THIS WEEK: Minot State starts Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play on the road, traveling to rival University of Mary for a 4 p.m. matchup Saturday in Bismarck.

RECORDS: MSU is 2-4 overall and is 0-0 in Northern Sun play as it begins the conference season Saturday. U-Mary is 5-3 in nonconference play this season including a four-game winning streak and is 0-0 in the NSIC.

COACHES CORNER: Minot State is coached by Sheila Green Gerding. In her 22nd season at the helm of the Beaver women's basketball program, Green Gerding has amassed an impressive 359-261 overall record. Green Gerding is the Beavers all-time wins leader and has all 359 wins at MSU. Rick Neumann is in his fifth season as head coach at the University of Mary and carries a 66-59 overall record into the weekend.

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 – with Leif Bakken serving as the play-by-play announcer – and live stats as well as links to the live audio at msubeavers.com. Minot State Athletics also is active on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and You Tube with all feeds accessible at msubeavers.com/stayconnected.

RANKINGS: Neither Minot State or the University of Mary were ranked in the latest WBCA Division II Top 25 poll or the D2SIDA Media Poll.

RECENT HISTORY: Minot State finished off the nonconference season with a big 82-62 win over Mayville State Wednesday night, going 2-2 at home so far. The Beavers have won two of their past three games. Against the Comets, MSU got a game-high 20 points from Diondra Denton, while Kori Eurich (15), Sam Brizee (13) and Haley Hildenbrand (12) all reach double figures. The Marauders rolled to a 62-36 win over Yellowstone Christian College – a member of the NCCAA West Region who began collegiate basketball in 2014. Against the Centurions, UM got 12 points off the bench from Sawyer Kluge and nine points, 11 rebounds and four blocks from Hannah Larson in the win.

ALL-TIME AT A GLANCE: The Beavers and Marauders have been battling each other over two designations (NCAA DII and NAIA) and four conferences (North Dakota Collegiate Athletic Association, DAC-10, Dakota Athletic Conference and Northern Sun) with U-Mary holding a 47-31 lead. The Beavers are 6-4 against UM as a member of NCAA Division II and 5-3 in NSIC play. Minot State holds a 4-1 advantage in games played in Bismarck since moving to NCAA Division II.

LAST TIME OUT: MSU finished a season sweep in the matter of two nights as the Beavers outscored U-Mary 23-14 in the fourth quarter to win 75-67 in Bismarck in December. MSU outlasted UM 80-73 in overtime earlier in the week in Minot. In the second game, Savana Kingsburg led four MSU players in double figures with 21 points and finished with a double-double by adding 11 rebounds. Brittney Dietz led all scorers with 22 points for U-Mary.

NOTING THE MARAUDERS: The University of Mary has had a memorable preseason with big wins and tight losses. The Marauders knocked off nationally ranked California Baptist 85-75 on a neutral court this season, defeated Washburn University 66-62 on the road, were upended by a basket against Colorado Mines and knocked off Lake Superior State at home… UM comes into the weekend riding a four-game winning streak… U-Mary has been solid defensively, holding teams to just 36.7 percent shooting and a 59.4 scoring average… Hannah Larson leads the team in nearly every category, including points per game (14.0), rebounds (68), blocked shots (25), steals (12) and assists (20). She also leads the team in one category where she probably wishes she wasn't with 30 turnovers… Dani Williams has hit 15 3-pointers, accounting for nearly half of the team's 43 on the year and is second on the team with a 10.4 scoring average.

IMPROVED FROM DEEP: Minot State is hitting 38.6 percent of its 3-pointers, which is a drastic increase over its 2015-16 numbers where MSU hit just 28.6 percent. The Beavers have 47 triples through six games compared to 140 all last season. MSU is averaging four more made 3-pointers in 2016-17 than last year. A big part of that is long-range shooting from Mariah Payne, Kari Clements and Kori Eurich who have combined to hit 31 of the team's 44 3s.

FLOWERS CLEANING UP THE GLASS: MSU junior transfer Kristal Flowers is second on the team in rebounds, averaging 5.2 per game, second to Diondra Denton's 5.6. Where Flowers has done her best work is on the offensive end, picking up a team-leading 14 of her 26 overall.

DENTON FINDING HER GROOVE: After sitting out all of last season with an injury, junior Diondra Denton needed a couple games to get back into a groove. She found that this past weekend, as she scored 32 points and added 15 rebounds in games against Lake Superior State and the University of Jamestown, including her first double-double of the year with 13 points and 11 rebounds against the Jimmies.  

PAYNE IN DEFENSE'S REAR: Mariah Payne has proven herself to be an offensive weapon for the Beavers as she is second on the team in scoring to Kari Clements. Payne, who redshirted in 2015-16, is averaging 13.4 points and has 14 3-pointers on the season. She is second on the team in 3-point percentage at 48.3 and has 14 assists in five games.

CLEANING UP PLAY: MSU has struggled with turnovers in 2016-17 as the Beavers have committed 82 miscues in six games. MSU's opponents have just 67 turnovers in that same stretch. Minot State has allowed defensive to generate 39 steals during that same stretch, leaving 43 of the turnovers to come without a defensive steal.

BY THE NUMBERS

4: Players averaging 9.2 points or more for MSU. The Beavers have two scoring in double figures paced by Kari Clements' 14.0 and Mariah Payne's 13.4 per game.

18: Assists for sophomore Kari Clements to lead the team. She is nine in the NSIC in assists and eighth overall in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.3.

50: Percent shooting for senior Kori Eurich from beyond the arc. Eurich leads the team in percentage, hitting 8 of 16 triples so far this year.