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THIS WEEK: Minot State begins its first season in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference with a clash at Bismarck with intrastate rival University of Mary Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Bismarck Civic Center.

RECORDS: MISU is 2-0 overall, 0-0 in the NSIC and 0-0 in the NSIC North. U-Mary is 4-1 on the season, 0-0 in NSIC play and 0-0 in NSIC North.

COACHES CORNER: Sheila Green Gerding begins her 18th season as the Minot State head coach and sports a lofty 304-198 record. U-Mary's head coach Rick Neumann is in his first season with the Marauders and is 4-1 overall.

FOLLOW THE BEAVERS: The game is broadcast locally on KCJB 910-AM with Scott Kittell calling the play-by-play. Live audio can be accessed online at kcjb.com. MSU provides live video and live stats as well as links to the live audio at msubeavers.com. Minot State Athletics also is active on Facebook, Twitter and You Tube with all feeds accessible through the home page.

RANKINGS: Minot State and the University of Mary were not ranked in the latest USA Today Division II Coaches Top 25 Poll.

RECENT HISTORY: The Beavers kept its distance from Concordia College – although never able to shake the NCAA Division III school – in a 84-71 win over the Cobbers in nonconference play. U-Mary blew out NAIA Valley City State 69-42 at home in a nonconference game.

OVERALL SERIES: Minot State and the University of Mary will play each other for the first time as NSIC rivals, but the two played in both the NDCAC and Dakota Athletic Conference. As Division II members, the series is tied 1-1.

NOTING THE MARAUDERS: The University of Mary is off to its second-straight 4-1 record… The Marauders are coming off their most successful season as a member of NCAA Division II last year, going 19-10, losing 69-58 against No. 14 ranked Fort Lewis College in the first round the Central Region tournament… Head coach Rick Neumann was hired just days before the season started, replacing long-time head coach Fred Fridley. Neumann, who graduated from U-Mary, has been with the school as an assistant coach since 2003… Shauna Knife lead the team with a 15.8 scoring and a 10.0 rebounding average and is the NSIC leader in blocked shots with eight in a solid start to her senior season… The Marauders have committed an even 100 turnovers (20 per game) so far this season… U-Mary has had solid offensive balance to begin the year as Ali Collins joins Knife with a double-figure scoring average (11.4) and six players are averaging 6.8 or more.

THE BEAVERS ON TV: Minot State and NBC North Dakota continue a storied partnership with Saturday's games televised on the NBC North Dakota Sports Network. Viewers in Minot should tune into KMOT-TV, while the broadcast will be available on KFYR-TB in Bismarck, N.D.; KUMV-TV in Williston, N.D.; and KQCD-TV in Dickinson, N.D. KFYR-TV sports director Lee Timmerman will handle play-by-play duties with Scott Westerberg of KFYR-TV providing color commentary.

MISU STRETCHES ITS LIVE COVERAGE: Minot State University, in conjunction with the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, has partnered with Stretch Internet to provide live video feeds for all home contest, all away NSIC games and select nonconference away games. Stretch Internet is an industry leader is live streaming video and offers live chat and On Demand replay video for select games. Log on to msubeavers.com/stayconnected for more information and to view live video.

300 AND COUNTING: Minot State head coach Sheila Green Gerding notched her 300th win with the Beavers last season and comes into the weekend with 304 total wins. All of her wins have been at Minot State as she has been the head coach for 17 seasons. Green Gerding is looking to keep another dubious milestone from happening as she sits with 198 losses overall, good for a .605 winning percentage. Green Gerding has 304 of the school's 501 total wins.

NO SENIORITIS FOR SACARRA: Minot State senior Sacarra Molina (G, Hinsdale, Mont.) has burst out of the gates to start the season, averaging a team-best 18.5 points per game, tied for fifth in the NSIC. Molina has been solid all-around as she has knocked down all 13 free throws – including a 9 for 9 performance against Concordia College in the second half – and hit 2 of 3 3-pointers.  She was just a point off her career high in the win over the Cobbers.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE BOAG: Normally when someone refers to double-Boag at Minot State they mean twins Carly Boag (Jr., F, Tamworth, Australia) and Christina Boag (Jr., F, Tamworth, Australia). But for Carly, the term has come to represent what she does on the court as well as the junior has five double-doubles in her past six games dating back to last year. Boag, the team's second leading scorer this season and leading rebounder the past two, scored her 11th double-double in the past two seasons with an 18-point, 14-rebound outburst against Concordia College.

STINGY ON DEFENSE: In what has become a trademark for head coach Sheila Green Gerding, Minot State University is allowing teams to shoot just 33.9 percent from the floor, good for fourth best in the Northern Sun early in the season. Minot State has allowed just 40 field goals on 118 total shots.
 
YOUTHFUL DUO CLEANING GLASS: Minot State freshmen combination of Sarah Lester (G, Frenchtown, Mont.) and Savana Kingsbury (F, Omaha, Neb.) both have gone to the glass effectively as they rank second and fourth respectively in total rebounds for Minot State. Lester has pulled down 14 rebounds, while Kingsbury has 10 boards so far this year. They two of just four MISU players who have double-figure rebound totals through two games. Carly Boag is the team's leader with a total of 21 rebounds on the season.