The University of Minnesota Crookston (UMC) Golden Eagles Women’s Basketball team struggled in the first half for the second straight game in an 80-69 loss to Minot State in an NSIC game played at the Minot State Dome.
Minnesota Crookston opened the scoring with a jump shot from Isieoma Odor (R-Sr., Bloomington) giving the Golden Eagles a 2-0 lead. Minot State responded with six-straight points to take the lead and would never look back. Following a Caitlin Michaelis (Sr., Marshfield, WI) three-pointer which brought UMC within one, the Beavers went on an 8-0 run to take a 14-5 lead before Kylea Praska (Fr., Thief River Falls) buried a triple pulling the Golden Eagles within 14-8. The Beavers once again answered as Minot State hit a three-pointer late in the first quarter to take a 21-12 lead after ten minutes of play. “They really did a nice job hitting mid-range jump shots,” said Roysland. “They were on fire. At one point they were shooting seventy percent. They were playing extremely well, and you just have to give them a ton of credit.”
An early 6-0 run to open the second quarter pushed Minot State’s lead to 29-15 with 7:59 to play in the first half. Abby Guidinger (Soph., Waukesha) made a jump shot to stop the Beavers’ run momentarily, but Minot State scored another five-straight points to take a 34-17 lead. Paige Weakley (Jr., Kearney, MO) made a three-pointer followed by a Kylie Post (Fr., Corcoran) free-throw bringing UMC within 44-28, but a lay-up to end the first half gave Minot State a 46-28 lead to close the first half. “They did hit a lot of tough shots, but a few were too easy,” noted Roysland. “We just couldn’t match their energy with the start that they had. We’re just not consistent enough, and that’s come back to bite us.”
A 14-4 run to open the second half gave Minnesota Crookston life pulling the visitors within 71-62 before the Beavers answered with four-straight points. Minot State countered with five-straight points to take a 57-42 lead, but Paige Weakley made a three-pointer sparking a 7-0 run to close the third quarter with the Golden Eagles trailing 57-49 heading into the final ten minutes of the game. “We got stops and made some scores,” added Roysland after UMC closed the gap in the third quarter. “We just weren’t efficient enough at that all night long. We have a lot of fresh faces, and we’re still counting on these freshmen a lot, but they’re still making some freshman mistakes.”
Minot State ended UMC’s hopes of a comeback early in the fourth quarter with a 7-0 run to open the final frame propelling the Beavers to a 64-49 lead. Minnesota Crookston managed to pull within nine with 3:34 to play, but Minot State was able to ice the game at the free-throw line to close out an 80-69 win. “You just can’t give a team on the road that big a lead,” summarized Roysland. “Just way too much inconsistency on our part. We played well in spurt but we’ve got to do it well for four quarters, and that’s what we’re searching for right now.”
Minnesota Crookston falls to 10-10 overall and 5-9 in the NSIC. The Golden Eagles return to the court on Friday with a trip to Southwest Minnesota State to take on the Mustangs at 5:30 PM on KROX. Minot State improves to 9-11 overall and 4-10 in conference play.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| UMC | 12 | 16 | 21 | 20 | 69 |
| Minot State | 21 | 25 | 11 | 23 | 80 |
| UMC | Points | Rebounds | Assists/Steals |
| Caitlin Michaelis | 12 | 2 | 3 steals |
| Abby Guidinger | 12 | ||
| Kylie Post | 11 | 3 | 3 assists |
| Isieoma Odor | 9 | 4 | |
| Paige Cornale | 8 | 2 | |
| Paige Weakley | 6 | 3 | |
| Kylea Praska | 3 | 2 | |
| Amber Schoenicke | 3 | 2 | |
| Bren Fox | 2 | 4 | |
| Steph McWilliams | 2 | ||
| Ashley Freund | 1 |
