The University of Minnesota Crookston (UMC) Golden Eagles Women’s Basketball team snapped a three-game losing streak with a 75-64 win over Upper Iowa in an NSIC game played at Lysaker Gymnasium in Crookston.
Both offenses struggled in the first quarter with Kylie Post (Fr., Corcoran) scoring the games first points with 7:50 to play in the quarter giving UMC a 2-0 lead. Isieoma Odor (R-Sr., Bloomington) added a lay-up regaining a 4-2 lead for the Golden Eagles. With Minnesota Crookston leading 6-4, Upper Iowa went on an 8-0 run taking a 12-6 lead before an Abby Guidinger (Soph., Waukesha, WI) lay-up pulled UMC within 12-8. The Peacocks led 14-8 before Odor scored another lay-up pulling Minnesota Crookston within 14-10 after one quarter.
Minnesota Crookston used a 6-0 run to open the second quarter giving the Golden Eagles a 16-14 lead. With Upper Iowa leading 22-20 with 6:04 to play in the first half, Abby Guidinger scored on a mid-range jumper before Paige Cornale (Fr., Oak Creek) connected on a fastbreak lay-up giving the Golden Eagles a 24-22 lead. Minnesota Crookston continued its run finished by four-straight free throws by Isieoma Odor giving UMC a 32-22 lead. With 7-seconds left in the first half, Abby Guidinger made a jump shot in the paint giving the Golden Eagles a 36-27 lead. “We needed somebody to operate out of the high seam,” said Minnesota Crookston head coach Mike Roysland. “(Isieoma Odor) had a lot of really good looks in the first quarter and it was uncharacteristic of her to miss those so what ended up happening is we ended up operating out of the high-seam better. Abby Guidinger did a really nice operating there. Paige Weakley hit a couple big threes and Paige Cornale gave us a lift by getting in the passing lanes and getting us a few easy baskets in transition. It was some different people in the second quarter.”
The Peacocks used an early 8-0 run to open the third quarter bringing Upper Iowa within 38-34 with 7:53 left in the quarter. Leading 40-36, Minnesota Crookston used a 13-0 run to take a 53-36 lead while holding Upper Iowa scoreless for over six minutes. Upper Iowa managed just two free throws over the final seven minutes of the third quarter as the Golden Eagles claimed a 53-38 lead heading into the final quarter.
Abby Guidinger opened the final quarter with a jump shot pushing the host’s lead to 55-38. Upper Iowa managed to pull within 11 points with 5:50 to play but a Bren Fox (Fr., Norwood Young America) lay-up regained a 64-51 lead. A Paige Weakley (Jr., Kearney, MO) three-pointer provided the final dagger for the Minnesota Crookston offense with 2:00 to play closing out a 75-64 win. “This was just a game we needed to win,” summarized Roysland. “If we had lost this one tonight it really would have set us back in all aspects. We needed to get this win just to keep us moving in a positive direction heading into next week. Next weeks going to be a really big test for us so at least we have some momentum heading into next week.”
Minnesota Crookston improves to 10-8 overall and 5-7 in the NSIC. The Golden Eagles return to the court on Friday when they travel to Bismarck to take on UMary at 5:30 p.m. on KROX. Upper Iowa drops to 3-17 overall and 0-12 in conference play.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Upper Iowa | 14 | 13 | 11 | 26 | 64 |
| UMC | 10 | 26 | 17 | 22 | 75 |
| UMC | Points | Rebounds | Assists/Steals |
| Isieoma Odor | 20 | 13 | 3 blocks |
| Abby Guidinger | 16 | 5 | 7 assists |
| Paige Cornale | 10 | ||
| Paige Weakley | 9 | 6 | |
| Kylie Post | 6 | ||
| Bren Fox | 6 | 4 | |
| Amber Schoenicke | 4 | ||
| Kylea Praska | 3 | 3 | |
| Caitlin Michaelis | 1 | 3 assists |
