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Teams: Minot State at University of Mary | Series: U-Mary leads 45-29
Date: Saturday, Nov. 29, 2014 | Time: 4 p.m. | Site: McDowell Activity Center

THIS WEEK: Minot State begins Northern Sun Intercollege Conference play with a trip south to Bismarck, N.D., to take on rival University of Mary. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m., at the McDowell Activity Center.

RECORDS: The Beavers are a perfect 5-0 on the season, all nonconference. U-Mary comes into the weekend with a 2-4 overall record. Both teams are beginning conference play this weekend.

COACHES CORNER: Minot State is coached by Sheila Green Gerding. In her 19th season at the helm of the Beaver women's basketball program, Green Gerding has amassed an impressive 339-222 overall record. Green Gerding is the Beavers all-time wins leader and has all 339 wins with the Beavers. She has qualified Minot State for six NAIA National Tournaments over her career while also coaching 12 All-Americans both at the NAIA and NCAA Division II levels. Rick Neumann is in his third season as head coach at the University of Mary and is 38-25 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, You Tube Instagram and Pinterest with all feeds accessible at msubeavers.com/stayconnected.

RANKINGS: Minot State received two votes USA Today Division II Coaches Poll and is ranked this week's in the Women's Basketball NCAA Division II Media Poll, Sponsored by D2SIDA Central Region. The Beavers come in as the No. 10 ranked team. U-Mary was not ranked this week.

RECENT HISTORY: Minot State rolled to its eighth-straight win at home with a 78-56 nonconference win over Presentation College Sunday. The Beavers broke open a tight game with a run starting late in the first half and into the second half. Alex Haley (So., G, Libertyville, Ill.) continued a hot start, leading the team with 17 points. Fellow emerging underclassman backcourt talent Diondra Denton (So., G, Great Falls, Mont.) netted 15 points to help the Beavers to their 11th straight nonconference win over the past three seasons. The Marauders wasted a great overall game by Brittney Dietz with a 94-84 loss to Nebraska Kearney at home Sunday. Dietz was great on offense as she has been all season, scoring 31 points and finished with four rebounds, two assists and two steals. The Lopers outscored U-Mary 28-16 from the free-throw line.

OVERALL SERIES: U-Mary has the advantage in the overall series, holding a 45-29 advantage in the series that dates back to both teams' NAIA days. While the Marauders have enjoyed a nine-game winning streak during the series, MSU is currently on a two-game win streak and have won four of six since moving to NCAA Division II. The Beavers are on a three-game winning streak in Bismarck.
NOTING THE MARAUDERS: The University of Mary might be just 2-4 on the season, but they hold a 76-point scoring advantage on its opponents, mainly thanks to a pair of blowout wins over Canadian Mennonite… Leading scorer Brittney Dietz has topped the 30-point plateau twice this season and has hit for 20 or more three times. She leads the team with a 23.0 ppg. average… Guard Danie Clarke has hit 12 3-pointers on just 25 attempts this season to lead the Marauders in long-distance shooting. She puts up an average of 4.2 3s per game… Dani Williams is a perfect 12-for-12 from the free-throw line this year… The Marauders are shooting an impressive 75.4 percent from the free-throw line, but opponents are up to the challenge as they are hitting 75.5 this season… Sloan Turner has been U-Mary's leader in rebounds early on this season, thanks to 23 offensive boards, 10 more than teammate Rachel Weir through six games.

KLOSE TO DOING EVERYTHING FOR MSU: Senior Morgan Klose (G, Fairview, N.D.) is at or near the lead for the Beavers in just about every statistic tracked. She paces MSU in steals at 2.2 per game and is tied with Diondra Denton (So., G, Great Falls, Mont.) with 3-pointers made at seven. Klose is second to Alex Haley (So., G, Libertyville, Ill.) in assists with 16, third in blocked shots with two, fourth in rebounds at 4.0 and fourth in scoring at 9.2.

CHASING 1,000: Senior Christina Boag (F, Tamworth, Australia) has been slowed by injury so far this season and that has quite possibly kept her from reaching 1,000 career points before the conference season starts. Boag has scored just seven points this season and is sitting at 818 career points. She would become the 13th member of the 1,000 point club and the fifth to earn the distinction since the 2010 season. Boag is also just 15 rebounds from joining the 500-rebound club as well.
Year    Points    Average
2010-11    243     8.7
2011-12    246    9.5
2012-13    DNP – Injury    NA
2013-14    322    11.5
2014-15    7    7.0

DIALING LONG DISTANCE: MSU is second in the NSIC in 3-point shooting percentage, hitting 39.5 percent so far. Alex Haley (So., G, Libertyville, Ill.) leads the Beavers in 3-point field goal percentage, knocking down 6 of 10 from distance.

BEAVERS DEFENSIVE EARLY: Minot State has been a solid defensive team under head coach Sheila Green Gerding and that has been the case early in 2014-15. Minot State is currently fifth in the conference in scoring defense at 61.2 points per game and has a plus-13.4 scoring margin, sixth in the conference. The Beavers are allowing opponents to shoot just 37.6 percent from the floor.

NO SOPHOMORE SLUMP: Alex Haley (So., G, Libertyville, Ill.) and Diondra Denton (So., G, Great Falls, Mont.) have both opened the 2014-15 season with strong starts. Haley leads the team in scoring at 15.0 ppg., good for 12th in the NSIC, and Denton is 27th in the league at 11.6 ppg. Both players set career marks in Hawaii as Denton scored 24 points and Haley 22 in a win over Hawaii at Hilo.

BY THE NUMBERS
5.4: Average defensive rebounds for Savana Kingsbury (Jr., F, Omaha, Neb.) on the season, good for seventh in the NSIC overall. Kingsbury leads the Beavers in rebounding at 6.6 per game.

20: Total points separating the Beavers and Marauders over the past three games in Bismarck. MSU won 82-74 last season at U-Mary, edged the Marauders 74-73 at the Bismarck Civic Center two seasons ago and topped U-Mary 76-65 in the Beavers independent year at McDowell.

933: Average attendance for Minot State's three games at home this season, third in the Northern Sun behind Augustana College (1,410 per game) and Northern State (2,010 per game).  MSU was fourth in the NSIC last season in women's basketball attendance.