The UMC women’s basketball team started off strong but were then outscored 27-8 in the second quarter and could not recover as the Golden Eagles fall to the Mustangs of SMSU by a score of 83-62 at Lysaker Gymnasium.
FIRST QUARTER –
At the start of the game, both teams started with intensity and fire, especially on the defensive end. An Audrey Swanson three-point play gave the Mustangs a 5-2 lead, and that ended up being their largest lead of the quarter. 3 UMC free throws by Emma Miller and Nicole Fernandez tied the game at 5, and from there it was a back-and-forth affair. A 3-pointer by Miller gave UMC their first lead of the game at 8-7, but Peyton Blandin hit a long-range shot immediately after to put the Mustangs back up by 2. From there, neither team had a lead larger than 2 for the remainder of the quarter, and another jumper by Miller with 4.1 seconds left tied the game at 18 at the end of the first quarter.
SECOND QUARTER –
The second quarter could not have gone any more different than the first, with SMSU being the primary benefactor. Unlike the first quarter where both teams were relatively even in shooting, SMSU couldn’t miss, whereas UMC couldn’t buy a bucket. SMSU scored the first 8 points of the quarter to take a 26-18 lead, and after Miller hit yet another 3-pointer to cut the lead to 5, SMSU was able to blow the game open, going on a 19-0 run in a 7:21 span to take a 45-21 advantage. SMSU also controlled the rebounding, outpacing UMC 12-4 on the defensive glass. Hope Dudycha hit a layup in the final minute to break the run, but SMSU was able to take a 45-26 lead into the half.
THIRD QUARTER –
UMC did their best to forget about the second quarter, and they played a whole lot better in the 3rd quarter. Hope Dudycha especially stepped up; out of her 20 points in total this game, 10 of them came in the 3rd quarter, including twice from long range. Both teams, just like the first quarter, played very even and went back-and-forth. UMC shot 50% from the field in the quarter and did not miss a free throw, but SMSU was able to keep pace, only being outscored 21-20 in the quarter, allowing them to take a 65-47 lead into the fourth quarter.
FOURTH QUARTER –
The 2nd quarter proved to be an outlier, as the 4th quarter went the same way as the 1st and 3rd. UMC was aggressive with their shot selection, but unlike the 3rd quarter, and similar to the first half, shots were just not falling; the team shot 34% from the field and 26% from beyond the arch in the game. Emma Miller and Hope Dudycha continued to lead the scoring for the Golden Eagles, but they got help late from Keljeski and Fernandez, allowing them to stay alive. However, they were just not able to come back from the 19-point 2nd quarter differential, and 23 points from Peyton Blandin and 20 from Bri Stoltzman helped give the Mustangs an 83-62 victory.
UMC falls to 5-8 on the year and will face Sioux Falls tomorrow. SMSU improves to 12-2 on the season.
For postgame comments from UMC head coach Natalie Moynihan, click below.
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | |
| SMSU | 18 | 8 | 20 | 18 | 83 |
| UM-Crookston | 18 | 27 | 21 | 15 | 62 |
| For UMC | Points | Rebounds | Assists/Steals |
| Hope Dudycha | 20 | 3 | 3/0 |
| Emma Miller | 18 | 7 | 3/2 |
| Rayna Keljeski | 7 | 1 | 1/0 |
| Nicole Hernandez | 5 | 4 | 0/1 |
| Riley Jenkins | 4 | 6 | 0/0 |
| Natalie Mikrot | 3 | 1 | 0/0 |
| Taryn Frazer | 3 | 1 | 1/1 |
| Halle Winjum | 2 | 1 | 0/1 |
