The University of Minnesota Duluth enters the final weekend of the regular season knowing that it will start the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference postseason on the road, but in matching up with the two teams directly ahead of the Bulldogs in the NSIC North Division standings this Friday and Saturday, the Buldogs can potentially set themselves up for a more favorable match-up in the first round.

UMD (6-17, 6-14 NSIC, Seventh North) head out to North Dakota this week to face off with the University of Mary and Minot State University, two teams tied for fifth currently in the NSIC North and each one game ahead of the Bulldogs.

AGAINST THE MARAUDERS | 13-15, 7-13 NSIC, T-5 North
U-Mary has slipped in four of six entering the weekend, including an 83-72 defeat against the University of Minnesota Crookston last time out ... that span dates back to the last time th Marauders and Bulldogs met, a 54-44 victory for U-Mary at Romano Gym on January 23 ... the Marauders rank dead center in the NSIC in scoring offense and defense, posting 69.0 points per game while holding opponents to 65.1 ... senior forward Brittney Dietz leads the conference in scoring at 21.8 points per game but netted just 13 against UMD, finishing 1-of-12 from the floor and scoring 11 points at the free throw line on 13 attempts ... sophomore guard Dani Williams and junior forward Hannah Larson each netted 15 points in the defensive affair against UMD ... the Marauders got just one basket and two points off the bench in Duluth ... U-Mary owns a 7-6 all-time record against UMD after the game at Romano Gym earlier this season.

AGAINST THE BEAVERS | 10-16, 7-13 NSIC, T-5 North
Minot State won last time out, a 66-58 victory over Bemidji State University after slipping 6-of-7 dating back to January 16 ... the Bulldogs handed the Beavers one of those defeats, a 71-55 win for UMD at Romano Gym on January 22 ... senior forward Savanna Kingsbury and senior guard Sarah Lester lead Minot State scoring 11.8 and 11.1 points per game, respectively ... Kingsbury scored 15 points against the Bulldogs but was held to just two rebounds, normally averaging  8.1 per outing ... UMD held Minot to just 23 total rebounds on the night while grabbing 32 themselves. The Bulldogs shot 55.3 percent on the night and the Beavers 35.3 ... head coach Sheila Green Gerding is in her 21st season leading Minot State ... UMD owns a 5-3 record all-time against the Beavers.

FREE THROWS
UMD stumbled twice against the top two teams in the NSIC North Division, MSU Moorhead and Northern State, in its final home outings of the 2015-16 season last weekend ... a pair of first-year players led the Bulldogs offensively on the week with guard Sammy Kozlowski averaging 11.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, shooting 55.0 percent on the week (11-of-20) with four assists and three steals ... freshman forward Emma Boehm averaged 10.0 points in just 23 minutes per game last weekend to finish second for the Bulldogs ... UMD's lone senior, guard Taylor Dillinger, netted 11 points to lead UMD offensively on Senior Night Saturday against NSU.

WHERE TO FOLLOW
... vs. U-Mary: Live Stats | Video | Audio
... vs. Minot State: Live Stats | Video | Audio

WHAT'S NEXT?
UMD will travel to Bismarck, North Dakota on Friday night to take on U-Mary to begin the weekend. Opening tip between the Bulldogs and Marauders is set for 6:00 p.m.