MINOT, N.D. – The Minot State women's basketball team plays the fourth and fifth games of their seven-game homestand to start the season, as the Beavers play host to Yellowstone Christian on Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 5:30 p.m. and open Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play vs. Mary on Saturday, Nov. 25 at 2 p.m. in the Minot State Dome.

Beaver Fast Breaks

Minot State opened the 2017-18 season with wins over Rocky Mountain (79-53) and Dickinson State (69-43) before suffering their first loss of the season vs. Jamestown (80-77).

Holly Johnson is averaging 14 points and 8.7 rebounds per game to pace the Beavers.

Madison Wald is scoring 13 points per game while Diondra Denton and Kristal Flowers are both scoring 12 points per game.

Mariah Payne leads the Beavers with 11 assists on the season while tied for second on the team with three steals.

The Beavers return four starters and 11 letterwinners from last season's squad that went 4-25 overall in 2016-17.

Head coach Mark Graupe is in his first season leading the Minot State program.

Senior Holly Johnson was named the Preseason Player to Watch and enters her debut season at Minot State after stops at North Dakota State and North Dakota.

Scouting the Yellowstone Christian Centurions

Yellowstone Christian enters Wednesday night's contest with a 2-1 record on the season. Deandra Cunningham and Sharnell Thomas pace the Centurion scoring with 8.7 and 7.3 points per game, respectively.

Leonardine John grabs a team-high 5.0 rebounds per game, followed by Thomas with 3.3 rebounds per game while Taneil Poitier and Zhane Akeya lead the defense with six steals apiece.

Through three games, the Centurions are scoring 70 points per game on 43% shooting from the field while holding opponents to 44 points per game. The Centurions are shooting 56% from the free throw line and average 18.7 rebounds and 8.0 steals per game.

Minot State vs. Yellowstone Christian

Wednesday night's meeting will be the first game played between Yellowstone Christian and Minot State.

Scouting the Mary Marauders

Mary comes into the week with a 2-2 record on the season. The Marauders will host Presentation College on Tuesday night before traveling to open NSIC play at Minot State on Saturday. Three Marauders are averaging double-figures in scoring while Gabbie Bohl leads the team with 19.3 points per game, followed by Cassie Askvig and Dani Williams with 16.8 and 12.3 points per game, respectively.

Askvig carries the Marauders with 8.8 rebounds per game while Lauren Rotunda leads Mary in dishing out 2.8 assists and swiping 2.0 steals per game.

Through the first four games of the season, Mary is shooting 43% from the field and 63% from the free throw line. The Marauder defense is averaging 6.3 steals and 4.0 blocks per game while limiting opponents to 60 points per game.

Minot State vs. Mary

Saturday's game marks the 88th overall meeting between Mary and Minot State with the Marauders leading the all-time series, 50-37. In their last meeting, Mary defeated Minot State 86-63 in Minot, N.D. on December 17, 2016.

Up Next

Minot State returns to action next weekend when they play host to Northern State on Friday, Dec. 1 at 6 p.m and Minnesota State Moorhead on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 2 p.m. in the Minot State Dome. Links to live stats and video are available on msubeavers.com.