The University of Minnesota Crookston (UMC) Women’s Basketball team blew a 13-point lead and was outscored 34-11 in the final quarter of a 76-64 loss to Winona State in NSIC game played at Lysaker Gymnasium.
Winona State opened the game with the first four points of the night giving the Visitors an early lead before Bren Fox (Fr., Norwood Young America) scored four-straight points tying the game at 4-4. Paige Weakley (Jr., Kearney, MO) buried a three-pointer giving Minnesota Crookston a 7-4 lead. After a pair of Warriors’ free-throws, Abby Guidinger (Waukesha, WI) connected on a three-pointer pushing the host’s lead to 10-6. Following a Winona State triple, Caitlin Michaelis (Sr., Marshfield, WI) scored at the rim giving UMC a 12-9 edge. With four minutes left in the opening quarter, Winona State went on a 6-0 run to take a 15-12 lead before closing the quarter with a jump shot taking a 17-14 lead after one quarter of play.
Isieoma Odor (R-Sr., Bloomington) opened the second quarter with four-straight points giving the Golden Eagles an 18-17 lead. The Warriors countered with a 5-0 run before Paige Weakley connected on a three-pointer, three of her career-high 21 points, sparking an 8-0 run giving Minnesota Crookston a 26-22 lead with 4:38 to play in the half. Winona State countered with seven-straight points regaining a 29-26 lead, but Weakley closed the half with two more three-pointers split by a Warriors’ three-pointer with the teams tied at 32-32 at halftime. “They played (Isieoma Odor) as well as anyone has all year,” said Minnesota Crookston head coach Mike Roysland. “Our guards made some really poor decisions trying to throw the ball into her, but I was really happy with Paige’s performance in the first. Even with that all being said, Isi was still three-for-six in the first half and if we could get it in for her, we could’ve had a lot of different kick-outs in the second half.”
Winona State scored the opening three points of the half to take a 35-32 lead before Isieoma Odor scored inside bringing the Golden Eagles within 35-34. Steph McWilliams (Jr., Grand Forks, ND) made a three-pointer giving UMC a 37-36 lead with 7:19 left in the third quarter. A Bren Fox lay-up pushed Minnesota Crookston’s lead to 39-36 with 6:08 left to play in the quarter. Isieoma Odor made a baseline jump shot with 3:13 left in the quarter sparking a 7-0 run giving Minnesota Crookston a 46-38 lead. The Golden Eagles closed the quarter on a 7-2 run to take a 53-42 lead into the fourth quarter.
Isieoma Odor made a lay-up followed by a Paige Cornale (Fr., Oak Creek, WI) finish at the rim giving Minnesota Crookston its largest lead of the night at 57-44 with 8:48 to play. Winona State answered with an 8-0 run to cut the deficit down to 57-52 with 6:58 to play. A pair of Steph McWilliams free-throws pushed UMC’s lead back up to seven, but the Warriors scored five-straight points pulling within 59-57. After two Odor free-throws gave the Golden Eagles a 61-57 lead, Winona State rattled off a 6-0 run to take a 63-61 lead with 2:59 to play. Odor tied the game with two more free throws, but those proved to be UMC’s last meaningful points of the night. Tied at 63-63 with 2:41 remaining the Warriors scored thirteen straight points to take a 76-63 lead which Odor would cut down on UMC’s final possession with a single free-throw. The Warriors outscored Minnesota Crookston by 23 in the final quarter to snap a two-game losing streak with a 76-64 win. “2-15 (shooting) is what I saw,” said Roysland of the fourth quarter collapse. “Too many second and third missed rebounds. We had some great looks at threes, bottom line is 2-15 and you’ve got to be able to play four quarters, we’ve given four games away here. You’ve got to make some plays. We had some stuff at the rim and some stuff outside and when it counts most you’ve just got to knock down a couple shots or at the very least not allow them second chances. You’ve got to give (Winona State) some credit, they made some shots and scored 34 points in the fourth quarter. I thought they made some really good shots.”
Minnesota Crookston falls to 9-8 on the year and 4-7 in the NSIC. The Golden Eagles return to the court Saturday when UMC hosts Upper Iowa at 3:30 p.m. with the Riverview Health Pregame show beginning at 3 p.m. on KROX. Winona State improves to 8-7 this season and 6-5 in conference play.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Winona State | 17 | 15 | 10 | 34 | 76 |
| UMC | 14 | 18 | 21 | 11 | 64 |
| UMC | Points | Rebounds | Assists/Steals |
| Isieoma Odor | 21 | 12 | |
| Paige Weakley | 21 | 1 | |
| Bren Fox | 6 | 2 | |
| Steph McWilliams | 5 | 9 | 4 assists |
| Paige Cornale | 4 | 2 | |
| Abby Guidinger | 3 | 1 | |
| Caitlin Michaelis | 2 | 2 | |
| Kylie Post | 2 | 3 |
| Winona State | Points |
| Emily Kieck | 23 |
| Rachel Novotny | 13 |
| Kayla Schaefer | 11 |
| Julia Silloway | 8 |
| Taylor Hustad | 5 |
| Gabie Doud | 5 |
| Jenna Bruss | 5 |
| Sydney Lodermeier | 4 |
| Emma Fee | 2 |
