ABOUT THE GAMES

• After nearly a week outside of the continental United States, the Marauders return home for another Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Crossover back-to-back. Millersville first hosts the undefeated No. 11 Seton Hill Griffins (8-0, 2-0) on Friday Dec. 6 before taking on the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown (UPJ) Mountain Cats (1-7, 0-2) the very next day.
• Saturday is Alumni Day, and the guest of honor will be legendary Marauder head coach Mary Fleig, who was inducted into the Millersville Athletics Hall of Fame on Sept. 20 of this year. In addition to having won the most games in the history of the program (523), Fleig earned a PSAC record six Eastern Division Coach of the Year awards while her Marauders won seven PSAC East titles, a PSAC Championship in 2005, and reached the NCAA Tournament nine times.

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS

• Millersville spent nearly a week in Puerto Rico over Thanksgiving break and played two exhibition games against local teams in addition to spending the time off the court exploring the local history and culture. They trounced the opposition in both contests, taking down the Catholic University of Puerto Rico 77-29 on Nov. 26 before downing UPR Río Piedras 68-49 the next day. Second half surges won the 'Ville both games including a 27-2 fourth quarter margin against Catholic (P.R.).
• It was a much-needed week of downtime for the Marauders after winning consecutive overtime games over California (Pa.) and Slippery Rock on Nov. 22 and 23, respectively. That pushed the team's record to 5-1, which represents the program's best start to a season since going 5-0 to begin the 2012-13 season.
• The Marauders have received contributions from up and down the lineup during the season's first six games. Most recently it has been freshman forward Bryn Zentner, who had double-doubles in both overtime victories en route to taking home PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Week honors. It was the first time a Marauder freshman garnered a weekly honor since the program's all-time leading scorer Lauren Lister won PSAC East Athlete of the week on Jan. 29, 2018. Zentner was instrumental to the team's success in overtime against the Vulcans, scoring four points and grabbing two steals to help the Marauders to a 15-4 advantage in the extra period. She also set career highs in points (10) and rebounds (11), but that effort would be quickly bested; the six-footer shot 5-of-11 from the field and led all scorers with 18 points while pulling down 10 rebounds in Millersville's 62-59 double-overtime victory.
• It was the team's second-straight weekly honor, as Brenna Ortwein won the same distinction in the prior week. The senior has continued her persistent defensive play since then and leads the team in rebounds per game (RPG) (7.2) and steals per game (SPG) (1.7). While that has been the status quo for Ortwein over the past couple of seasons, she's shown a marked improvement on the offensive end: the versatile guard has averaged 11.8 PPG while shooting 52.3% from the field, both nearly double her season-long averages from last season.
• The two main cogs of the offense have been Makiah Shaw and Kali March, who rank first and second on the team in points per game at 14.7 and 13.8, respectively. Shaw has continued her efficient scoring that earned her Second Team All-PSAC East honors last season, shooting 53.2% on field goals and 84.6% from the free throw line. Those marks both rank sixth in the conference and her PPG average is 14th. Shaw has been most effective when facing up at the nail, as the veteran forward's game presents an unsolvable conundrum for the opposition; she can rise up and knock down the 15-foot jumper or drive right past the defender and use her length to lay the ball up with her right hand.
• March has taken little time to adapt to the Division II level after transferring from Division III Cornell College prior to this year. She's shown poise in orchestrating head coach Kira Mowen's offense, evidenced by her sixth-ranked 3.8 assists per game. The other major facet to her game has been a knockdown three-point shot, something Millersville sorely lacked in 2023-24. March is one of three players in the PSAC making three or more three-pointers per contest (3.0) and ranks fourth in percentage at 39.1%.
• Despite a considerable amount of offensive firepower, it has been the defense that has carried the Marauders to their 5-1 start. Millersville ranks second in the PSAC in opponent field goal percentage at 32.4% behind only No. 18 IUP. That mark is also good for ninth in the entirety of Division II. They stifled both Cal U and Slippery Rock, holding them to a combined 27.6% from the field.

SCOUTING THE GRIFFINS

• The Griffins enter play as one of the hottest teams in the country, leaping onto the most recent D2CSC national rankings at No. 11 after only receiving votes the week prior. They sport a flawless 8-0 record and most recently disposed of Virginia State and Malone on Nov. 30 and 26, respectively. While Seton Hill's roster is massive at 22 players, familiar names such as Christiane Frye and sisters Helene and Hallie Cowan are leading the Griffin's resurgence.
• It will be a clash of styles when they take on the Marauders, as the Griffins flaunt one of the most potent offenses in Division II: They rank second in the country in points per game (88.9) and sixth in field goal percentage (48.49). Leading the charge is the three-time All-PSAC selection Frye, who is averaging a career-high 18.6 PPG on nearly 50% from the field (49.1%, to be exact). That PPG mark sits fourth in the PSAC and the 5-foot-5 guard has also been effective on the glass, pulling down 6.1 RPG as well. The Marauders held Frye to just 3-of-18 in Millersville's 67-56 win over Seton Hill on Jan. 3, 2024 and a similar effort would be massive in limiting the Griffin's offense. 
• A breakout season from sophomore forward Mia Kalich has helped power the Griffins to new heights in 2024. She's started all 8 games and is averaging nearly a double-double with 13.6 PPG and 9.4 RPG while shooting a conference-best 73% from the field; that's nearly 13% higher than second-place Emily Chmiel at 60.2%, who some Marauders fans may know well from the team's clashes with East Stroudsburg last season. However, the most impressive part of Kalich's game has been the 4.5 steals per game that she's averaging, which is far and away tops in the conference. She's racked up 36 total steals and has had multiple thefts in each contest including four games with five or more. 
• Helene Cowan has contributed in nearly every facet of the game as well, averaging 16.1 PPG, 2.4 SPG and a team-high 3.4 APG. Second-year head coach Maeve Gallagher's Griffins love to get out in transition, which limits the individual assist numbers but they lead the PSAC in dimes per game as a team at 17.0. Helene and Hallie Cowan have been their main threats from long distance, combining for over half of the team's total three-pointers made. 
• One issue for the Marauders could be turnovers, which plagued them in the first couple contests but has improved in the games since. The Griffins are tops in the PSAC in opponent turnovers per game at 25.5 and they lead the conference in turnover margin at +5.75. 

SCOUTING THE MOUNTAIN CATS

• While the Griffins enter on a scorching hot tear, the same cannot be said for the Mountain Cats. UPJ enters the weekend off of a 49-87 thrashing at the hands of Glenville State on Dec. 2. Like the Marauders, they will also be on the second half of a back-to-back on Saturday afternoon, as they first visit Shippensburg on Dec. 6 before heading to Millersville. It has been a rough start for first-year head coach D'wan Shackleford-Vickroy, who spent her playing career at The Ohio State University and earned a Big-10 All-Star Team selection during her time in Columbus. 
• The Mountain Cats' only win came over Davis and Elkins College on Nov. 16 by a score of 82-68. After dropping their first two contests by four points each, the five losses since have all been by 10 or more points except for one. That was when UPJ fell 61-60 to PSAC foe Mansfield on Nov. 23 in heartbreaking fashion; the Mountain Cats had a chance to take the lead on their final possession but junior Lexi Margolis was unable to make the go-ahead three with two seconds remaining. 
• Pitt-Johnstown's roster is exactly half of the Griffins' at 11 players, and each of those 11 have played in at least six games this season. Based on minutes played, Shackleford-Vickroy has kept the regular rotations pretty short as seven of those players have had consistent playing time thus far. Leading the charge is point guard Riley Childress, who is the only player averaging more than 30 minutes per contest at 33.9. Childress leads the PSAC in assists per game at 5.0 but has also had turnover issues with an average of 4.9 giveaways per game. 
• Turnovers have been one of the biggest reasons as to why the Mountain Cats have a 1-7 record thus far. They are averaging an obscene 25.1 turnovers per game, a mark that is far and away tops in the PSAC while also registering as the fifth most in the entire country. They had an astonishing 44 giveaways in the most recent loss to Glenville State, so look for the Marauders to try and force the Mountain Cats into making mistakes. 
• The team's scoring is led by guard/forward Belle Bosch, who's averaging 16.1 points per game and had reached double-figures in every contest until putting up just five points against Glenville State. That mark is nearly double UPJ's second-leading scorer's average and she's doing so while shooting an exceptional 47.8% from the field. Bosch also leads the team in rebounding with 6.1 RPG. Turnovers have also been a problem for the sophomore, however, as she's averaging just under four of those per contest. 

SERIES HISTORY

Seton Hill:

• This will be the rubber match in the all-time series between Millersville and Seton Hill. The two teams are even, with four wins apiece in the series' eight total contests. The Marauders won the last matchup 67-56 in Greensburg on Jan. 3, 2024; key to that win were Jabria Ingram's 13 assists and La'Shyra Williams' game-high 19 points. Millersville had a 17-point lead at half and held off the surging Griffins in the final two quarters en route to the victory.

Pitt-Johnstown: 

• The Mountain Cats have held a clear upper hand in this rivalry, especially of late; the score stands at 7-18 in favor of Pitt-Johnstown but the Marauders have fared even more poorly over the past two decades. In addition to losing the last four, Millersville has dropped 10 of the last 11 meetings dating back to 2003. Millersville's only win in that stretch was a 72-50 victory on Jan. 3, 2016. However, the Marauders have come up just short in those last four losses, with an average final margin of just 4.5 points.