BISMARCK, ND - The University of Mary Women's Basketball team swept the weekend's competition from the NSIC south on Saturday night with a hard-fought 71-59 win over the University of Sioux Falls. Megan Zander scored her career-best 25 points and Moriku Hakim finished just one rebound shy of a double-double to help lead the Marauders to victory. 

The Marauders (8-5, 7-3 NSIC) were quick out of the gate offensively in the first quarter. They lead the Cougars (4-12, 1-9 NSIC) 19-10 thanks to seven points by Zander and a pair of big threes by Julia Fitterer. 

Though the Marauders would maintain a 33-25 lead at halftime, the Cougars battled hard to keep the matchup close. UMary only made three of nine contested shots in the second quarter, but capitalized on Cougar fouls by hitting eight of 12 free throws. 

An 8-0 third quarter run plus a ferocious offensive effort by Olivia Gamoke gave life to the Cougars, who came within one score of the Marauders lead five times in the second half. Carly Kottsick gave UMary a 50-46 edge entering the fourth quarter by hitting a big three-pointer at the buzzer. 

Gamoke kept the Cougars at the Marauders heels with a made layup on a foul, and the free throw to follow to once again cut the lead to 58-56 with 4:20 left in the fourth. Reese Wishart immediately answered with a layup assisted by Megan Voit, which started a 13-0 run to propel the Marauders to their first home series sweep of the season. Zander and Hakim combined for 12 points in the fourth while four other Marauders chipped in the impressive stretch onward to a 71-59 final score. 

Following their highest-scoring game of the season (89) Friday night, the Marauders made 25 of 50 from the field Saturday and played a clean game offensively, only turning the ball over a season-low eight times and committing five fouls fewer than the Cougars. UMary also edged Sioux Falls in rebounding 34-29. 

"I'm proud of our girls the way they fought in a game that was almost out of our control," Rick Neumann told Fox Sports AM 710's Jesse Rostvedt. "We found a couple of ways to win and I thought we did have some awesome stretches. While we missed a bunch of threes and free throws, I told our girls never apologize for finding a way to win in the Northern Sun." 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Megan Zander provided many big shots for the Marauders in her career-best 25-point performance Saturday night. Zander hit nine of 16 shots (0.563), three of which were from beyond the arc, and provided four rebounds and a block on defense.

"Megan really turned it on today," said Coach Neumann. "While we couldn't score like we did yesterday, Zander had a couple of big shots and moments, and we needed every point she had today." 

Moriku Hakim had another big game Saturday with an efficient 12 points, shooting a clean 4-4 from the field and 4-6 from the free throw line. Hakim also dominated inside with team-highs in rebounds (9) and blocks (3). 

Addison Rozell aided the Marauders with nine points, four rebounds, and a pair of steals. 

For the second straight night, Julia Fitterer provided eight points with big shots off the bench. 

Ryleigh Wacha dished out a team-high six assists while grabbing five rebounds and two steals. 

Carly Kottsick provided five points, five rebounds, and three assists. 

Reese Wishart contributed five points and a pair of assists. 

ETCHED IN THE RECORD BOOKS
Megan Voit's crucial three-pointer at the 6:25 mark in the fourth quarter made her the second-highest three-point shooter in UMary's NCAA history. Voit has currently made 187 career treys for the Marauders, moving past Dani Williams who made 186 in her career from 2014-2018. Kayla Rogers still holds UMary's NCAA-era record with 226 career threes (played 2006-2010). 

UP NEXT
The Marauders embark on their first 2023 road trip January 13-14, heading south later this week. UMary will play at Augustana University (13-3, 7-3 NSIC) Friday at 5:30 from the Sanford Pentagon, then venture further south to take on Wayne State (9-5, 5-5 NSIC) Saturday at 3:30. 

#marauders#