The University of Minnesota Crookston (UMC) Golden Eagles Women’s basketball team lost its sixth straight game falling to Concordia-St. Paul 67-59 in an NSIC game played at Lysaker Gymnasium in Crookston.
Minnesota Crookston got off to a quick start with Paige Cornale (Fr., Oak Creek, WI) making a free-throw followed by back-to-back baskets from Isieoma Odor (Sr., Bloomington) giving the Golden Eagles a 5-0 lead. Following a Concordia-St. Paul lay-up, Odor scored four straight points pushing UMC ahead 9-2. A five-point streak from Paige Weakley (Jr., Kearney, MO) pushed the host’s lead to 14-5, but the Golden Bears closed the first quarter on a 5-0 run to close out the quarter down 14-10.
Caitlin Michaelis (Sr., Marshfield, WI) made a lay-up for UMC’s first points in the second quarter sparked a 7-0 run capped off by a three-pointer from Kylie Post giving Minnesota Crookston a 21-12 lead with 6:35 to play in the first half. Concordia-St. Paul answered with 10-0 run putting the visitor’s in front 22-21 with 4:29 to play in the first half. Bren Fox (Fr., Norwood Young America) scored two straight baskets regaining the lead for UMC and the Golden Eagles went on to score the final four points of the first half to take a 29-27 halftime lead. “We were trying to play gaps and prevent them from getting to the paint,” said Minnesota Crookston coach Mike Roysland of his team’s defensive success in the first half. “We got what we wanted, but we didn’t get enough coming back. I was happy that we finally beat somebody in the first quarter, but then we gave up a couple in the second.”
UMC opened the second half with lay-ups from Cornale and Fox to take a 33-27 advantage. CSP scored six straight points tying the game at 33-33. Minnesota Crookston countered with a 7-0 run to gain a 40-33 lead. The Golden Bears scored a pair of free throws followed by a lay-up to pull within three and a jump shot just before the end of the quarter cut the visitor’s deficit down to 43-41 to end the third quarter.
Kylie Post scored a lay-up to open the fourth quarter pushing UMC’s lead to 45-41. Isieoma Odor scored a lay-up with 7:05 to play allowing the Golden Eagles to take a 47-43 lead. Concordia St. Paul scored eleven straight points over three minutes to take a 54-47 lead with 4:28 to play. UMC responded with four straight points from Isieoma Odor to pull within 54-51 but that would be the closest the Golden Eagles would come to overtaking the Golden Bears as CSP closed out the game shooting 9-9 from the free-throw line over the final two minutes to close out a 67-59 win. “We just flipped it all the way around tonight,” summarized Roysland. “I just said in the locker room, if it’s not one thing, it’s the other. Tonight I thought we defended really well and then we didn’t score enough. I thought Isi (Odor) had a lot of nice looks, Caitlin (Michaelis) as well and we had a lot of opportunity at the free-throw line as well that we gave up. We’re just going to have to keep the wheels turning. We’re just not consistent enough.”
Minnesota Crookston falls to 10-14 overall and 5-13 in the NSIC. The Golden Eagles return to the court on Friday when UMC hosts Minot State at 5:30 p.m. on KROX. Concordia-St. Paul improves to 17-6 overall and 13-5 in conference play.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Concordia-St. Paul | 10 | 17 | 14 | 26 | 67 |
| UMC | 14 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 59 |
| UMC | Points | Rebounds | Assists/Steals |
| Isieoma Odor | 22 | 12 | |
| Bren Fox | 10 | 14 | 4 blocks |
| Kylie Post | 9 | 3 | |
| Paige Cornale | 6 | 4 assists | |
| Caitlin Michaelis | 5 | 3 | 3 assists |
| Paige Weakley | 5 | ||
| Amber Schoenicke | 2 | 3 |
