The University of Minnesota Crookston women’s basketball team’s offense continued to struggle in a 77-66 loss against Minot State in an NSIC game played at the Minot State Dome.
1st Quarter –
Emma Carpenter (Fr., Eagan) gave Minnesota Crookston an early lead with a 3-pointer 1:18 into the game, putting the Golden Eagles in front 3-2. With Minot State leading 5-2, Julia Peplinski (Soph., Hustisford, WI) made a triple from the top of the ket followed by two free-throws from Mattea Vetsch (Fr., Devils Lake, ND) increasing UMC’s lead to 8-5. Mary Burke (R-Fr., Virginia) made her first basket reestablishing a 10-9 lead with 4:43 to play in the quarter. Trailing 13-10, The Golden Eagles scored two straight baskets taking a 14-13 lead, but Minot State scored the final basket of the quarter, giving the Beavers a 15-14 lead after ten minutes. “
2nd Quarter –
Abby Guidinger (Jr., Waukesha, WI) opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer putting Minnesota Crookston in front 17-15. Minot State answered with a 10-2 run taking a 25-19 lead. Emma Carpenter knocked down her second deep shot of the game bringing Minnesota Crookston back within 25-22 with 5:42 to play in the half. Alyssa Peterson (Fr., Menhaga) made a jump shot trimming a seven-point deficit down to four. Minot State countered with a 6-0 run halted by a pair of free-throws from Bren Fox (Soph., Norwood Young America) trimming the Golden Eagles deficit down to 36-28 with 1:23 to play in the half. Bren Fox made a jump shot to end the first half, but Minot State took a 38-30 lead into the locker room. “It was basically a ten-point game all night long,” noted Roysland. “Once they got up ten, we were never really able to make a run to get back in it. Our defense gave us a chance tonight. Our offense just didn’t play at a high-level enough to keep us in it. It’s really frustrating. We’ve got to be better in the moment.”
3rd Quarter –
Mattea Vetsch scored the first basket of the second half bringing the Golden Eagles within 38-32. Minot State burst through with a 10-3 run taking a 48-35 lead with 6:15 to play in the third quarter. Minot State’s defense continued to stifle the visitor’s offense as Minot State separated on the scoreboard, taking a 52-37 lead with 4:20 to play in the quarter. Kylie Post (Soph., Corcoran) connected on two free-throws trimming the Golden Eagles’ deficit down to 52-39 with 3:35 to play in the third. Alyssa Peterson made a baseline jump shot with 2:05 to play in the third trimming the MSU lead to 54-47. Minot State scored the final basket of the quarter, taking a 56-47 lead with 10 minutes to play.
4th Quarter –
Minot State used a 7-0 run early in the final quarter, increasing their lead to 65-52. Minnesota Crookston countered with a 5-2 run as Amber Schoenicke (Sr., Marshall, WI) made a lay-up bringing UMC within 67-57. Minot State continued to keep its distance from its visitors down the stretch. Alyssa Peterson buried a corner three with 2:43 to cut Minot State lead down to 9, but Minot State responded with a basket as the Golden Eagles were unable to trim their deficit within 9 points the rest of the game as the Beavers closed out a 77-66 win. “We just can’t find enough scoring right now,” summarized Roysland. “We still don’t have a consistent combination of scorers to get some real momentum going. That continues to be a problem for us. We’re getting some good looks, and at times, we’ve got some really good things going, but we’re not making the shots or plays we need to.”
Minnesota Crookston falls to 4-19 overall and 3-16 in NSIC play. The Golden Eagles return to the court on Saturday when UMC travels to Bismarck to play the University of Mary at 3:30 P.M. on KROX. Minot State improves to 7-16 overall and 4-15 in conference play.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Score | |
| UMC | 14 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 66 |
| Minot State | 15 | 23 | 18 | 21 | 77 |
| UMC | Points | Rebounds | Assists/Steals |
| Alyssa Peterson | 14 | 2 | |
| Emma Carpenter | 12 | 0 | 3 steals |
| Bren Fox | 12 | 6 | |
| Mattea Vetsch | 10 | 2 | 3 assists |
| Julia Peplinski | 5 | 3 | |
| Kylie Post | 4 | 4 | 3 assists |
| Abby Guidinger | 3 | 2 | |
| Mary Burke | 3 | 8 | |
| Amber Schoenicke | 2 | 0 | |
| Kylea Praska | 1 | 1 |
