BISMARCK, ND – Following a 2-0 start to the Northern Sun season, the University of Mary Women's Basketball team is set for a big three-game week at home. Tuesday night will be the first of two matchups this month between the Marauders and their U.S. 83 rivals Minot State University. UMary will remain at the McDowell Activity Center for the weekend hosting St. Cloud State University Friday at 5:30, and then Minnesota Duluth on Saturday at 3:30.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Marauders (3-2, 2-0 NSIC) got off to a hot start against Northern State en route to a 70-57 road victory on Thursday, December 1. UMary played strong defensively and in the post, outrebounding NSU 45-34 and limiting the Wolves to their season-low 57 points scored in the contest.
 
Then in their home opener on Saturday, December 3, UMary won a thrilling come-from-behind game over MSU Moorhead 83-75. UMary shot 51.6% from the field and traded the lead with the Dragons eight times. It was the third straight victory for the Marauders dating back to Friday, November 25 when they defeated Hawaii at Hilo 72-44.
 
LANDMARK VICTORY
Saturday's 83-75 win over MSU Moorhead was the 150^th career victory for UMary Women's Basketball Head Coach Rick Neumann. "It's really special," said Neumann. "Most importantly it's our third win in a row and number two in the conference. Looking back, I have been fortunate enough to have coached many great players who have played a big part in this, and this is as much of a reflection of those people as it is anything I've done."
 
In his tenth season coaching at his alma mater, he is the fourth straight coach to reach 150 wins, following Cal Collins (150 wins), Roger Haug (234), and Fred Fridley (170).
 
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Megan Zander has stepped up as a leader for the Marauders thus far. The senior from Mandan, ND won the NDPF UMary Female Athlete of the Week for the second straight week after a 23-point game against MSU Moorhead and a double-double performance (18 points, 10 rebounds) against Northern State. She currently averages 16.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game.
 
Addison Rozell had another solid week in the post for the Marauders. The sophomore forward from Redfield, SD put up double-digit points in both of last week's contests and had a double-double Saturday vs MSU Moorhead (12 points, 10 rebounds). Rozell averages 11.8 points and a team-high 6.2 rebounds per game through her first five starts.
 
Megan Voit is still a threat from long-range as she sunk four three-pointers plus another bucket for 14 points Thursday against Northern State. Voit averages 8.0 points per game through the first five.
 
Zoe Velde turned in an impressive 16-point game Saturday vs MSU Moorhead and shot a perfect five-for-five from the field. Velde currently leads the Marauders in three-point shooting percentage at 0.667.
 
Ryleigh Wacha continues to pose a versatile threat as the sophomore scored 11 points and grabbed seven boards on Thursday. Wacha currently averages 8.6 points per game along with 4.2 rebounds.
 
Along with Velde, Carly Kottsick had a nice game shooting for eight points and had a pair of treys on Saturday. Both have been instrumental in setting up plays for the Marauders offensively this season, and Kottsick had a combined eight assists last week.
 
Moriku Hakim was solid off the bench picking up eight points and three steals against NSU and later scored nine points with four rebounds and a block against MSU Moorhead.
 
ABOUT THE OPPOSITION
Minot State comes to the MAC Tuesday night with an overall record of 5-3, 1-1 in the Northern Sun. They are led by a senior guard Kate Head who averages 16.4 points per game through their first eight and looks to be a threat from downtown.
 
In-state rivals along U.S. 83 in North Dakota, Tuesday night marks the first Marauders-Beavers women's basketball matchup in Bismarck since December 21, 2019. UMary is 13-8 historically versus Minot State, with the most recent matchup won by the Beavers last season 85-71, snapping a seven-match winning streak in favor of the Marauders.
 
St. Cloud State will be the Marauders next opponent kicking off a weekend home series Friday night at 5:30. The Huskies enter the weekend 5-2 overall and 2-1 in the NSIC. Katrina Theis is a fifth-year standout in the post who averages 15.3 points per game and 8.9 rebounds per game thus far. Theis was voted as the NSIC North Division Player of the Week for her 23 and 36-point performances against Bemidji State and Minnesota Crookston respectively.
 
Where Theis provides experience, Jada Eggebrecht stands out this year as a sharp-shooting freshman who averages 14.3 points per game with treys in all but one of her games so far this season.
 
UMary will conclude their homestay Saturday afternoon with a 3:30 contest against the University of Minnesota Duluth (6-2, 3-0 NSIC). The Bulldogs are the reigning NSIC conference champions and return the NSIC North Player of the Year from 2021-2022 in Brooke Olson. Olson, a 6-2 graduate senior forward, has had another great start with 18.8 points per game, 6.4 rebounds per game, and averages at least one block a game through the first eight for Duluth.
 
THE STAFF
Rick Neumann enters his tenth season at the helm of UMary Women's Basketball. Through the years, Neumann has enjoyed many successful years as the Marauders fourth-winningest coach in program history with a career record of 147-133. Neumann joined his alma mater as an assistant coach in 2003, taking over the head coaching role in the 2012-2013 season, and has coached numerous All-Conference and All-American players.
 
Reigning Summit League Player of the Year Chloe Lamb enters her first season as the Marauders assistant coach. Lamb comes to UMary fresh after capping off a historic career at the University of South Dakota where she earned the 2022 Summit League Tournament MVP as the Coyotes won both Summit regular season and tournament titles. She is a four-time All-Summit League selection, earning 1st team honors in her last two seasons at USD.
 
Phydel Nwanze enters her first season as a Marauders assistant coach and graduate assistant. She played collegiately at St. Edwards University and earned a BA in kinesiology and exercise science.
 
UGLY SWEATER BASKETBALL BASH
Fans are encouraged to participate in an "Ugly Sweater Basketball Bash" for Friday's game against SCSU. Fans can wear their favorite ugly Christmas sweater to the game and have a chance to win a prize for the ugliest sweater voted on during halftime. The prize will be a new UMary sweater just in time for the holidays.
 
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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