The University of Minnesota Crookston (UMC) Women’s Basketball failed to build off of an impressive first quarter before falling 95-59 to MSU-Moorhead in an NSIC game played at Lysaker Gymnasium in Crookston.
First Quarter –
Abby Guidinger (Jr., Waukesha, WI) opened the scoring with a three-pointer giving the golden Eagles an early 3-0 lead. MSU-Moorhead countered with a 7-2 tun taking a 7-5 lead before Kylie Post (Soph., Corcoran) scored a lay-up through a foul sinking the free-throw putting UMC in front 8-7 with 7:10 to play in the first quarter. Minnesota Crookston used a 10-2 run capped off by an Ashley Freund (Jr., Jordan) three-pointer and two free-throws from Julia Peplinski (Soph., Hustisford, WI) increasing Minnesota Crookston’s lead to 18-11 with 2:14 left in the opening frame. Leading 23-18, Abby Guidinger made a jump shot from the right-elbow with eight-seconds left in the first quarter giving the Golden Eagles a 25-18 lead after one quarter. “We got off to a good start,” said Minnesota Crookston head coach Mike Roysland. “We were hoping it would continue, but obviously it didn’t.”
Second Quarter –
MSU-Moorhead came out firing in the second quarter with the Dragons scoring the first seven points tying the game at 25-25. After a Mary Burke (R-Fr., Virginia) jump shot snapped the MSU-Moorhead run, the Dragons responded with eight-straight points to take a 33-27 lead. The visitors continued to dominate the rest of the first half, closing the second period on a 12-1 run taking a 45-30 lead into halftime. “Moorhead just did too good a job getting the ball inside,” added Roysland. “When they didn’t (get the ball inside), they were able to get rebounds. They hit some nice shots on the outside as well. They were able to pound it inside and got on fire. I thought we rebounded well in the first quarter. I also can’t explain why we’re making shots in the first quarter and then missing those same shots in the second quarter. It all comes back to the consistency on our part.”
Third Quarter –
MSU-Moorhead opened the second half with the first two baskets increasing its lead to 49-30. Trailing 51-32, Minnesota Crookston went on a 7-0 run to pull within 51-39. Abby Guidinger made a three-pointer with 4:19 to play in the quarter, trimming the Golden Eagles’ deficit down to 53-42. The Dragons reestablished a comfortable lead with a 16-0 run allowing the visitors to carry a 69-42 lead into the final quarter.
Fourth Quarter –
MSU-Moorhead continued maintaining a comfortable lead for the final ten minutes at one point, going on a 9-0 run to pull ahead 83-47 with 5:47 to play. The Dragons rolled the rest of the afternoon for a 95-59 win. “We do have players at different times that shine, but it’s not enough,” summarized Roysland. “Especially against a good team like that. I’m searching for a group to play better together and take advantage of those opportunities that are there. Again, we’ve got things at the rim and had some really nice looks at open threes, and in the game of basketball, you’ve just got to execute better.”
Minnesota Crookston falls to 2-12 on the season and 1-9 in conference play. The Golden Eagles return to the court on Friday when UMC travels to Winona State for a 5:30 P.M. tip-off on KROX. MSU-Moorhead improves to 13-4 overall and 8-2 in the NSIC.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| MSU-Moorhead | 18 | 27 | 24 | 26 | 95 |
| Minnesota-Crookston | 25 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 56 |
| UMC | Points | Rebounds | Assists/Steals |
| Abby Guidinger | 16 | 3 | |
| Mary Burke | 12 | 4 | |
| Julia Peplinski | 12 | 7 | 3 steals |
| Kylie Post | 7 | 5 | |
| Ashley Freund | 6 | 1 | |
| Paige Cornale | 3 | ||
| Alyssa Peterson | 2 | 2 | |
| Emma Carpenter | 1 | 3 |
