UMC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SWEPT BY BEMIDJI STATE 79-57

Despite Abby Guidinger’s 17 points, UMC’s offense remained too stagnant in a 79-57 loss against Bemidji State in an NSIC game played at the BSU Gymnasium.

First Quarter – 
Bren Fox (Soph., Norwood Young America) tied the game at 2-2 1:57 into the game with a lay-up for Minnesota Crookston. Bemidji State responded with an 11-0 run giving the Beavers a 13-2 lead with 4:36 to play in the quarter. Julia Peplinski (Soph., Hustisford, WI) made a three-pointer bringing the Golden Eagles within 15-7. Paige Cornale (Soph., Oak Creek, WI) made a three-pointer before a buzzer-beater from Bemidji State ended the first quarter with the Beavers ahead 24-14. “Sometimes you just freeze in the moment and teams can take advantage of that,” said UMC head coach Mike Roysland. “I think it happened a little bit both on the offensive side and the defensive side of the ball.”

Second Quarter – 
With 5:26 to play in the first half, Paige Weakley (Sr., Kearney, MO) connected on a three-pointer trimming Minnesota Crookston’s deficit down to 30-21. Bemidji State answered with back-to-back three-pointers taking a 36-21 lead. UMC closed the half on a 6-3 run, but the Beavers carried a 41-32 lead into halftime. “We made a few baskets,” noted Roysland. “Kylie Post was able to get to the rim and find a couple of open shooters. But there were some uncharacteristic things that we did like taking shots that we don’t see in practice. It was the decision making abilities that hurt us.”

Third Quarter – 
After a Bren Fox jump shot cut UMC’s deficit down to 43-35 with 8:31 to play in the third quarter Bemidji State scored seven unanswered points increasing their lead to 50-35. Abby Guidinger (Jr., Waukesha, WI) made a three-pointer bringing the Golden Eagles within 52-41 with 5:06 to play in the quarter. Bemidji State closed the quarter with 3 free-throws increasing the host’s lead to 61-44 going into the fourth quarter. “They made some good play,” added Roysland. “We tried to do some different things with the pick-and-roll and it didn’t work any better. I’ve just got to give Bemidji State credit.”

Fourth Quarter –
Bemidji State started the fourth quarter with a 5-0 run taking a 66-44 lead. Minnesota Crookston failed to trim the deficit below 19 points the rest of the day as the Beavers closed out a 79-57 lead. “I don’t know what it is with this group, but sometimes we’re just not the same team when we take the court as we are in practice,” summarized Roysland. “I really don’t have the answer at this particular point. I know (the players) are really disappointed and I’m extremely disappointed. We’re just going to have to try and stay the course and get better in the new year. It was just a really difficult game all the way through.”

Minnesota Crookston falls to 2-8 overall and 1-5 in NSIC play. The Golden Eagles return to the court on Friday, January 3 when UMC travels to St. Cloud State for a 5:30 P.M. tip-off. Bemidji State improves to 6-4 overall and 3-3 in NSIC play.