TUESDAY NIGHT IS NSIC CHAMPIONSHIP NIGHT
For the first time in program history the University of Mary women's basketball team will play in the Northern Sun Women's Basketball Championship game! Tipoff is slated for 7 pm between the #2 seed Marauders and the #1 seed and 20^th ranked Minnesota State University, Mankato Mavericks at The Pentagon in Sioux Falls, SD.
 
ON THE LINE

• The Marauders and the Mavericks are both in search of their first NSIC tournament championship
• The NSIC tournament champion earns an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament

 
RECORDS
UMary is 22-10 overall after finishing 2^nd in the NSIC (16-6)… #20 Minnesota State is 25-5 overall and finished first in the NSIC regular season standings (20-2).
 
LAST TIME OUT
The #2 Marauders knocked off 3-time defending champion and #6 seed Minnesota Duluth 83-75 in the NSIC semifinals. This is the first win in the NSIC semifinals in UMary history. Lexie Schneider posted her second straight double double and 16^th of the year with 31 points, 11 rebounds and three assists. Megan Zander added 20 points, hitting four treys in the game while grabbing five rebounds and making five assists. Mariah McKeever added 21 points, making 6-of-11 shots from the field and making 8-of-10 free throws. Taytum Rhoades had 25 points for UMD… UMary opened with a 75-61 win over #7 seed St. Cloud State as Megan Zander tied her career-best with 28 points. Lexis Schneider had a double double with 21 points and 13 rebounds and Bergan Kinnebrew came off the bench to match her career high with 17 points… Minnesota State knocked off MSU Moorhead 101-74 in the quarterfinals before advancing to the championship game by virtue of an 88-72 win over Southwest Minnesota State.
 
NOTABLE TAKES

• For the first time in three tries the Marauders won an NSIC semifinal game
• This is the Marauders first NSIC championship game appearance
• The 22 wins is the most for UMary since winning 22 in 2019-20
• The 22 wins ties the program mark for most wins in the NCAA era (2006-07 and on)

 
LIVE AUDIO
UMary fans can listen to Voice of the Marauders Jesse Rostvedt call all the action live on Fox Sports 710.
 
LIVE STREAM
All rounds of the NSIC Women's Basketball Tournament played at the Sanford Pentagon will air exclusively live on Midco Sports and Midco Sports Plus (Pay Per View).  Midco subscribers can view games either on Midco Sports channel 622 or stream via Midco Sports Plus. Fans that do not have Midco Sports must subscribe to Midco Sports Plus to view contests (available via web browser, via Android or IOS app or on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Roku). A monthly subscription will give fans full access to all 14 NSIC tournament games played at the Sanford Pentagon. Fans would also have access to all Midco Sports Plus content during the duration of their subscription. Subscriptions are for 30 days from the date of registration and can be cancelled at any time. Midco Sports Plus is a standalone product and fans do not need to have any other Midco services.
 
A monthly subscription to Midco Sports Plus is $9.99 per month, plus applicable taxes. Subscriptions will automatically renew until canceled. An annual subscription is $79.99 per year.
 
(Please note the NSIC quarterfinals, semifinals and championship games ARE NOT available on the NSIC Network)
 
LIVE STATS
Live stats for games are available online at www.GoUMary.com/coverage
 
TICKETS
Tickets are on sale now for the 2024 NSIC Men's and Women's Basketball Tournament scheduled for March 2-5 at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, as the league celebrates its 25th tournament. Fans can purchase their tickets by visiting https://www.ticketmaster.com/ or by going to the Sanford Pentagon box office.
 
HISTORY IN THE NSIC TOURNAMENT

• UMary has an overall record of 9-12 in the NSIC Tournament
• Overall record of 7-5 in the opening round (5-1 at home, 1-4 on the road, 1-0 neutral)
• 1-5 quarterfinals
• 1-2 Semifinals

 
2008      W 80-78 v Bemidji State (opening round at home)
               L 70-58 v Wayne State (semifinals at St. Paul, MN)
2012      W 76-67 v Winona State (opening round at home)
               L 78-67 v Augustana (semifinals in Rochester, MN)
2013      W 84-62 v Upper Iowa (opening round at home)
               L 78-67 v Augustana (quarterfinals at home)
2014      W 72-66 v Winona State (opening round at home)
               L 95-71 v Minnesota State (quarterfinals at Sioux Falls, SD)
2015      L 62-67 at Winona State (opening round)
2016      L 69-78 at Wayne State College (opening round)
2017      L 59-64 at Winona State (opening round)
2018      L 50-60 at Sioux Falls (opening round)
2019      L 54-52 v Wayne State (opening round at home)
2020      W 84-74 v Southwest Minnesota State (opening round at home)
               L 59-81 v Minnesota State (quarterfinals at Sioux Falls, SD)
2021      No tournament – COVID
2022      W 62-55 at Sioux Falls (opening round)
               L 60-87 v Minnesota Duluth (quarterfinals in Sioux Falls, SD)
2023      W 79-72 v Wayne State College (opening round game moved to Sioux Falls, SD)
               L 66-81 v Minnesota State (quarterfinals in Sioux Falls, SD)
2024      W 75-61 v St. Cloud State (quarterfinals in Sioux Falls, SD)
               W 83-75 v Minnesota Duluth (semifinals in Sioux Falls, SD)
 
OPPO RESEARCH – MINNESOTA STATE MAVERICKS
Minnesota State is the #1 seed in the NSIC Tournament and earned a first round bye after winning the regular season conference crown. MSU ranks #20 in the latest WBCA NCAA DII Top 25 Poll. The Mavericks took home a haul of NSIC Awards in 2023-24. Joey Batt, Destinee Bursch, and Natalie Bremer were each named to the NSIC All-Conference First Team. This is Batt's fourth time making the All-Conference First Team. Both Bursch and Bremer were named to the All-Conference Second Team last season. Batt also earned her third NSIC Defensive Player of the Year award. Mavericks head coach Emilee Thiesse also won her first NSIC Coach of the Year after leading her team to a 23-5 record, including a program-best 19-game winning streak.
 
LAST TIME THEY MEET
The Marauders lost to the visiting Mavericks 76-66 at the MAC. The game was tied 49-49 at the end of the third quarter. Lexie Schneider had 22 points, Megan Zander 16 and Mariah McKeever 10.
 
ZANDER HITS 1,000 AT UMARY
Megan Zander hit 1,000 career points at UMary during her 28 point performance in the Marauders NSIC tournament win over St. Cloud State. She has 1,040 points at UMary in three seasons, the 23^rd player in program history to reach that total and the second this season (Lexi Schneider). Zander cracked 1,000 career collegiate points earlier this season after scoring 383 at the University of North Dakota to start her career for a total of 1,423.
 
STAT LEADERS

• Lexie Schneider leads UMary and the NSIC in scoring, averaging 20.4 ppg. She also leads the team and conference in rebounding with 9.3 rpg. Schneider is shooting 54.7% from the field and 81.4% from the free-throw line. Schneider ranks first in the NSIC in field goal percentage, 6th in free-throw percentage, 12th in assists per game, 10th in blocks per game, 12th in minutes per game and 23rd in steals per game.

 

• Megan Zander leads the team in three-pointers made with 56. Zander is second on the team in scoring, averaging 13.6 ppg and is second on the team in rebounding (5.6 rpg). Zander ranks 16th in the NSIC in scoring, 15th in rebounding, 6th in 3-pointers made per game, 21st in assists per game, 13th in blocks per game, 21st in steals per game and 14th in minutes per game.

 

• Mariah McKeever is shooting a team-best 38.3% from behind the arc. She is third on the team in scoring, averaging 11.9 ppg. McKeever ranks 23rd in the NSIC in scoring, 3rd in free-throw percentage, 9th in 3-pointers made per game, 25th in assists per game and 17th in minutes per game.

 

• Addison Rozell leads UMary in blocks (37). She ranks 7th in the conference in blocks per game (1.2 bpg) and is fifth in total blocks.

 
NCAA RANKINGS
Lexie Schneider ranks among the NCAA Division II leaders in several categories:

• 2nd in free throws made (193)
• 3rd in free throws attempted (237)
• 4th in field goals made (220)
• 6th in scoring (20.4 ppg)
• 8th in double-doubles (16)
• 15th in total rebounds (289)
• 37^th in rebounds/game (9.3)

 
SCNEIDER NAMED NSIC PLAYER OF THE YEAR
After an outstanding regular season campaign, Lexie Schneider is the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference's Player of the Year for her tremendous efforts during the 2023-24 season. Schneider is the second UMary student-athlete to win this honor, joining Cassie Askvig, who won in 2019.
 
Schneider leads the NSIC in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage. The Appleton, WI, native averaged 20.4 points per game, 9.2 rebounds per game and shot 54.2% from the field. She is also 7th in the NSIC in free throw percentage (.808) and blocked shots (1.1 bpg) and 15th in assists (2.5 apg) in league games. Additionally 12 of her 16 double doubles came in NSIC contests.
 
Just the third women's basketball player to earn six NSIC Player of the Week honors in one season in the past 20 years, Schneider is only the seventh player in NSIC history to lead the league in both scoring and rebounding. She finished her NSIC career with 1,146 points and 633 rebounds, just the 11th player to ever reach both 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in NSIC games, which was also accomplished by former UMary teammates Gabbie Bohl and Cassie Askvig.
 
Schneider is 9th all-time in scoring (1,621 points) at UMary and 4th in rebounding (939).
 
SCHNEIDER, ZANDER AND MCKEEVER NAMED TO ALL-NSIC TEAM
The NSIC named Lexie Schneider (1st team), Megan Zander (1st team) and Mariah McKeever (2nd team) to the Northern Sun All-Conference team for 2023-24.
 
Schneider (2022, 2024) and Zander (2023, 2024) join Linda Murray (2012, 2014), Gabbie Bohl (2018, 2019), Cassie Askvig (2019, 2020) and Lauren Rotunda (2020, 2021) as the only Marauders to ever earn two first-team All-NSIC selections, all of whom were coached by UMary Head Coach Rick Neumann.
 
Schneider leads the NSIC in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage. The Appleton, WI, native averaged 20.4 points per game, 9.2 rebounds per game and shot 54.2% from the field. She is also 7th in the NSIC in free throw percentage (.808) and blocked shots (1.1 bpg) and 15th in assists (2.5 apg) in league games. Additionally 12 of her 15 double doubles came in NSIC contests. She is just the third women's basketball player to earn six NSIC Player of the Week honors in one season in the past 20 years and is only the seventh player in NSIC history to lead the league in both scoring and rebounding. She finished her NSIC career with 1,146 points and 633 rebounds, just the 11th player to ever reach both 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in NSIC games, which was also accomplished by former UMary teammates Gabbie Bohl and Cassie Askvig.
 
Zander earned her first-team selection by averaging 13.1 points per game and 5.9 rebounds per game. Zander knocked down the most threes on the team (53). The Mandan, ND, native impacted the game in several ways as she ranked 16th in the NSIC in scoring, 15th in rebounding, 6th in 3-pointers made per game, 21st in assists per game, 13th in blocks per game and 21st in steals per game. She has scored over 1,000 points in her collegiate career and is eight points shy of scoring 1,000 points at UMary alone in her three seasons with the Marauders.
 
McKeever was named to the second-team All-NSIC after posting 12.1 ppg and leading UMary in three-point percentage (41.1%) and free-throw percentage (84.4%). McKeever ranks 23rd in the NSIC in scoring, 3rd in free-throw percentage, 9th in 3-pointers made per game, 25th in assists per game and 17th in minutes per game. In her first season at UMary as a graduate transfer, McKeever was a 2nd team All-NSIC selection in 2022-23 for MSU Moorhead and cacked the 1,000 point barrier earlier in the season.
 
SCHNEIDER OWNS SIX NSIC POTW HONORS FOR 2023-24, NINE IN CAREER
For the sixth time this season, Lexie Schneider earned Northern Sun Women's Basketball Player of the Week honors after leading the University of Mary women's basketball team to a weekend sweep and earning the second seed in the 2024 NSIC Championships.
 
Schneider is just the third women's basketball player to earn five NSIC Player of the Week honors in one season in the past 20 years. This is the ninth time in her career that Schneider was named NSIC Player of the Week. She has earned the most Northern Sun weekly citations in program history.
 
THE CLIMB
Senior forward Lexie Schneider is leaving her mark on the Marauders program. The native of Appleton, WI, has scored 1,621 points to rank 8th all-time in scoring at UMary after passing Sarah Leer (1,618 points in 2000-04) on Monday… Schneider is 4th in rebounds with 939. She is also 4th in steals in the NCAA era with 129 and is tied for 5th in blocks with 76.
 
TOP 10 ALL TIME SCORERS IN MARAUDERS HISTORY:
Brittney Dietz-1,836 (2012-16)
Jessica Zundel-1,824 (2001-05)
Betsy Emerson-1,798 (1982-86)
Cassie Askvig-1,777 (2016-20)
Dawn Schaeffer-1,748 (1979-83)
Patti Mercer-1,707 (1983-87)
Lisa Maus-1,678 (1996-2000)
Lexie Schneider- 1,621 (2018-current)
Sarah Leer-1,618 (2000-04)
Gabbie Bohl-1,444 (2016-19)
 
NORTHERN SUN HISTORY

• In the Northern State away game February 1, Lexie Schneider cracked 1,000 career points in NSIC games, the 30th player in league history to do. She joins three other Marauders who accomplished this feat – Gabbie Bohl, Cassie Askvig and Brittney Dietz
• Earlier in the year she became the 24th player to register 500 rebounds in NSIC play, joining teammates Bohl, Askvig and Hannah Larson
• Schneider is only the 11th player in NSIC history with 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in league games, joining former Marauders Bohl and Askvig in that rare club

 
COACHING HISTORY
Head coach Rick Neumann passed Fred Fridley for second all-time in program wins this season. Neumann earned his 171st win at Concordia-St. Paul to surpass Fridley, who amassed 170 wins during his UMary tenure. Roger Haug is the all-time leader in wins with 234. Neumann has the most NSIC wins in school history, with 133. For his career Neumann is 183-156 all-time at UMary overall and 133-119 in NSIC play.
 
1K MILESTONE FOR MCKEEVER
Maraiah McKeever became the 3rd UMary women's basketball player to crack 1,000 career points when she reached the milestone in the Marauders win at Minot State University. After scoring 875 points in four years at MSU Moorhead, McKeever has scored 332 in 30 games this season at UMary and now has 1,253 in her career. Lexie Schneider and Megan Zander reached 1,000 career points earlier this season.
 
1,000 POINTS FOR SCHNEIDER, ZANDER
Two Marauders went over 1,000 points in their collegiate careers opening weekend… Lexi Schneider cracked 1,000 career points in the second game of the season. In her fifth season playing for the Marauders the All-Northern Sun forward has scored 1,621 in 131 games, an average of 12.4 ppg. Schneider is the 22nd UMary player to reach quadruple digits for their career… Megan Zander cracked 1,000 points in the season opener. The Mandan native scored 383 points at the University of North Dakota over two seasons before transferring to UMary. In her third season with the Marauders, Zander has scored 1,040 points in 75 games at UMary for 1,423 points.
 
LAST YEAR
The Marauders finished the 2022-23 season 14-13 overall and 12-10 in the NSIC (3rd NSIC North, 6th overall)… The Marauders won an opening game in the NSIC tournament for a second straight season to advance to the conference quarterfinals.
 
MARAUDERS PROJECTED TO PLACE THIRD IN NSIC PRESEASON COACHES POLL
A veteran University of Mary squad is picked to finish third overall in the 2023-24 Northern Sun Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll. Featuring a lineup that includes a trio of All-NSIC performers and five players who have started in the league, the Marauders earned 162 points in the coaches' poll. Minnesota State earned all but one first place ballot and accumulated 196 points in the poll. Defending league champion Minnesota Duluth was second with 165 points, just ahead of UMary in the 15-team league.
 
ZANDER NAMED MARAUDERS PLAYER TO WATCH IN 2023-24
All-conference guard Megan Zander is the Marauders NSIC Player to Watch. Zander earned 2022-23 1st team All-NSIC honors after leading the Marauders in scoring at 14.7 ppg in her second season at UMary. The senior from Mandan, ND, hauled down 5.4 rebounds, connected for 37 treys and shot 87.8% at the free throw line. She reached double digits in points in 22 games, scored 20+ points five times and had a pair of double doubles.
 
SCHNEIDER BACK TO CENTER ATTACK
After missing last year with an injury, 2022 All-NSIC center Lexie Schneider returns to the court. In 2021-22 Schneider averaged a team-leading 14.2 points per game and shot 54% from the floor. She also had seven double doubles and averaged 8.3 rebounds per game. The 2-time NSIC North Player of the Week led the league in shooting, was second in rebounding and 12th in scoring.
 
WELCOME ABOARD, MATEY
Mariah McKeever joins the Marauders as a graduate transfer after the guard earned NSIC 2nd team honors last season at MSU Moorhead. She averaged 15.5 ppg and 6.8 rpg in 2022-23.
 
WELCOME BACK

• A 2-year starter at guard, Ryleigh Wacha is back for her junior season. Wacha averaged 8.7 ppg and 4.8 rpg and was second in assists with 59 last year.

 

• Addison Rozell started at forward last season. The junior averaged 8.6 ppg and 5.5 rpg while leading the squad with 21 blocks.

 

• Junior Moriku Hakim was a key reserve last season in the post. She averaged 9.0 ppg and 4.8 rpg and shot a stellar 54.5% from the field.

 

• Zoe Velde returns for her junior year at guard. She played all 27 games last year, including a handful of starts. She averaged 2.7 ppg and 2.8 RPG and was 3rd in steals (28) and 4th in assists (61).

 

• Additional returners include senior G Cadee Ryckman, junior G Ellie Hasz and C Cassie Erickson

 
NEW
In addition to Mariah McKeever, other newcomers include junior G Ashton Kinnebrew and freshmen G Chloe Pfau, G Bergan Kinnebrew, G Anna Lenzen, G Emily Jaenke and C Allison Undlin.
 
NSIC CHANGEUP
With the departure of Upper Iowa University, the NSIC is now a 15-team league. The NSIC regular season championship will be based on the 22-game schedule. Each team will play eight teams twice and another six teams once. An NSIC Champion will be awarded to the team with the highest win percentage in the 22 games played. The 12-team NSIC Women's Basketball Tournament Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Championships are set to take place March 2-5 at the Sanford Health Pentagon in Sioux Falls, SD. The top four seeds will receive a first-round bye. First round games will be played on campus on Wednesday, February 28.
 
#marauders#