UMC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL STUNS ST. CLOUD STATE ON SENIOR NIGHT

The University of Minnesota Crookston (UMC) Golden Eagles Women’s Basketball team snapped a six-game losing streak with a 79-72 win over St. Cloud State on Senior Night in an NSIC game played at Lysaker Gymnasium.

1st Quarter –
Mattea Vetsch (Fr., Devils Lake, ND) opened the scoring with a three-pointer giving Minnesota Crookston an early 3-0 lead. Amber Schoenicke (Sr., Marshall, WI) added a lay-up reestablishing a 5-2 lead for the Golden Eagles. Tied at 5-5, Vetsch knocked down another three-pointer extending UMC’s lead to 8-5. Leading 11-9, Paige Cornale (Soph., Oak Creek, WI) scored at the rim followed by a Mary Burke (Fr., Virginia) jump shot pushing the Golden Eagles lead to 15-9. St. Cloud State closed the quarter on a 4-0 run to pull within 19-15 after ten minutes. (St. Cloud State) is so explosive,” noted Minnesota Crookston head coach Mike Roysland. “They’ve been scoring a lot of points. We had some great opportunities early, and we did such a great job communicating defensively that we were able to get some stops.”

2nd Quarter – 
St. Cloud State scored the first four points of the second quarter tying the game at 19-19. Mattea Vetsch answered with a lay-up putting Minnesota Crookston in front 21-19. Mary Burke connected on a jump shot, increasing the lead to 23-19. The two sides traded baskets with St. Cloud State taking a 37-34 lead in the final minute of the half. Bren Fox (Soph., Norwood Young America) made a jumper to end the half trimming the visitor’s lead down to 37-36 at halftime. 

3rd Quarter –
St. Cloud State jumped out to a 46-40 lead to start the third quarter before extending the lead to 53-42 with 5:38 to play in the third frame. Kylie Post (Soph., Corcoran) started imposing herself making two free-throws before adding a lay-up through a foul trimming UMC’s deficit down to 53-47. Minnesota Crookston closed the quarter with an 11-0 run as Kylie Post added a lay-up to close the period with the Golden Eagles in front 58-55. “We started to get after it a little bit more,” explained Roysalnd. “I think we just kind of got content a little bit a sloppy with the ball. We ended up with some bad possession. Once we were able to get a few possessions to go our way, we managed to bounce back and find a rhythm.” 

4th Quarter –
Minnesota Crookston opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer by Mary Burke extending the host’s advantage to 61-55 before Kylie Post scored back-to-back baskets giving Minnesota Crookston a 65-55 lead. St. Cloud State erased their deficit with a 10-0 run, but again Mary Burke hit a deep shot putting UMC ahead 68-65. The Golden Eagles led the rest of the night as the Huskies were held to just five points in the final five minutes of the game, allowing Minnesota Crookston to close out the game at the free-throw line for a 79-72 win. “I am just so happy for our kids and the three seniors,” explained Roysland. “We’ve had our backs against the wall all year. First and foremost, we came out and played really hard. I thought we did a great job of communicating. We defended the rim and took away enough of the three-point line to give ourselves an opportunity tonight. 

Minnesota Crookston improves to 5-21 overall and 4-18 in the NSIC. The Golden Eagles begin the NSIC Tournament on Wednesday when UMC travels to MSU-Mankato for a 5:30 P.M. tip-off on KROX. St. Cloud State falls to 19-7 overall and 16-6 in conference play.