THIS WEEKEND
After another weekend sweep in the MAC, the University of Mary Women's Basketball team (13-8, 12-6 NSIC) venture northeast for crucial games in the NSIC north division. The Marauders will take on #12 University of Minnesota Duluth (19-4, 16-2 NSIC) Friday night at 7:30. UMary will then square up against St. Cloud State (15-7, 12-6 NSIC) Saturday at 5:30 pm. 

LAST TIME OUT
Last weekend, the Marauders hosted the University of Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State University collecting another weekend sweep and two more wins to their 6-0 2023 home record. Following an overtime win from the UMary Men's basketball team, the UMary women's basketball team closed out a great Friday night of basketball with a 76-60 win over the University of Minnesota Crookston (10-14, 9-9 NSIC). The Marauders had fallen to the Golden Eagles in their previous matchup on New Year's Eve. Addison Rozell and Ryleigh Wacha led the charge for the Marauders, both scoring 17 points Friday night. 

The Marauders followed this performance with a rugged fight on Saturday night to come out with a 48-39 win over Bemidji State University (7-15, 4-14 NSIC). The Marauders defense had a solid night setting new season lows for points allowed (39), shots made (11), and shooting percentage against (19.3%). Addison Rozell scored a team-high 14 points with six rebounds, three blocks, and two assists. 

PLAYERS TO WATCH 
Addison Rozell played a vital role in the Marauder's performances this past weekend with a career-high 17 points on Friday night. The sophomore forward from Redfield, SD continues to be a constant threat in the paint averaging 8.9 points per game, 5.6 rebounds, and holds the team-high for blocks with 0.9 per game.

Megan Zander remains the #12 scorer in both conference and nonconference standings with an average of 14.6 points per game. Against the University of Minnesota Crookston, Zander was a solid contributor with a 14-points, eight rebounds, two assists, and a steal. 

Ryleigh Wacha continues to be a versatile player both defensively and offensively. The sophomore guard from Fargo, ND put up 17 points last weekend against the Golden Eagles along with six rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and a steal. Wacha averages 9.1 points per game and 5.0 rebounds per game. 

Moriku Hakim continues to be a strong contributor to the Marauders' achievements. Against Bemidji State, she played a crucial role scoring 11 points and adding four rebounds and a steal. Hakim also averages 9.0 points per game and 5.0 rebounds. 

OPPONENT BREAKDOWN – BULLDOGS
Tied for 12th in the nation, the University of Minnesota Duluth struts into the weekend with an overall record of 20-3 and 17-1 in the Northern Sun. On the road last weekend, the Bulldogs defeated Minnesota State Moorhead 70-62 and Northern State University 75-62.

UMD has the no. 5 offense in the Northern Sun, just above UMary, with 70.6 points per game. The Bulldogs also hold the no. 1 ranked defense with 55.7 points per game, just above St. Cloud University at no. 2 and UMary at no. 3. 

UMD is led by the no. 1 scorer in the Northern Sun, Brooke Olson with 21.9 points per game. Olson also holds the #1 field goal percentage of 56.3% as well as #6 in rebounds with 7.7 rebounds per game. 

The Bulldogs and Marauders are neck and neck with a historical record of 12-12 since 2010. Earlier this season, the Bulldogs got the edge on the Marauders with a 69-66 win in overtime on Al Bortke court on December 10, 2022. 

OPPONENT BREAKDOWN – HUSKIES
St. Cloud State University enters the weekend with a record of 15-7 overall and 12-6 in the Northern Sun. The Huskies came up short in both their matchups last weekend, falling to Northern State 50-59 and to Minnesota State Moorhead 50-55. 

The Huskies hold the no. 9 offense in the Northern Sun with an average of 62.7 points per game as well as the no. 2 defense with 56.9 points per game, falling just behind UMD. 

The Huskies are led by Katrina Theis, the no. 3 scorer in the Northern Sun with 18.4 points per game. Theis also has the no. 2 field goal percentage of 55.3% and is the no. 4 rebounder with 8 rebounds per game. The Huskies defense is also led by Tori Peschel, the no. 2 rebounder in the Northern Sun with 8.9 per game. 

St. Cloud has a historical record of 17-11 over UMary since 2009. Earlier this season in the same weekend they battled UMD, the Marauders came up short and fell to the Huskies 71-61 on December 9, 2022. 

CURRENT STANDINGS 
The Marauders are currently third in the North just behind St. Cloud in second. Minnesota Duluth won the division for the fourth straight year on Saturday. With Duluth clinching the North, the Marauders will need to catapult to second to get a first-round bye in the journey to the Sanford Pentagon. If they finish 3rd or 4th in the Northern Sun, UMary will host a first-round NSIC postseason game in the MAC. 

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 160-141. 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. 

#marauders#