SCORING DROUGHTS COSTLY FOR UMC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL IN LOSS TO NORTHERN STATE

The University of Minnesota Crookston (UMC) Golden Eagles Women’s Basketball team hosted the Northern State University Wolves on Friday night inside of Lysaker Gymnasium. The Golden Eagles were looking for their first conference win of the season, but they’ll continue to search after Northern State used a couple of big runs and solid defense on their way to a 64-47 win over the Golden Eagles.

FIRST-QUARTER –

Northern State scored the first four points of the game before a Jes Mertens (So. Devils Lake, N.D.) three with 7:58 in the first quarter made the score 4-3 Northern State. After a Wolves, free throw, Bren Fox (Jr. Norwood Young America, Minn.) would hit a jump shot to tie the game at 5-5 with 6:51 left in the first quarter. Northern State would then go on a 9-0 run over the next five minutes to build a 14-5 lead. Jes Mertens (So. Devils Lake, N.D.)  finally ended the UMC scoring drought that lasted over six minutes with a free throw with 40 seconds left in the opening quarter, and Northern State would take a 14-6 lead into the second quarter.

SECOND-QUARTER –

UMC would score the first three points of the second quarter to cut the deficit to 14-9. After the teams traded a couple of baskets, Jes Mertens (So. Devils Lake, N.D.) would hit her second three of the night making the score 18-14 in favor of Northern State with 6:17 to play until halftime. Like the first quarter, the Wolves would go on a big run to take a 31-16 lead into the halftime break. It was a 13-2 scoring run in the final 6:17 of the quarter, and UMC’s only points during the run came from a Kylie Post (Sr. Corcoran, Minn.) layup. UMC was lead in the first twenty minutes by Jes Mertens (So. Devils Lake, N.D.) who scored 7 points, and Abi Frazza (Fr. Birnamwood, Wis.) with 5. Northern State shot 40% from the field in the first two quarters and forced UMC into eleven turnovers.

THIRD-QUARTER –

The teams traded baskets to begin the third quarter before Emma Carpenter (Jr. Eagan, Minn.) provided a spark and scored 5 straight points to pull UMC within 9 at 33-24 with 6:12 left in the quarter. Northern State would respond with a 9-2 run to build their lead back up 16 points at 42-26 with 3:34 to play in the third quarter. UMC would get baskets from Emma Carpenter (Jr. Eagan, Minn.), Abi Frazza (Fr. Birnamwood, Wis.), and Alex Page (Fr. Grand Forks, N.D.) in the final three minutes of the quarter, but the Wolves would also score a few of their own and take a 51-35 lead into the final 10 minutes of the game.

FOURTH-QUARTER –

The Golden Eagles showed some fight early in the final quarter with baskets from Veronica Schwartz (Jr. Parkers Prairie, Minn.) and Kylie Post (Sr. Corcoran, Minn.), but the lead never got closer than 14 and grew to 20 at one point for Northern State on their way to a 64-47 victory over the Golden Eagles. Alex Page (Fr. Grand Forks, N.D.) would score the last six points of the game for UMC. Northern State won the rebounding battle 38-30 and forced UMC into 19 turnovers on the night. They also held the Golden Eagles scoreless for a six-minute stretch and allowed only two points during another six-minute stretch. The Golden Eagles were led by Abi Frazza (Fr. Birnamwood, Wis.) with 11 points and 4 rebounds.

UMC falls to 1-9 on the season and 0-4 in NSIC play. They’ll be back in action tomorrow when they host the Minnesota State University of Moorhead Dragons. The tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. and the game can be heard on KROX with the RiverView Health pre-game show beginning at 5:00 p.m. Northern State improves to 6-3 on the season and 3-1 in the NSIC with the win.