The University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagle Women’s basketball team finally found an offensive rhythm against the Jamestown Jimmies on Wednesday, as they cruised to a 99-70 win at Lysaker Gymnasium.
FIRST QUARTER –
UMC started out strong with a 3-pointer on their opening possession from Halle Winjum (Soph, Crookston), but the Jimmies responded with two threes of their own, and they established a 6-5 advantage. Offense would be the name of the game in the quarter, as both teams were able to establish solid runs. After the Jimmies took an 11-7 lead, UMC responded with an 11-2 run, getting another Winjum 3-pointer and 6 points from Emma Miller (Sr, Albertville) to put the Golden Eagles up 18-13. The buckets continued to be scored by both sides, but the Golden Eagles kept their foot on the gas. The Golden Eagles got breakaway layups from Miller and Anna Westby (Fr, Eleveth) to go up 7 at 27-20, and even when the JImmies hit a 3 to cut the lead down to 4, the Golden Eagles continued to score, getting a clutch bucket from Riley Jenkins (Jr, Galesburg, IL) to help the Golden Eagles claim a 35-27 lead at the end of the first quarter.
SECOND QUARTER –
The momentum the Golden Eagles had in the first quarter carried over to the second quarter, where the defense played their best sequence of the game to this point. They forced 3 Jimmies turnovers, and scored the first 6 points of the quarter to take a 41-27 lead. That run would extend to 9 on a 3-pointer from Anna Westby, and it would be nearly 4 minutes before the Jimmies got their first points of the half. After a 3-pointer from Riley Jenkins made it 47-33, the Jimmies hit a couple buckets to cut the lead to 10, but the Golden Eagles continued to have answers, as two free throws from Miller and a bucket from Tayden Hanks (Jr, Los Lunas, NM) made it 51-37 UMC. The Jimmies were able to score the final 4 points of the half but the Golden Eagles were able to take a 51-41 lead into the second half.
THIRD QUARTER –
Jamestown looked to close the gap down to start the half, and they scored the first 5 points to cut the lead down to 5, but the Golden Eagles showcased once again that they had an answer, as Westby and Miller each hit threes en route to a 59-48 advantage. Halfway through the quarter, the Golden Eagles had a 62-53 lead, and from there the offense opened up again. Brynlea Mahlen (So, Fosston) hit a 3-pointer to put the Golden Eagles up 12, and from there, every time the Ji9mmies would get a bucket, the Golden Eagles would answer right back. At 69-59, UMC scored 6 of the final 7 points of the quarter, and took a significant 75-60 lead into the fourth quarter.
FOURTH QUARTER –
Both teams went back and forth on buckets in the first minute and change of the quarter. After Jamestown cut the lead to 79-66 with 8:25 to go in the quarter, they would only score 4 points in the rest of the quarter. UMC outscored the Jimmies 21-4 in the final 8:25, and they did so by dominating on both sides of the ball. They forced 6 rebounds, outrebounded the Jimmies 10-7. and Jamestown shot 3-13 from the field in the quarter. Emma Miller scored 13 points in the quarter to end with 33, Anna Westby set a new career high with 21 points, and Riley Jenkins added 19 as the Golden Eagles pulled away to a 99-70 victory for their first conference win of the season.
UMC improves to 2-9 on the season, and is now 1-5 in the NSIC after earning its first win in the conference. Jamestown is now 4-7 on the year, with a 2-4 conference record.
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | |
| Jamestown | 27 | 14 | 19 | 10 | 70 |
| Crookston | 35 | 16 | 24 | 24 | 99 |
| For UMC | Points | Rebounds | Assists/Steals |
| Emma Miller | 33 | 4 | 6 assist/5 steal |
| Anna Westby | 21 | 6 | 2 steal |
| Riley Jenkins | 19 | 3 | 4 assist/1 steal |
| Halle Winjum | 6 | 5 | 2 assist |
| Rayna Keljeski | 6 | 5 | 3 assist |
| Hope Dudycha | 5 | 1 | 2 assist/1 steal |
| Brynlea Mahlen | 5 | 3 | – |
| Tayden Hanks | 4 | 4 | 2 steal |
