WAYNE, Neb.– The University of Minnesota Crookston women's basketball team pulled off one of the program's biggest upsets in school history as they upended No. 7 Wayne State College (Neb.) 67-58 Friday evening in Wayne, Neb. The Golden Eagles were led by the duo of
Katrina Moenkedick (Jr., F, Perham, Minn./Applied Studies) and
Emily Gruber (Fr., F/C, Monticello, Minn./Undecided), who combined for 50 points and 15 rebounds on the game. Minnesota Crookston improves to 3-5 (2-2 NSIC) with the win, while Wayne State falls to 8-2 (2-2 NSIC).
Gruber led the way for the Golden Eagles, stepping up in a big way in the absence of injured fellow freshman
Isieoma Odor (Fr., F/C, Bloomington, Minn./Health Management). Gruber tallied 26 points and six rebounds. She was 9-of-20 from the field and an impressive 8-of-10 from the charity stripe. Her front court mate Moenkedick notched 24 points and nine rebounds. Moenkedick was 9-of-15 from the field and 6-of-9 from the free throw line.
In addition to the pair,
Alexa Thielman (Jr., G, Buffalo, Minn./Health Science) tallied six points, eight rebounds and four assists.
The Golden Eagles were 21-of-56 from the field for 37.5 percent. Where they came up big was the free throw line, where UMC was 24-of-29 for 82.8 percent. The Golden Eagles continued to struggle beyond the arc, as they were just 1-of-10.
UMC also dominated on the boards against a long Wayne State team, that features three players over 5-11 in their starting line-up. The Golden Eagles out-rebounded the Wildcats 49-28 on the game with 18 offensive rebounds led by four from Moenkedick.
Wayne State was led by 23 points and nine rebounds from Jordan Spencer. However, UMC shut down the rest of a potent line-up, with the next leading scorer being Ashton Yossi with seven points.
The Wildcats were 20-of-54 for 37 percent and 5-of-23 for 21.7 percent. In addition, they were 13-of-21 for 61.9 percent.
After going toe-to-toe for the first 13 minutes of the first half, Wayne State would go on an 11-0 run to take the 29-18 advantage with 4:58 remaining in the first half led by seven points from Spencer.
Wayne State would hold on to a 33-21 advantage going into the break.
The Golden Eagles would start the second half on a 13-5 run to start the second half to get to within four points at 44-40 following a Gruber lay-in with 14:49 remaining.
A Spencer three-point play would get Wayne State back out to a seven-point advantage,
UMC would knot up the game at 50 as Gruber hit a jumper with 8:01 remaining. After going ahead 56-55 on a Gruber free throw, the Golden Eagles would go on a 7-0 run to take a 63-55 lead after a pair of Thielman free throws with 2:08 remaining. The Golden Eagles would continue to hit their free throws to hold on for the 67-58 win.
Minnesota Crookston will take on Augustana College (S.D.) at 4 p.m. at the Elmen Center in Sioux Falls, S.D.
For more information, visit the Golden Eagle Athletics website at www.goldeneaglesports.com.
Follow the Golden Eagles on Facebook at Golden Eagle Sports and on Twitter at @UMCAthletics.
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).
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