Post-Game Interviews with Mike Roysland, Cienna Walker and Christine Thorn

CROOKSTON, Minn. - The University of Minnesota Crookston women's basketball team used a strong second half to upend William Penn University Friday night at Lysaker Gymnasium in Crookston, Minn. 91-63. The Golden Eagles out-scored the Statesmen 58-25 in the second half after being down 38-33 at the break propelled by 47 points off the bench led by a career-game from Christine Thorn (So., G, St. Michael, Minn./Elementary Education), who finished with 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.

The Golden Eagles improve to 2-0 on the season with the victory while William Penn, a team laden with juniors and seniors, dropped to 3-1 on the year.

Minnesota Crookston shot 29-of-63 for the game, including connecting on 10-of-22 attempts from beyond the arc and 23-of-31 attempts from the charity stripe. In addition to Thorn, Cienna Walker (Jr., G, Ajax, Ontario/Marketing), played one of the best games of her career and also came off the bench. Walker was integral in shutting down Janay Pritchett of William Penn in the second half on defensive end and also had 10 points and five boards on the game. Jaya Perkins (So., G, Lakeville, Minn./Criminal Justice) also played a big impact off the bench with nine points and five rebounds.

The Golden Eagles finished with five players with double-figure scoring as Katrina Moenkedick (So., F, Perham, Minn./Early Childhood Education) had 14 points and eight boards on the game. Alexa Thielman (So., G, Buffalo, Minn./Health Science) also added 14 points and had five rebounds while Ebony Livingston (So., G/F, Minneapolis, Minn./Sports and Rec Management) finished with 12 points, including shooting 7-of-8 from the charity stripe. Minnesota Crookston finished the game out-rebounding William Penn 45-34 led by Moenkedick's eight rebounds.

William Penn had a tale of two halves as they shot 11-of-27 for 40.7 percent in the first half but were shut down in the second half, shooting just 7-of-30 for 23.3 percent from the field. The Statesmen were led by Pritchett's 15 points, she had 10 in the first half, but was limited to five in the second half. The Statesmen were aided by Katie Golomski added 15 points and hit 4-of-7 from trey. Lauren McKinnis added 12 points off the bench for William Penn.

The Golden Eagles would struggle in the first half, shooting just 12-of-35 for 34.3 percent from the field, but would hit about everything they took in the second half, shooting 17-of-28 for 60.7 percent and shot 7-of-10 from trey for 70.0 percent.

Minnesota Crookston will return to action with a pair of games next week as they host Mayville State University Tues., Nov. 19 at 6 p.m., and Finlandia University Wed., Nov. 20 at 5 p.m.

For more information, visit the Golden Eagle Athletics website at www.goldeneaglesports.com.

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The University of Minnesota Crookston is an NCAA Division II Institution and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Golden Eagle Equestrian team is a member of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA).