Box Score Visit the link for interviews with Head Coach Mike Roysland and players Ashley Martell and Kenzie Church https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PW7CsB10nR0

CROOKSTON, Minn. - A dominant performance by the University of Minnesota Crookston (UMC) women's basketball team gave them a 98-61 win Wednesday night against the Lions of Finlandia University (FU) at Lysaker gymnasium. UMC exploded for 15 three-pointers which is a single-game team record for the Golden Eagles. The previous high was 14 last set Dec. 8, 2010 against Dickinson State University.

Many reserves got to see extended minutes for the Golden Eagles as they led by 30 or more points for much of the second half. The win brings UMC's record to 3-1, but drops Finlandia to 0-2.

Coach Mike Roysland's constant encouragement to find the open player down the court led to a more potent offensive attack as the Golden Eagles pushed the ball up and down the floor. This style forced Finlandia to find their match-up quicker in transition. The holes opened up for the Golden Eagle offense and they were able to pile on the points.

The Golden Eagles were driven by solid shooting from the field at 46 percent and connected on 15-of-35 three-point attempts for 42.9 percent. This was not the case for FU. They were only able to make 28 percent of their shots, with 11 of 19 of their makes coming from beyond the arc. Compounded by 17 turnovers, it made for a long night for the Lions. The Golden Eagle bench outscored FU's bench 47-5. Domination on the boards was key for the Golden Eagles, too. They out-rebounded Finlandia 55-36.

UMC's leading scorer this year, Katrina Moenkedick (So., F, Perham, Minn./Early Childhood Education), was held quiet in the first half, before exploding for 10 of her 14 points in the first three minutes of the second half. Selina Barnes (Fr., G, Colorado Springs, Colo./Health Science) stuffed the stat sheet for the Golden Eagles. She had 10 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals.

Paige Yoho was the leading scorer for Finlandia with 16 points. Mikayla Hakala worked the boards for Finlandia getting eight rebounds.

Each team started off hot trading threes to make the score 6-6. It was not long before the Golden Eagles took over, though. Starting at the 17 minute mark, UMC scored 13 unanswered points over a six minute stretch to give the Golden Eagles an 11 point lead.

It was perimeter shooting that carried the Golden Eagles throughout the entire first half as they shot 64%. Ashley Martell (Jr.., G, Somerset, Wis./Health Science) was 4-of-5 from deep and Alexa Thielman (So., G, Buffalo, Minn./Health Science) was 2-of-4 from beyond the arc. Both Martell and Thielman had 12 points in the game.

Outside of Paige Yoho, Finlandia could not get much going offensively in the first half. Yoho had 10 points, but as a team FU was limited to 23 percent shooting in the first half. When they could find space on the perimeter, they were able to sink 36 percent of their three-pointers.

The Golden Eagles closed out the first half with a 6-0 run thanks to a Barnes and-one, followed by a Jaya Perkins (So., G, Lakeville, Minn./Criminal Justice) three-pointer. That brought the score to 50-26 in favor of UMC.

Coming out of the break, the Golden Eagles looked more intent on working the ball inside. Moenkedick took advantage of the opportunity by scoring the first ten points of the second half for UMC.

At the 15:26 mark, the Golden Eagle lead was pushed to 36 after a bucket by Cienna Walker (So., G, Ajax, Ontario/Marketing). This would be the largest lead for UMC until there was one minute left.

After that point, Kenzie Church (Jr., F, Fairmount, N.D./Management) and Christine Thorn (So., G, St. Michael, Minn./Early Childhood Education) carried the UMC offense each putting up 11 points in their second half of work. In all, 13 players scored for the Golden Eagles.

UMC will now look forward to their first NSIC matchup of the year as Wednesday marked the last non-conference game for the 2013-14 slate, as they went 3-1. They play Bemidji State University at Lysaker Gymnasium on Nov. 30 at 2 p.m.. Last year, the Golden Eagles lost both matchups against Bemidji State by a combined margin of 18 points. Bemidji State comes into this game undefeated with wins against Mayville State University, University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, Western State Colorado University, and Finlandia.


 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).