Box Score Post-Game Interviews with Mike Roysland, Ashley Martell and Christine Thorn

MARSHALL, Minn. - The University of Minnesota Crookston used strong second half shooting to win their first road game this season 76-69 over Southwest Minnesota State University. The Golden Eagles hit seven second-half three-pointers to finish with 11 treys, the fifth time this season UMC has hit 10 or more three-pointers in a game. The Golden Eagles improve to 8-12 (5-11 NSIC) with Saturday's win at the R/A Facility in Marshall, Minn. The Mustangs drop to 4-16 (2-14 NSIC) with the loss.

The Golden Eagles had a balanced effort Saturday evening as the whole team contributed to the effort at crucial points of the game. Four players would finish with double-figure points for Minnesota Crookston. Alexa Thielman (So., G, Buffalo, Minn./Health Science) led the scoring with 18 points and had six rebounds and foru assists. Thielman was 7-of-18 from the field and 4-of-9 from beyond the arc. Christine Thorn (So., G, St. Michael, Minn./Elementary Education) added 16 points on 3-of-3 shooting, including going 2-of-2 from beyond the arc and 8-of-10 from the charity stripe.

Ashley Martell (Jr., G, Somerset, Wis./Health Science) added 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting, including going 4-of-7 from three-point range. Martell ignited the second-half effort for the Golden Eagles with three treys in the first three minutes. Katrina Moenkedick (So., F, Perham, Minn./Early Childhood Education) added 13 points and five rebounds, and also had three steals. The Golden Eagles were 24-of-57 for 42.1 percent from the field and 11-of-23 for 47.8 percent from three-point range.

The Mustangs were led by 16 points off the bench from Alison Nagel on 7-of-10 shooting. Bree Holleman chipped in 14 points, while Rebekah Rolling had 11. Southwest Minnesota State was 29-of-59 for 49.2 percent from the field and 3-of-9 for 33.3 percent from three-point range.

SMSU got out to a 4-0 lead early on with a Rolling lay-in and a Degler jumper but the Golden Eagles would finally get on the board at the 17:49 mark as McRoberts made a lay-up. Minnesota Crookston would take their first lead in the game as Moenkedick got a lay-up at the 15:30 mark to make it 7-6 over the Mustangs.

For the remaining 15 minutes of the first half the two teams would trade baskets in a back-and-forth affair with neither team taking a sizeable advantage. The two NSIC counterparts had 14 lead changes in the first half alone. The Mustangs would go into the locker room with the 33-31 advantage as Holleman hit a jumper in the lane as the horn sounded.

The Golden Eagles were led by seven points apiece from Thielman and Thorn. Thielman was 3-of-8 from the field, while Thorn was 2-of-2 from the field and 2-of-4 from the charity stripe. Both players each hit a trey in the opening period. Minnesota Crookston was 10-of-30 for 33.3 percent in the first half and 4-of-12 for 33.3 percent from beyond the arc. UMC struggled from the charity stripe, going just 7-of-12 for 58.3 percent.

Minnesota Crookston limited turnovers in the first half, with just five.

SMSU was paced by nine points off the bench from Nagel. She also had five boards for the Mustangs. Rolling chipped in seven points. SMSU was 14-of-29 for 48.3 percent from the field and 2-of-5 for 40 percent from behind the three-point line. The Mustangs won the war on the glass in the first half 21-17.

UMC would knot things back up at 37-37 early in the second half as Martell drained a three with 18:20 left in the game. However, SMSU would quickly quick back up by four (41-37) as Ellen Degler made a lay-up at the 17:29 mark. Another three from Martell would get UMC right back into the thick of things with 16:50 remaining in the game to make it 41-40. Martell would get going early on in the first half as she had three treys in the first three minutes.

The Mustangs would get the lead back out to 44-40 as Degler hit a shot from the charity stripe with 15:32 left in the game. The Golden Eagles would tie things as Moenkedick got to the bucket to make it 46-46 with 14:00 left in the game. UMC would get their first lead of the half as Thorn hit a pair of free throws to make it 48-46 with 12:51 left in the game.

From there the Golden Eagles would be able to take control of the game for the next several minutes with their three-point shot and free throw shooting. UMC would get up by six points as Thorn hit from deep and Thielman followed suit to give the Golden Eagles a 57-51 lead over Southwest Minnesota State with 10:41 left in the game. Minnesota Crookston would extend their lead to eight at 63-55 as Thielman came away with the steal and got a fastbreak lay-in with 8:40 left in the game. The Golden Eagles would extend it even further to 10 as Moenkedick hit a pair of free throws to make it 67-57 with 6:40 remaining in the game.

The Mustangs would make a run at the Golden Eagles as Nagel got a lay-up ad then Holleman hit a jumper to cut it to a five-point deficit (69-64) with 4:06 remaining. Another Holleman jumper would get the Mustangs to within three (69-66) with 3:18 left in the game. However, UMC would stave off SMSU as Cienna Walker (Jr., G, Ajax, Ontario/Marketing) got a cluth lay-up and Moenkedick hit a free throw to put UMC up 72-66 with 2:19 left in the game.

After a miss for SMSU on their end, Moenkedick would hit a huge jumper in the lane to give the Golden Eagles the 74-66 lead and all but ice the game.  Minnesota Crookston would hit their free throws down the stretch to come away with the 76-69 win over the Mustangs.

The Golden Eagles will return home for four games now as they face University of Mary Feb. 7 and Minot State University Feb. 8.

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).