Rachel Zillmer might not be as much of a certainty as death and taxes when she lines up down low for the University of Mary women's basketball team.

But she's darned close to it.

The 5-foot-11 junior connected on 66.1 percent of her attempts from the field to lead the Northern Sun in field goal accuracy last season in women's basketball. Zillmer connected on 82 of 124 tries.

Teammate Liz Sipma, a 6-2 center from Dickinson, has also been a reliable threat for the Marauders down low, hitting about 50 percent of her shots last season. Sipma was second in the NSIC in field goal percentage two years ago.

"They are two girls we need to get the ball to on the blocks because they score at a high percentage," coach Fred Fridley said. "Teams will have to double-team them, and that will start opening up our perimeter game"

Zillmer played in all 27 games last year for the 15-12 Marauders and started the final six because of an injury to Anna Skala.

Zillmer tacked up 8.1 points and snagged 3.3 rebounds per game.

Sipma, who started 24 of 27 games, averaged 9.5 points and 4.0 rebounds a contest.

Fridley believes Zillmer is bringing a ton of confidence into this season after last season's strong finish. Her season-ending rush included a 19-point effort against St. Cloud State.

"Her minutes started to go up dramatically," Fridley said. "Her contributions went up dramatically. It was game to game, and it wasn't sporadic. When Skala went down, she took her game to another level."

Zillmer made it a point to get better after the Marauders narrowly missed the Northern Sun conference tournament last season. For the first time, she stayed in Bismarck and worked out with her teammates during the summer.

"It's so fun to have that opportunity to stay here and we went through it as a team," said Zillmer, who is from Foley, Minn., and is majoring in mathematics. "I'm more confident with the hard work we put in over the summer."

Zillmer enters the season in the best condition she's ever been in. She bulked up in the weight room and no longer gets pushed around by Sipma during practice.

"I have to make sure I get after the weights," Zillmer said. "I'm too slow to be on the wing. (Sipma) and I were both used to doing a drop step and that worked in high school. Over time we both have improved."

Fridley likes what Zillmer brings to the floor. She can hit jump hooks with her right and left hands, and she can score on the perimeter.

"She has turned into an extremely well-rounded basketball player," Fridley said. "She's very difficult to guard. "Not many people are that skilled on the blocks. At 5-11, she wins a lot of foot fights down there."

Fridley doesn't care that Zillmer is undersized. Former U-Mary star Nicci Landdeck was the same size and was one of the top posts in the conference.

"An undersized post player gives you mismatches on the offensive end," Fridley said. "We can help them out defensively by doing different things and having different defensive packages."

Cassandra Kelsch of Mandan and Kylie Messer of Bismarck both came off the bench last season to spell Zillmer and Sipma. Kelsch, a junior, averaged 2.5 points and 2.6 rebounds a game. Messer, a sophomore, averaged 3.9 points and 2.6 rebounds a game.

The Marauders return three players who started last season - guard Kayla Rogers of Mandan, forward Abby Bratlien of Tioga and guard Maria Weigelt of Fessenden.

Rogers, a senior who has started since she was a freshman, tacked up 7.1 points a game, drained 47 3-pointers and dished out 84 assists.

Bratlien, a 6-2 forward, started every game last season and contributed 8.9 points and 4.6 rebounds a contest. A menace on defense, she collected 20 steals and blocked 20 shots.

Weigelt, who started 16 games but missed time with appendicitis, added 2.6 points a game and handed out 46 assists.

Guard Marlee Finley of Mandan was a spark off the bench with 4.3 points a game and 17 3-pointers.

Fridley added Alicia Richardson, a transfer from Puget Sound Junior College, and 2009 North Dakota Miss Basketball finalist Shaunna Knife of Bottineau.

Contributing freshmen will be guard Taylor Luke of Amery, Wis., and guard Laura Peterson of Osseo, Wis.

"The biggest thing we have added is depth," Fridley said. "We can put a variety of different lineups on the floor. We keep our size. We keep our length. We keep our athleticism. It will give us a chance to make a run in the postseason because of our depth."

Fridley isn't worried about scoring, as the Marauders hung up 62 points in the first half in an exhibition game. But Fridley stressed the Marauders will need to cut down on turnovers to be successful. U-Mary averaged 19.1 turnovers a game last season.

"It's going to come down to us taking care of the basketball," Fridley said. "We play in the best conference in the country, in my opinion. There is such a fine line between winning and losing. We can't afford turnovers that go for two points on the other end, uncontested."