Marian University Sabres (2-8 overall, 2-8 NACC North)
at Lakeland University Muskies (4-5 overall, 3-5 NACC North)
Friday, Feb. 26, 2021Â Â 7 p.m.
Woltzen Gymnasium
Lakeland/Marian Game Notes  PDF
The Lakeland University women's basketball will aim to stay alive for a shot at postseason play when it welcomes Marian University for a two-game series beginning Friday night at 7 p.m. at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium.
Fan attendance policy:Â Under current COVID-19 protocols, Lakeland University is currently not allowing any spectators for home sporting events.
Broadcast Information: Live audio/video/statistics are all available to follow along with at Â
http://www.lakelandmuskies.com/muskieslive. Andy Damp is again calling the play-by-play for all home basketball games this year.
Series history:Â The Muskies and Sabres are longtime rivals who have played each other regularly since the days of the Lake Michigan Conference. Complete records are unavailable, but in known contests Lakeland holds a 63-15 advantage. The Muskies have won the past eleven meetings, including a sweep of last season's series that included a 73-42 victory at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium on Jan. 25, 2020. Marian's last series win occurred seven years ago on Feb. 12, 2014, when the Sabres pulled out a 66-63 victory in overtime at Lakeland. The Muskies have held a stronghold on the Sabres through much of the series and have won 51 of the last 55 meetings.
Lakeland last time out: Won at Alverno 53-36 Wednesday
The Muskies sputtered early but got on a roll in the second half to complete a two-day sweep of the Inferno in Milwaukee. Alverno led by six points early in the second half before Lakeland finished the game on a 34-11 run, including 17 straight points in the third quarter to take control.
Ellie Felsinger and
Morgan Zenon scored eight points each as the Muskies posted a 27-3 advantage in bench points.
Kacey Gardner also added seven points, 11 rebounds and five assists.
Marian last time out: Lost to MSOE 62-49 last Saturday
The Sabres dropped a pair of games to the Raiders last weekend, including on Saturday when they posted a higher shooting percentage than MSOE and also made eight three-pointers, but were hurt by 20 turnovers. The Raiders used a 12-3 run late in the second quarter to take a 36-27 lead into the half and pulled away in the third quarter to win their fifth straight game. Marian's Paris Harris led all players with 20 points and eight rebounds, while Alyssa Madison added nine points off the bench for the Sabres.
About the Sabres: Marian is in its first year under head coach Kristen Rogers, who comes to the Sabres after spending the past decade in the Division II Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC), including three years (2014-17) as the head coach at Lake Superior State. After winning their first two games, the Sabres have lost their last eight, scoring no more than 56 points in any of the eight games. Marian has struggled in recent years, with the program's last trip to the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament in 2014.
Conference tourney scenarios: The Muskies enter the weekend in the thick of the race for a spot in the NACC North Division playoffs. Lakeland is currently fifth in the division, one game behind MSOE and two behind Concordia Wisconsin, but the Raiders and Falcons will play each other this weekend. If Lakeland can win both games over Marian, the Muskies can do no worse than a tie for fourth in the division, and can even take fourth place outright if Concordia defeats MSOE twice. A tie for position would introduce tiebreakers and would depend on this weekend's conference results and may be especially tricky to predict as Lakeland and MSOE did not play this season.
