The UMC women’s basketball team surged in the final minutes but just couldn’t complete the comeback as the Golden Eagles narrowly fell to the Cougars of Sioux Falls by a score of 75-65 at Lysaker Gymnasium.
FIRST QUARTER –
At the start of the game, UMC started out with the hot hand, as Riley Jenkins hit a 3-pointer to open up the scoring. A fast start was important for UMC, and a Hope Dudycha layup allowed the Golden Eagles to take a 7-3 lead 3 minutes into the contest. Willow Thiel also provided some great energy off the bench, and a tough finish by her made it 11-6. Sioux Falls was able to come back, however, as a Kami Wadsworth 3-pointer tied the game at 11. But, the UMC defense was able to stay strong defensively, outrebounding the Cougars 8-5 on the defensive glass, and an Emma Miller jumper gave the Golden Eagles a 17-13 lead to end the quarter.
SECOND QUARTER –
The second quarter saw Kami Wadsworth really start to heat up for the Cougars. Out of her 17 first half points, 13 of them came in the 2nd quarter, and she was scoring from all over the court. Her spark in offense jumpstarted the Cougars. After a Hope Dudycha 3-pointer made it 23-18 UMC, Sioux Falls responded quickly and ferociously, going on a 16-0 run with 9 of the points coming from Wadsworth, giving the Cougars a 34-23 lead. UMC did not score again until there was 1:14 remaining, on 2 Nicole Hernandez free throws, but another Wadsworth bucket with under thirty seconds left made the score 38-27 at the half. UMC was outscored 25-10 in the frame, after being outscored 27-8 in the second quarter the game before against Southwest Minnesota State.
THIRD QUARTER –
UMC, similar to Friday night’s game, needed to come out of the halftime break with a sense of urgency. Unfortunately, the first five points of the half went to the Cougars, making it 43-27. From there, however, UMC began to slowly climb their way back into the contest. The Cougars were able to maintain a double-digit lead, but Wadsworth was shut down, and UMC was able to capitalize in the final three minutes of the quarter. After the Cougars made it 52-38, Riley Jenkins and Nicole Hernandez brought UMC to within 7 at 52-45. The Cougars hit a 3-point shot to bring the lead back to 10, but an Emma Miller 3-pointer in the final seconds made the score 56-48 after 3.
FOURTH QUARTER –
UMC used that shot by Miller in the final seconds of the third quarter to propel them into the 4th. The Golen Eagles immediately got two easy layups in the first minute of the quarter to cut the lead to 4, but when it mattered most, the Cougars were able to hit shots, especially from beyond the arch, where they shot 4-4 from there in the quarter. After the Cougars were able to pull ahead to a 63-52 lead, UMC began to claw back again. They were able to draw fouls and make shots from the foul line, and at 69-59, MIller made threes on back-to-back possessions to make the score 69-65. However, Sioux Falls relied on their three-point shooting down the stretch, as threes by Danielle Minsaas and Gracie Traphagen put the game on ice, making the final score 75-65 in favor of the Cougars.
UMC falls to 5-9 on the season, 3-4 now in conference play. USF improves to 7-8, 4-5 in the conference.
For postgame comments from Golden Eagle head coach Natalie Moynihan, click below.
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | |
| USF | 13 | 25 | 18 | 19 | 75 |
| UM-Crookston | 17 | 10 | 21 | 17 | 65 |
| For UMC | Points | Rebounds | Assists/Steals |
| Emma Miller | 22 | 4 | 2/4 |
| Riley Jenkins | 13 | 8 | 4/2 |
| Hope Dudycha | 10 | 3 | 0/1 |
| Nicole Hernandez | 7 | 14 | 2/0 |
| Willow Thiel | 7 | 4 | 0/0 |
| Taryn Frazer | 4 | 3 | 0/0 |
| Rayna Klejeski | 2 | 0 | 0/0 |
