BISMARCK, ND - It's playoff season for basketball in the Northern Sun, and the University of Mary Women's Basketball team is set to finally play their first-round game Friday. After going 13-12 overall and 12-10 in conference play, the Marauders earned the fourth seed in the NSIC north and will square off with Wayne State College (11-15, 7-15 NSIC), the fifth seed in the NSIC south.
Tip-off is currently slated for Friday night at 6 pm in the Stewart Center on the campus of the University of Sioux Falls in South Dakota. This comes two days later than the original first-round matchups were set to take place after snowstorms impacted Bismarck and other central states areas. What would have been the first postseason matchup in the McDowell Activity Center since 2020 now turns to a neutral site because of the weather.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Megan Zander finished the regular season with an outstanding weekend. Zander scored a career-high 28 points on February 16 against Northern State and 26 points on February 18 against MSU Moorhead. Zander leads the Marauders in scoring with 14.8 points per game and is among the team leaders in rebounds (5.2 per game) and assists (2.3 per game). The senior from Mandan, ND is also the third most efficient free throw shooter in the conference hitting 86.5% of her shots from the charity stripe.
Megan Voit is coming off a solid game of shooting last Saturday, draining four threes in a 16-point performance. The senior averages 9.2 points per game and 2.4 treys per game, ranking second in the conference.
Addison Rozell plays a big role in the post for the Marauders. Starting all but one game this season, the sophomore from Redfield, SD averages 8.6 points a contest and a team-high 5.4 rebounds per game.
Along with Rozell,
Moriku Hakim adds a spark at the boards and off the bench. The sophomore from Fargo, ND averages 9.0 points per game, 4.7 rebounds per game, and a team-high 0.541 shooting percentage.
Ryleigh Wacha has started every game this season for UMary. The sophomore from Fargo, ND can make a difference anywhere on the court, averaging 8.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.2 steals per game.
OPPONENT BREAKDOWN
Wayne State College enters the first round 11-15 overall and 7-15 in NSIC action. The Wildcats are led by head coach Brent Pollari and are back in the NSIC postseason for the first time since the 2019-20 season.
The Marauders met the Wildcats once this season on the road during interdivisional play on January 14. While the Wildcats played tough defense, the Marauders pushed through for a 56-49 win.
Megan Zander led the way with 16 points in the contest.
Lauren Zacharias has been a standout this season for the Wildcats. The senior point guard leads the scoring with 15.5 points per game, and along with sophomore forward Maya Fitzpatrick, averages over 2 steals a game.
Wayne State currently ranks 5th in the NSIC in scoring, averaging 68.6 points per game. The Wildcats also rank 14th in conference team defense, averaging 70.5 points allowed in their games this season.
UMary holds the number seven offense (65.8 ppg) and the number seven defense (63.4 ppg) in the Northern Sun.
TO THE PENTAGON
The winner of Friday's matchup will meet #11-ranked Minnesota State at the Sanford Pentagon Saturday, February 25 for a 7:00 pm matchup. The Mavericks are the #1 seed in the NSIC south after a strong regular season, going 23-3 overall and 19-3 in the Northern Sun. They possess the highest-scoring offense in the conference with 84.2 points per game, a mark that also stands fourth in the nation.
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 160-145. 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.
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 goumary.com/coverage.
FREE ADMISSION
Admission is free for the UMary-Wayne State NSIC tournament game.
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