The University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagle Women’s basketball team played an incredibly intense game and saw their efforts rewarded as they hung on to defeat the Wayne State College Wildcats by a score of 70-67 at Lysaker Gymnasium on Friday.
FIRST QUARTER –
Ar the start of the game, UMC looked to control the pace with an Emma Miller layup at the end of the first minute. Teams began to alternate buckets and free throws, and then a Delaney Clark 3-pointer gave the Wildcats a 10-8 advantage. From there, however, the Golden Eagles began to push the narrative, as a Riley Jenkins jumper tied the game, and a Willow Thiel layup gave the Golden Eagles the lead. The Golden Eagles were able to lock down the Wildcats for the rest of the quarter, only allowing 2 points, and UMC was able to take a 15-12 lead into the start of the second quarter.
SECOND QUARTER –
As the second quarter took center stage, the same trends continued; UMC was able to barely keep a hold on the lead to start the quarter. From there, however, the offense picked up. A Halle Winjum 3-pointer gave UMC a 20-15 lead, but the Wildcats were able to respond with a 7-0 run, capped off by a Delaney Clark 3-pointer to give WSC a 22-20 lead. UMC, though, was ready to respond, and respond they did with a 12-0 run, led by Rayna Klejeski and Emma Miller. At 32-22, WSC was finally able to break the run, closing the gap to single digits, but UMC was able to extend the lead to 36-26 in the final minute. From there, however, the defense had a slight stumble, as they allowed a 3-pointer, then a foul and two free throws in the final seconds to send the game to halftime with a 36-31 score.
THIRD QUARTER –
Both teams exchanged buckets early to start the third quarter, before WSC began to channel the momentum they receive from the final minute of the second quarter to claw back. The Wildcats were able to close the gap to 6 at 44-38, and then down to 4 at 49-45 on separate 3-pointers, but UMC was able to keep the lead with jumpers from Emma Miller and layups from Nicole Hernandez. However, as was the case in the end of the second quarter, the defense began to have a few lapses in the final minutes of the quarter. After UMC took a 51-45 lead, WSC responded, going on an 8-0 run in the final 3:34 to give the Wildcats a 53-51 lead. It looked like they were going to take that lead into the 4th quarter, but a circus shot on a putback by Hernandez tied the game at 53 going into the 4th quarter.
FOURTH QUARTER –
As the fourth quarter started, it seemed like no team was going to take a lead larger than 2, but a huge Kylah vanDonkersgoed 3-pointer gave the Wildcats a 60-55 lead. UMC needed to respond, and respond they did, as Nicole Hernandez added on to her big night, capping off a 6-0 run with another layup to give the Golden Eagles the lead right back. The teams continued to alternate baskets once more and soon the clock was winding down. Delaney Clark tied the game at 66 with 1:16 remaining, then no one scored until Emma Miller got fouled on a 3-point attempt with 13 seconds remaining. Miller made two of the free throws, then UMC burned their last fouls to give, and then mistakenly fouled again to put Tate Norblade at the line with a chance to tie the game. She only made one free throw, the sond one was rebounded by Hernandez, she was fouled, and she made two free throws in the biggest moment to seal a 70-67 win over the Wildcats.
UMC improves to 7-12 on the season, and get their crucial 5th win of the year in the conference, now 5-8. Wayne State falls to 9-8, now 6-7 in the conference.
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | |
| Wayne State | 12 | 19 | 22 | 14 | 67 |
| UM-Crookston | 15 | 21 | 17 | 17 | 70 |
| For UMC | Points | Rebounds | Assists/Steals |
| Emma Miller | 24 | 7 | 1/1 |
| Nicole Hernandez | 18 | 8 | 0/0 |
| Riley Jenkins | 10 | 11 | 1/0 |
| Hope Dudycha | 7 | – | 5/1 |
| Halle Winjum | 5 | 2 | 0/1 |
| Rayna Klejeski | 4 | 3 | 3/2 |
| Willow Thiel | 2 | 1 | 0/1 |
