The University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagle Women’s basketball team was outscored 47-22 in the second and third quarters and lost to the University of Sioux Falls Cougars 81-69 in a Northern Sun Conference first-round playoff game in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
FIRST QUARTER –
USF scored the first points of the game and had a 2-0 lead before UMC’s Nicole Hernandez (Sr. Oak Creek, Wis) scored five straight points for a 5-2 lead two minutes into the game. Sioux Falls answered to tie the game at 8-8 before UMC’s Hernandez scored in the paint for a 10-8 lead. Sioux Falls answered with a three, and that started a string of seven lead changes, After Sioux Falls’ Ayla Brown scored four straight points, the Cougars led 19-16 with three minutes left in the quarter. UMC’s Hope Dudycha (Soph. Austin) answered with a basket and Emma Miller (Jr. Albertville) buried a three-pointer to give the Golden Eagles a 21-19 lead. The teams exchanged baskets in the final minutes and UMC led 23-22 at the end of the first quarter.
SECOND QUARTER –
Sioux Falls started the second quarter on a 6-0 run for a 30-23 lead two minutes into the quarter. UMC’s Miller stopped the run with a basket. After a Sioux Falls basket, Rayna Klejeski (Soph. Barnum) scored her first basket of the game and Hernandez buried a three-pointer to tie the game at 30-30 with 6:14 left in the half. Sioux Falls dominated the rest of the half as they used solid defense to shut down UMC and ended the half on a 13-4 run to take a 43-34 lead into halftime.
THIRD QUARTER –
UMC’s Hernandez continued her outstanding game with a basket to open the scoring in the third quarter. Sioux Falls answered with five points, including a three-pointer from Megan Fannin. UMC’s Riley Jenkins (Soph Galesburg, Ill) made a jump shot before the Cougars answered with 10 straight points, including two more free throws from Fannin for a 58-38 lead. UMC’s Miller stopped the run with a three-pointer only to have USF’s Fannin make another three-pointer (her fourth of the quarter. UMC made a free throw before Sioux Falls added six more points, including the fifth three-pointer of the quarter from Fannin for a 67-42 lead with 2:16 left in the quarter. UMC outscored Sioux Falls in the final two minutes by a 3-2 score, with all three points coming from Hernandez, and Sioux Falls took a 69-45 lead into the final quarter.
FOURTH QUARTER –
UMC finished the season strong as Jenkins made a three-pointer, and Miller followed with a free throw to get within a 69-49 deficit. Sioux Falls answered with four points before Jenkins nailed a three-pointer and Miller added a basket. After a Sioux Falls basket, UMC added six more points as Hernandez, Miller, and Willow Thiel (Fresh. Perham) each scored a basket to get within a 75-60 deficit with 5:13 remaining, and things were looking better for the Golden Eagles. Sioux Falls stopped the run with four points before Miller had back-to-back baskets. The deficit was too much, and even with UMC scoring the last five points of the game, they came up short in an 81-69 loss.
UMC’s season ends with a 9-20 record, and they say goodbye to their lone senior, Nicole Hernandez, who finished her career playing all 40 minutes of the game and scoring 17 points, grabbing 12 rebounds. She also had two assists and 2 blocks in the game, adding to her Golden Eagle Women’s Basketball career blocks record. Sioux Falls improves to 17-13 on the year and will play Northern State in the NSIC quarterfinals in Sioux Falls on Sunday.
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | |
| UM-Crookston | 23 | 11 | 11 | 24 | 69 |
| Sioux Falls | 22 | 21 | 26 | 12 | 81 |
| For UMC | Points | Rebounds | Assists/Steals |
| Emma Miller | 26 | 6 | |
| Nicole Hernandez | 17 | 12 | 2 assists/2 blocks |
| Riley Jenkins | 12 | 7 | 4 asssts |
| Rayna Klejeski | 7 | 4 | |
| Willow Thiel | 4 | 3 | 2 assists |
| Hope Dudycha | 2 | 1 | 2 assists |
