MINOT, N.D. – It's "Beat UMary" Saturday at the MSU Dome and the Minot State Beavers have a big day of action planned for fans as the Beavers host rival the University of Mary in men's basketball, women's basketball, and men's wrestling.

Action in the tripleheader tips off at 1:30 p.m. with the Beavers hosting the Marauders in men's basketball. Women's basketball takes centerstage at 3:30 p.m., then Minot State and Mary clash on the mats in wrestling to cap the day at 6:30 p.m.

A big day with that will have a big impact on the early-season NSIC standings as the Minot State men (6-2 overall, 2-1 NSIC) are off to a hot start this season and look to continue that against the Marauders (5-3, 1-2) who come in having just beaten Minnesota Crookston, 70-65, on Thursday.

Head-to-head, the Marauders lead the all-time series 68-42 and have won 3 of the last 4 meetings. Minot State did win the last meeting, though, an 82-76 home win last December. That was the first win for Minot State head coach Matt Murken over his former assistant Jack Nelson and Mary's head coach. Nelson is 3-1 in the head-to-head rivalry with his former boss.

Key this season for the Mary men has been rebounding as they average 40.5 boards per game and outrebound foes by more than 5 caroms a contest.

Six-foot-6 sophomore forward Xavier Lewis leads the Marauders with 7.9 rpg and 9.0 ppg while 6-8 sophomore forward Brock Heffner adds 6.0 rpg and 11.9 ppg, and 6-0 junior guard Gerald Gittens leads the team in scoring (13.5 ppg) and assists (25).

Balance has been key for the Beavers who have four players scoring in double digits, 6-1 senior guard Khari Broadway (14.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg), 6-5 junior guard Jalen Cook (11.4 ppg), 6-7 junior forward Connor Hollenbeck (10.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg), and 6-0 junior guard Jaxon Gunville (10.0 ppg, 21 3s).

Following the men will be the women in a battle recently controlled by the Marauders who have won 9 of the last 10 and lead the all-time series 59-39. The Beavers lone recent win was an 85-71 home victory back in November of 2021.

But Minot State (3-8, 1-2) comes in with momentum after a convincing home victory Tuesday against Valley City State.

The Beavers will look to 5-7 junior guard and team lead Sydney Gustavsson to set the tone. A junior college All-American who scored her 1,000^th career point in Tuesday's 72-58 win, Gustavsson leads the way average 13.4 ppg and is third on the team in rebounding at 3.2 rpg.

Mary (4-5, 2-1) comes in having won its last two, including a 70-54 victory over Minnesota Crookston on Thursday, and is led by 6-3 forward and graduate student Lexie Schneider who is a dominating force inside averaging 21.0 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. Both rank her No. 1 in the NSIC.

Once the action on the hardwood concludes the mats come out and the third event of the day gets underway with Minot State (3-1 duals, 1-1 NSIC) battling fifth-ranked Mary (1-0, 1-0) in the first of two duals between the North Dakota rivals, this one a non-conference contest.

Whether it affects the NSIC standings or not, expect it to be a closely contested match as the Beavers look to snap a seven-match win streak by the Marauders who have just one dual under their belt this season, a 42-3 victory over Southwest Minnesota State last weekend.

The fifth-ranked Marauders boast six nationally ranked wrestlers in their lineup while the Beavers have three nationally ranked grapplers who they'll send out to compete Saturday.

Leading the way for the Marauders is 174-pounder Max Bruss (5-0) who ranks No. 2 in this week's TheOpenMat.com poll.

Reece Barnhardt (133, 1-1) and Brayden Huber (165, 3-1) each are ranked No. 5, Matt Kaylor (197, 4-1) is No. 6, Wyatt Lidberg (184, 10-0) is No. 10, and Luke Tweeton (285, 9-2) is No. 11.

That heavyweight match between Tweeton and Minot State's Jake Swirple should be a battle to remember as Swirple (4-1) is ranked No. 13 in the nation.

Teammate Wayne Joint (11-1) at 133 pounds is ranked No. 12 and will be in another one of the matches to watch at 133 points, and 165-pounder Brendan Barnes (12-2), who was named the NSIC Wrestler of the Week on Monday and is ranked No. 20 nationally, will also be in one of the matches to watch at 165 against No. 5-ranked Huber.

The Beavers and Marauders have not yet met head-to-head as teams on the mat but have squared off in a couple of individual matches with Minot State's Ethan Wonser (6-2) winning by pin over Mary's Kaden DeCoteau (14-2) in a 141-pound match at the Jimmie Open, while Kaylor won a 13-1 major decision over Minot State's Cannon Potts (9-5) in the title match at 197 pounds at the Jimmie Open, as well.