THIS WEEK: Minot State finishes off the 2016 calendar year with a clash with rival University of Mary Saturday afternoon at the Minot State Dome. Tip off is set for 4 p.m.

RECORDS: MSU is 2-9 overall and is 0-5 in Northern Sun play. U-Mary comes into the weekend with a 6-7 overall record and a 1-4 mark in NSIC games.

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 359-266 overall record. Green Gerding is the Beavers all-time wins leader and has all 359 wins at MSU. The Marauders are coached by Rick Neumann who is 67-63 in five seasons as head coach at UM.

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: Minot State and the University of Mary were not in the latest WBCA Division II Top 25 poll or the D2SIDA Media Poll Central Region Poll.

RECENT HISTORY: Minot State continued to struggle with scoring, especially late in the first quarter and early in the second quarter in a pair of losses at home against South Division rivals Augustana University and Wayne State College. The Beavers shot just 26.5 percent from the floor against Augie, but pulled down a season-best 24 offensive rebounds. Kari Clements scored 21 points and added nine rebounds and four assists for the Beavers. Saturday, MSU shot below 25 percent, hitting just 18 of 62 shots, but again went to the offensive glass effectively, grabbing 17 offensive rebounds. Madison Wald came off the bench to lead the Beavers with 12 points and five rebounds – four on the offensive end, while Kristal Flowers added 10 points and four rebounds. U-Mary didn't fare any better in two games against WSC (47-63) and AU (54-88) as the Marauders dropped both games. Gabbie Bohl scored 13 points in each game and added six rebounds Saturday against the Vikings to pace UM.

ALL-TIME AT A GLANCE: The Beavers and Marauders can trace their rivalry back to both school's NAIA days, making it the most played series for MSU in the Northern Sun by a wide margin. Both teams have enjoyed long periods of success against each other with U-Mary holding a 48-31 lead.

LAST TIME OUT: U-Mary ended Minot State's modest two-game winning streak in the series with a 67-54 win over Minot State in Bismarck in November. The Marauders outscored Minot State 25-14 in the third quarter to break open an otherwise tight game. Kari Clements scored 20 points and added three steals to pace Minot State. Kori Eurch added 12 points and seven rebounds for MSU. Gabbie Bohl scored a game-high 29 points for U-Mary, while Hannah Larson had a solid all-around game finishing with 12 points, 11 rebounds, seven blocked shots and six assists.

NOTING THE MARAUDERS: The University of Mary has struggled to score points since hitting for 67 in the win over Minot State just after Thanksgiving. In a four-game stretch, U-Mary has scored in the 50s just twice, topping out at 59. UM has been outscored 292-198 during that period… Hannah Larson has done just about everything for the Marauders. She leads the team in scoring (12.4), rebounding (8.2), assists (2.6), steals (1.2) and blocked shots (2.8). She also holds one dubious honor as well, leading the team in turnovers at 4.8 per game… U-Mary has hit just 56 3-pointers in nearly 200 attempts and has just one player, Dani Williams, who has reached double figures in 3-point makes… Larson has 90 defensive rebounds, 27 more than the next Marauder, Gabbie Bohl, has total.

GLASS CLEANERS: Minot State is the top offensive rebounding team in the Northern Sun, averaging 14.5 per game. The Beavers shot to the top of the list with 24 and 17 offensive boards respectively against Augustana University and Wayne State College last week. MSU, conversely, is last in defensive rebounds per game at 22.4. Kristal Flowers (No. 6 with 26) and Diondra Denton (No. 10 with 23) are both in the top 10 in total offensive rebounds in the NSIC.

SHOOTING WOES: During Minot State's current five-game losing streak, the Beavers have not shot better than 30.9 from the field. MSU has averaged just over 60 shots per game, but has yet to hit more than 21 field goals in an NSIC contest. Minot State has also not scored at a rate of better than 28 percent from beyond the arc during that stretch, after starting the season shooting above than 40 percent on 3s.

LEARNING CURVE: Three of Minot State's top five scorers are either sophomores or freshmen and the trio has had good and bad nights. Kari Clements, a sophomore guard, leads the team with an 11.8 average, has hit for double figures in back-to-back games just once this season, but has four 20-point games. Mariah Payne, a sophomore, is third in scoring at 8.9, but hasn't reached double figures in six contests. Haley Hildenbrand, a freshman, is fifth with a 7.9 average and has led MSU in scoring three times but has only five double-figure scoring nights.

MADDY MAKING HER WAY BACK: Madison Wald, a sophomore guard, has been slowed by injuries throughout the early part of the season, but had solid back-to-back games this past weekend. On Friday, she hit 4 of 8 from the field to score 11 points. On Saturday, Wald knocked down four 3-pointers, scoring 12 points and added five rebounds including four on the offensive end.

BY THE NUMBERS

7: Players averaging 5.7 points per game or better. MSU has received balanced scoring all season as four players, Kari Clements (11.8), Kori Eurich (9.6), Mariah Payne (8.9) and Diondra Denton (8.5) all average 8.5 or more.

12: Minutes played Saturday for freshman Reina Strand, who saw some of her most extensive playing time of the year. Strand went 2 for 5 from the field for four points, added two rebounds and an assist in 12 minutes.

31: Assists for both Kari Clements and Mariah Payne to lead the Beavers. Clements has a solid assist-to-turnover ratio as she has committed just 20 turnovers compared to her 31 assists.