University of Mary women's basketball coach Fred Fridley faced a realization a few years ago depth down low was a necessary means of survival in NCAA women's basketball.

Fridley found his team losing games in the final five minutes because they were physically worn down.

Fridley's recruiting rectified the problem. This season's depth in the post has been one of the Marauders' strong suits.

Anna Skala, Liz Sipma, Rachel Zillmer, Cassandra Kelsch and Kylie Messer have made for a nice rotation in the paint.

"We have been able to rotate a number of posts in there and not lose anything," Fridley said. "When we started to get beat three years ago in the last five minutes, we had to figure out where the problem was. We focused on recruiting that aspect."

The Marauders are averaging 75.0 points a game. The five posts have combined to put up 37.4 points an outing. Skala and Sipma lead the way with 11.0 points each.

U-Mary is snagging 47.3 rebounds a game. The five posts have combined to snag 31.6 caroms a clip. Skala leads with 7.3 a game, and Kelsch is adding 5.3.

Sixth-man Sonny Schulz leads the Marauders in scoring with 21.0 points a game and is ripping down a solid 6.7 rebounds a contest. She also leads the Marauders with nine assists.

Erdmann hobbled

The U-Mary men's basketball team is off to a rough start, winless after its first four tilts.

Matters get more bleak for the Marauders. Forward Eric Erdmann, an All-NSIC selection from last season, is bothered by an injury to his right foot. Erdmann, a 6-foot-5 junior, saw a specialist in Fargo.

Erdmann gingerly played on his bad foot against St. Martin's, logging 22 minutes and scoring 10 points. He played 24 minutes against Seattle Pacific and scored 13 points.

Coach Juno Pintar held him out of the Western Washington and MSU-Billings games.

"It came out of nowhere,"Pintar said. "Erdy always plays with a great effort, and he's always around the ball making plays. He was a shell of himself. He was getting beat in transition. Every time he put weight on it, it hurt. It was a chore for him just to run."

Pintar said he and the team can't dwell on Erdmann's injury.

"We can't focus on that,"Pintar said. "We have to focus on getting better and prepared."

Point guard Geoff West leads the Marauders in scoring with 20.3 points a contest. He has netted 13 3-pointers on the season.

Nagel leads grapplers

Taylor Nagel won four of six matches to place fourth in the 157-pound division at the Cobber Open in Moorhead, Minn., this past weekend.

The redshirt freshman from Victor, Mont., transferred to U-Mary from North Dakota State. He planned to major in pharmacy at NDSU, but changed to physical therapy, which brought him to U-Mary. Nagel is a two-time Montana state champion.

One of Nagel's victories included a victory over teammate Collin Engelhardt, a freshman. Engelhardt went on to finish in fifth place.