BISMARCK, ND – The University of Mary used a dominant third quarter to turn a competitive contest into a comfortable win. The Marauders outscored Winona State University by 23 points in the second half to capture a 76-50 home win over the Warriors.
The Warriors had no solution for UMary senior
Megan Zander. The Mandan, ND, was nearly perfect from the floor and the line as she posted a game-high 21 points. In just 26 minutes the All-NSIC performer knocked down 4-of-5 trey attempts and was 6-for-7 from the field overall. She was also 5-of-6 at the line and added four assists and two steals.
Lexie Schneider was also unstoppable on her way to crashing through another career mark. Schneider became just the fourth UMary women's basketball player of the NCAA era to reach 500 career field goals, joining Brittney Dietz, Cassie Askvig and Brittney Dietz. The All-NSIC player has already cracked 1,300 career points and 800 rebounds in her Marauders career.
The NSIC leader in scoring and rebounds, Schneider finished with 12 points. Playing just 23 minutes, Schneider added seven rebounds, five assists and two steals while making 6-of-8 shots from the floor.
Ashton Kinnebrew added nine points and
Chloe Pfau eight, both coming off the bench. Overall ten Marauders scored in the game.
Hailey Markworth led the Warriors with 10 points off the bench.
UMary (12-7 overall, 8-3 NSIC) jumped out to a 20-11 lead after the first period but Winona State (5-11, 4-7) battled back to take a 26-24 lead late in the second quarter. Zander gave the Marauders a lead for good when she drained a trey with less than a minute remaining in the first half and sending UMary into intermission with a 31-28 lead.
UMary scored the first ten points of the second half on treys by Zander and
Mariah McKeever and baskets by Schneider and
Ryleigh Wacha and Winona State never challenged again. The Marauders grew their lead to 20 points by the end of the third before coasting in the fourth.
The Marauders shot 48.2% from the floor, including a 12-for-29 effort behind the arc. The Warriors shot just 40.7% from the floor with a 4-for-20 mark on treys.
UMary closes out a 4-game home stand against NSIC-leading Minnesota State University on Saturday, March 20. Game time between the two NSIC top four teams is 3:30 pm at the McDowell Activity Center.
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