FOURTH QUARTER COLLAPSE COSTS UMC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL IN LOSS TO WAYNE STATE

The University of Minnesota Crookston women’s basketball team gave up a seven-point fourth quarter lead in an 88-83 loss to the Wayne State Wildcats in an NSIC game played at Rice Auditorium in Wayne, NE.
Minnesota Crookston didn’t shoot the basketball well in the first half but still managed to score enough coupled with good defense to control the game through the first twenty minutes. Caitlin Michaelis (Sr., Marshfield, WI) opened the Golden Eagles scoring with a three-pointer giving the visitors a 3-0 lead. An Isieoma Odor (R-Sr., Bloomington) lay-up regained a 5-2 lead. Odor scored her second straight lay-up pushing the lead to 7-4 before another Caitlin Michaelis three-pointer made it 10-4. Isieoma Odor scored her sixth point with another finish at the rim pushing the UMC lead to 12-4 before a pair of Kylie Post (Fr., Corcoran) free throws capped off the 9-0 run with Minnesota Crookston’s lead growing to 14-4. Wayne State answered with a 7-0 run pulling within 14-11 with 4:14 left in the first quarter. An Ashley Freund (Soph., Jordan) three-pointer stopped the Wildcats run and sparked another 7-0 run for the Golden Eagles ending with a Bren Fox (Fr., Norwood Young America) lay-in giving UMC a 21-11 lead with 2:03 left in the first quarter. The Wildcats used a 6-0 run cutting their deficit down to 21-17 before both teams traded three-pointers closing the half with the visitors leading 24-20.
Caitlin Michaelis opened the second quarter with another three-pointer giving Minnesota Crookston a 27-20 lead. Paige Weakley (Jr., Kearney, MO) chipped in another three-pointer pushing their lead to 30-20. Wayne State used an 8-0 run to trim the deficit down to two points before Bren Fox made a lay-up and Kylie Post knocked down a three-pointer pushing the Golden Eagles’ lead back up to seven. Wayne State made a three-pointer just before the halftime buzzer, but Minnesota Crookston still took a 39-25 lead into halftime.
Bren Fox opened the second half scoring pushing UMC’s lead to 41-35. A Paige Weakley three-pointer gave the Golden Eagles a 46-39 lead. Leading 50-48 with 5:16 to play in the third quarter, Minnesota Crookston used an 11-0 run capped off by a Kylea Praska (Fr., Thief River Falls) three-pointer pushing the Golden Eagles lead to 63-52. Wayne State battled back to within 66-59 with a 7-3 run to close the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Golden Eagles were unable to close out a much-needed road win. The Wildcats opened the fourth quarter with an 11-2 run to take a 70-68 lead with 7:34 left to play. The Golden Eagles finally regained the lead with 1:57 to play following an Isieoma Odor lay-up giving the visitors an 83-82 edge. Wayne State went to the free throw line on their next two possessions making all four free throws and taking an 86-83 lead. Minnesota Crookston failed to score the rest of the game while Wayne State made two more free throws and prevented the Golden Eagles from even attempting a game-tying shot in the 88-83 Wayne State win.
Minnesota Crookston falls to 7-4 overall and 2-3 in conference play. The Golden Eagles head on the NCAA Division II holiday break and will return to the court on December 30 when UMC hosts Bemidji State at 2 p.m. Wayne State improves to 7-3 overall and 3-2 in the NSIC.