UMC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SLOW START COSTLY IN LOSS AT DULUTH

The University of Minnesota Crookston (UMC) Golden Eagles Women’s Basketball team’s slow start proved to be costly and a rally fell short as the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldog held on for a 68-67 victory in a Northern Sun Conference game played at Romano Gymnasium in Duluth.

FIRST QUARTER –
The Golden Eagles started slow and Minnesota Duluth jumped out to an 8-2 lead a little over two minutes into the game. Kylie Post (Soph. Corcoran) scored UMC’s lone basket in the run. The Golden Eagles got back on the board with an Abby Guidinger (Jr. Waukesha, Wis) basket with 7:33 left in the quarter and that would be the last UMC basket of the first quarter as Duluth ended the quarter on a 10-5 run to take an 18-9 lead into the second quarter. The final five UMC points of the quarter came on free throws. UMC only made two of 16 shots in the quarter. “We got off to a tough start again,” noted UMC head coach Dan Weisse. “We really had a lot of good looks which I was pleased with. We just weren’t able to knock any of those shots down. It’s a long game and we were able to stay resilient and have a much better second quarter.”

SECOND QUARTER-
Minnesota Duluth started the second quarter with back-to-back baskets for a 22-9 lead early in the quarter. As poor as the UMC offense was in the first quarter it was equally as good the rest of the second quarter. The red hot offense started with Guidinger scoring four straight points to spark a 21-7 run and after an Alyssa Peterson (Fresh. Menahga) three-pointer, the Golden Eagles led 30-29 with 2:46 left in the half. The teams were tied at 31 and 33 before UMC’s Mattea Vetsch (Fresh. Devils Lake, ND) made a basket in the paint to give the Golden Eagles a 35-33 lead going into halftime. “I was happy about our offense because (UMD) defends really well,” said Roysland. “We had to make good decisions and make them fast because Duluth is really long and they have great speed. From an offensive standpoint hopefully, this will catapult us moving forward.”

THIRD QUARTER –
The teams were tied at 35 and 38 before Duluth scored seven straight points and the Bulldogs had a 45-38 lead almost halfway through the quarter. UMC answered with four straight points from Mary Burke (Fresh. Virginia) and Guidinger, but Duluth held on to take a 52-49 lead into the fourth quarter.

FOURTH QUARTER –
Duluth started the quarter with a basket to take a five-point lead, but UMC responded with a Burke three-pointer and a Paige Cornale three-point play for a 55-54 lead over a minute into the quarter. Duluth countered with four points over an almost three-minute span. UMC slowly chipped away at the deficit and finally tied the game with a Peterson layup and with 2:21 remaining, the game was tied at 64-64. The teams were tied at 66 and 67 and Duluth’s Sarah Grow made a free throw with four seconds left in the game to take a 68-67 lead. The second free throw attempt was off the mark and UMC grabbed the rebound. UMC didn’t have a time out because they used all of them earlier in the game and it came back to hurt them because they tried a long pass up the floor and it was knocked away and Duluth held on for a 68-67 victory. “We had a golden opportunity here at the line tonight and it ended up coming back to bite us,” said Roysland. “We played better, but we just needed a win so badly. We had some chances at the line. I thought the kids did a nice job of hanging in there and battle back, but it’s disappointing (to come up short). We just have to stay the course and continue to keep getting better.”

UMC drops to 2-10 overall and 1-7 in the NSIC.  Duluth improves to 11-3 overall and 8-0 in the NSIC.