MSU-MOORHEAD PULLS AWAY IN FOURTH QUARTER IN WIN OVER UMC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

MSU-Moorhead Women’s Basketball used a strong fourth quarter to secure their 12^th straight win beating Minnesota Crookston 78-65 in an NSIC game played at Nemzek Fieldhouse in Moorhead.

MSU-Moorhead opened the first quarter with a three-pointer before Isieoma Odor (R-Sr., Bloomington) split a pair of free throws to pull within 3-1. A Three-point play from the Dragons gave the hosts a 6-1 lead before Bren Fox (Fr., Norwood Young America) scored a lay-up to pull Minnesota Crookston within 6-3. The two sides next traded baskets with an Odor jumper trimming the deficit down to 10-5. A pair of Kylie Post free-throws (Fr., Corcoran) sparked an 8-0 Golden Eagles run giving Minnesota Crookston a 13-10 lead. A Paige Cornale (Fr., Oak Creek, WI) lay-up on a fast break pushed the Golden Eagles lead to 15-12 with 2:39 left to play.  Following a Paige Cornale free throw that gave the visitors a 16-12 lead, MSU-Moorhead scored eleven-straight points to take a 23-16 lead before an Isieoma Odor jump shot with nine seconds left in the first quarter trimmed Minnesota Crookston’s deficit down to 23-18 at the end of the first quarter.

A three-pointer early in the second quarter pushed the Dragons’ lead to 30-22 before a pair of Kylie Post free-throw brought UMC back within six. Trailing 39-30 with 3:49 to play in the first half, Amber Schoenicke (Jr., Marshall, WI) pulled down an offensive rebound and put a shot up off the backboard bringing the Golden Eagles within 39-32. Steph McWilliams (Jr., Grand Forks, ND) scored off an MSU-Moorhead turnover on Minnesota Crookston’s next possession cutting the host’s lead down to 39-34. After an MSU-Moorhead jump shot, Kylie Post converted a three-point play to close out the first half bringing the Golden Eagles within 41-37 at the end of the second quarter. “Our defense has been allowing us to stay within games,” explained Minnesota Crookston head coach Mike Roysland. “We go into halftime down four, and we think we’ve kind of settled in a little bit, we made a few adjustments, but they’re a good team. When you play a good team, you’ve really got to be sharp throughout all four quarters.

UMC fouled a three-point shooter for the Dragons to open the second half allowing Jacky Volkert (Sr., Arden Hills) to sink three free-throws giving MSU-Moorhead a 44-37 lead. Paige Weakley (Jr., Kearney, MO) responded with a pair of free throws for the Golden Eagles bringing the visitors within 44-39. Isieoma Odor continued UMC’s run with a jump shot from the left elbow pulling Minnesota Crookston within 44-41. Lauren Fech (Soph., Wausau, WI) answered with a three-pointer for the Dragons to give the hosts a 47-41 lead with 7:22 left in the quarter. A Steph McWilliams lay-up brought UMC back within four, but a pair of offensive rebounds on the MSU-Moorhead’s next possession allowed the Dragons to reestablish a 49-43 lead. Steph McWilliams responded with a jumper at the other end bringing the visitors within 49-45 with 5:11 left in the third quarter. Trailing 53-47, Abby Guidinger (Soph., Waukesha, WI) knocked down a three-pointer bringing Minnesota Crookston within 53-50 with 2:39 left in the third quarter. The Golden Eagles tied the game at 53-53 on their next possession following another Guidinger three-pointer. Two possessions later, Kylea Praska (Fr., Thief River Falls) made a three-pointer following an Amber Schoenicke offensive rebound giving Minnesota Crookston a 56-53 lead, but MSU-Moorhead’s Peyton Boom connected on a top of the key three-pointer to beat the horn at the end of the third quarter tying the game at 56-56 heading into the final ten minutes. “We made shots,” said Roysland. “Abby Guidinger gave us a great lift, and Kylie Praska hit a three. We had some people open the floor and take pressure off Isi (Odor) inside.”

The Dragons struck first in the final quarter with a jump shot giving the hosts a 58-56 lead. MSU-Moorhead continued a 7-0 that began at the end of the third quarter giving the host’s a 60-56 lead after Madi Green (Jr., Lake City) scored off a Minnesota Crookston turnover. Following an Isieoma Odor free-throw, MSU-Moorhead added to their lead with a lay-up from Jacky Volkert pushing the Dragons ahead 62-57. Both teams traded blows before Jacky Volkert scored a lay-up through a Minnesota Crookston foul giving MSU-Moorhead a 66-59 lead. Volkert missed her subsequent free-throw, but an offensive rebound ended with a wide-open three-pointer in the corner for Madi Green pushing the host’s lead to 69-59 before an MSU-Moorhead lay-up extended the host’s lead to 71-59 with 4:35 remaining. The Dragons continued their fourth-quarter dominance down the stretch outscoring UMC 22-9 over the final ten minutes to secure the 78-65 win. “We had a couple of really bad turnovers,” Roysland said explaining UMC’s lopsided fourth quarter. “You’ve got to be able to make plays through four quarters. We made a nice run in the third quarter, so I don’t know why it bogged down in the fourth quarter. We had momentum going, but they got fueled by a couple of really bad turnovers and some poor passing where the ball went inside out, and we had people open, but they were at people’s ankles. The momentum just totally switched gears and not in our favor at all. The window now starts shortening up in terms of the weeks of basketball you’re going to get better, but I do think that our team is still growing. We’re finding some pieces as we move forward that I think  can help our program as we progress.”

Minnesota Crookston falls to 9-7 overall and 4-6 in the NSIC. The Golden Eagles return to the floor on Friday when UMC hosts Winona State at 5:30 p.m. with the Riverview Health pregame show beginning at 5:00 p.m. on KROX. MSU-Moorhead improves to 14-2 overall and 10-0 in conference play.