive game scoring double-digits this season with 12. Zander also had four rebounds, three assists, a block, and a steal. 

Ryleigh Wacha finished with a team-high five boards while also contributing seven points, two steals, and a block. 

Addison Rozell had a career-high three blocks against the Beavers. 

UP NEXT
The UMary Women's Basketball team will have a two-week holiday break before returning to conference action just in time for New Year's. UMary will square off against Bemidji State University (3-7, 0-6 NSIC) Friday, December 30 at 3 pm. The Marauders will then venture to the University of Minnesota Crookston (4-8, 3-3 NSIC) for a 1 pm matchup on New Year's Eve. 

This series was rescheduled to the final two days of 2022 after originally being slated for this weekend. 

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