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Millersville

Brenna Ortwein

Marauders and Rams clash in Shepherdstown

| By: Wes Champlin, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant
  • Series vs. Shepherd: 12-5
  • Series Streak: W3
  • First Meeting: W, 66-52 (Dec. 5, 1989)
  • Last Meeting: W, 57-51 (Jan. 17, 2024)
  • Last 10 Meetings: 5-5
  • Most ‘Ville Points: 81
  • Record at Shepherd: 4-3
  • Kira Mowen vs. Shepherd: 1-0
  • Julie Kaufman vs. Millersville: 0-3

ABOUT THE GAME

  • The Millersville Marauders (8-14, 6-10) travel to West Virginia to face PSAC East foe Shepherd (6-16, 4-13) after falling at Bloomsburg 55-46 on Feb. 10. The Rams are coming off a 54-85 drubbing at the hands of Mansfield on the same date. 
  • Millersville currently sits alone in fifth place in the East with a 6-10 record, a half game behind Mansfield and a half game ahead of East Stroudsburg. The Rams are fighting to climb out of the division's cellar, a full game ahead of the last-place Shippensburg Raiders.

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS

  • The last time these two teams met on Jan. 17, the Marauders were in the midst of a four-game winning streak. This time however, they enter in the midst of one of the roughest stretches of the 2023-24 campaign. They've dropped five of their last six and fallen from third to fifth in the division standings. 
  • Part of the reason for this is the offense, as they haven't scored more than 60 points in a game since Jan.13 against Bloomsburg. Injuries have been a factor, as both Jabria Ingram and Morgan Mahoney missed multiple games in this span. In spite of the scoring lull, the Marauders have done a much better job of taking care of the ball. Over their last seven games they're averaging 15.7 turnovers per contest, more than three fewer than their season average (18.7). 
  • A bright spot for the Marauders has been the other end of the court. Defensively, Millersville is allowing just 62.8 points per game which would be good for ninth in the conference, an improvement over their season-long average. The 'Ville held its opponents to 55 and 53 points in its last two games as well. 
  • Despite the offensive dip, Makiah Shaw has been a consistent threat. The junior forward has scored at least 10 points in five straight games and eight of the last nine. Over those nine games she's averaging 13.8 points per game and has led the Marauders in points in seven of nine, including four straight. Shaw's also doing so efficiently, as her field goal percentage mark is fourth in the league at 50.7%. She's been doing work on the glass all season as well, tallying a rebound in every game. 
  • Jillian Crawford has seen a boost in scoring as well. She's paced the team in points twice over the last seven games and is averaging 8.1 points per contest. That's nearly double her season average of 4.4. The sophomore has been Millersville's main threat from outside, pacing the team in three-point makes with 17. 

SCOUTING THE RAMS

  • Prior to its last two games, Shepherd had been in the midst of its best stretch during the two-year Julie Kaufman era. The Rams won three of four games between Jan. 27 and Feb. 3, downing Bloomsburg, Shippensburg and East Stroudsburg to crawl out of last-place in the division.
  • Despite this positive stretch, the Rams still find themselves in the bottom three in the conference in scoring defense, turnover margin and rebounding; they are 17th in the conference in all three. A reason for their -3.64 turnover margin for the season is the fact that they are second to last in steals per game.
  • The Shepherd offensive load is spread throughout its starting lineup, as no player is averaging in double figures. Peyton Grant is tops at 9.5 points per game and is one of its focal points. She's been one of the most consistent shooters from beyond the arc in her sophomore season, with a three point mark of 39.8%. That is four percentage points better than any other qualifying player in the PSAC. The volume has also been impressive, as she's averaging 2.3 made threes per game and leads the league in total threes made with 51. 
  • Freshman Kara Wehner is second among qualifying players in scoring on the Shepherd roster at 8.9. She's compiled an impressive rookie season thus far, leading the Rams in minutes per game (30.4) and assists per game (3.0). That assist mark puts her just outside the top 10 in the conference at 11th. 

SERIES HISTORY

  • The all-time series between these two programs is rather unique. The ‘Ville owned this matchup from the first meeting in 1989 until 2018 to the tune of a 9-0 record. The Rams immediately went on a run of their own after that and took five in a row. Over the past two seasons the Marauders have struck back, winning all three contests including a 57-51 victory in Pucillo Gymnasium on Jan. 17 of this year. 
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