CROOKSTON, Minn. - The University of Minnesota Crookston women's basketball team will host Minnesota State University, Mankato Feb. 24 at 6 p.m. in the NSIC/Sanford Health Women's Basketball Tournament First Round. The game will mark the second-consecutive year UMC has hosted a home playoff game.

Minnesota Crookston comes in with a 17-9 (14-8 NSIC) mark after the regular-season, while Minnesota State comes in with a 9-17 (8-14 NSIC) record. The Golden Eagles are the No. 3 seed in the NSIC North, while Minnesota State is the No. 6 seed in the NSIC South. The winner of Wednesday's game will advance to play to the winner of University of Sioux Falls and University of Minnesota Duluth.

Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Head Coach: Mike Roysland
Record at UMC: 96-172 Season at UMC: 10th Season

Minnesota State Mavericks
Head Coach: Emilee Thiesse
Record at MSU: 79-39 Season at MSU: Fourth Season

Feb. 24 • Crookston, Minn. • Lysaker Gymnasium • 6 p.m.
Minnesota State at Minnesota Crookston
Video: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/crk/#liveEventsTab
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/umcrookston/wbball/
Radio: 1260 KROX AM/105.7 FM  (Chris Fee, Play by Play), feed sent to KKCQ 96.7 FM.

Feb. 28 • Sioux Falls, S.D. • Sanford Pentagon • 2:30 p.m.
Minnesota Crookston/Minnesota State vs. Sioux Falls/Minnesota Duluth
Video: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/nsic/
Live Stats: http://sidearmstats.com/nsic/bball/
Radio: 1260 KROX AM/105.7 FM (Chris Fee, Play by Play)



#5StoryLines
1. Can the Golden Eagles advance to the Sanford Pentagon for the second-straight season?

2. Can Katrina Nordick be a major factor for the Golden Eagles?

3. Can Alexa Thielman come through big like she did in last season's home playoff game?

4. What other players will step up big for the Golden Eagles?

5. Can UMC continue a historic season for the Golden Eagle women's basketball program?

#Tidbits

- The UMC women's basketball team comes into the first round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament with a 17-9 (14-8 NSIC). The Golden Eagles finished the regular-season third in the NSIC North standings. The Golden Eagles are looking to win their second-consecutive home playoff game. Minnesota Crookston defeated Concordia University, St. Paul 63-62 in their playoff game last season.

- Minnesota Crookston has been led on the season by their pair of seniors, who were also returning All-NSIC First Team picks. Katrina Nordick leads the team with 16.8 points per game and 6.9 rebounds per game. The senior recently became the third player in school history to surpass 1,500 or more points, joining Jamie Zelinsky and Karna Plaine. In addition, last weekend she surpassed Laurie Tyson as the all-time leader in rebounds. In addition to Nordick, fellow senior Alexa Thielman is averaging 15.7 points per game. She has been one of the nation's top three-point shooters, hitting at a 44.4 percent clip. Thielman is UMC's all-time leading three-point shooter. The Golden Eagles are averaging 73.4 points per game as a team and giving up 66.1 points per game. UMC is shooting 40 percent from beyond the arc, 42.9 percent from the field and 75.5 percent from the charity stripe.

- The winner of Wednesday's game will advance to play the winner of University of Sioux Falls and University of Minnesota Duluth on Sun., Feb. 28 at 2:30 p.m. at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.

- Two of UMC's seniors Alexa Thielman and Katrina Nordick continue to break milestones as they are currently No. 4 and No. 3 on the all-time scoring charts at UMC. Thielman recently set the three-point mark, surpassing Amy Kuznia. Nordick recently surpassed Laurie Tyson as the all-time leading rebounder. Nordick is third all-time in scoring and needs 130 points to move past Karna Plaine in second, while Thielman is just behind Nordick. Nordick recently joined Jamie Zelinsky and Karna Plaine as the only three players to score 1,500 or more points.

All-Time Scoring List
1. Jamie Zelinsky 1,724
2. Karna Plaine 1,642
3. Katrina (Moenkedick) Nordick 1,513
4. Alexa Thielman 1,420
5. Kari Score, 1,243
6. Brittani Wiese 1,204
7. Steph Mayclin 1,089
8. Cathy Behr 1,060
9. Jess Forsline 1,040
10. Bri Zabel 1,013

- UMC seniors Katrina Nordick, Megan Taylor and Alexa Thielman have been important pieces in helping the Golden Eagles turn things around from just eight wins during their freshman season to at least 17 during the 2015-16 campaign. The three players have helped the Golden Eagle to consecutive home playoff games and consecutive Top-4 finishes in the NSIC North.

- The Golden Eagles defeated Minnesota State 91-90 in their regular-season meeting. The win was a thrilling one as Alison Hughes found Isieoma Odor with less than a second left in overtime to upend the Mavericks in Mankato. Katrina Nordick led the Golden Eagles with a career-hgih 32 points on the day, while Alexa Thielman added 24. Minnesota State was led by 29 points from Claire Ziegler.
 
- Minnesota State is coming off a regular-season in which they finished with a 9-17 mark overall and an 8-14 record in conference play. A young Minnesota State squad, the Mavericks were led on the season by guard Britney Scherber, who is averaging 14.2 points per game. In addition to Scherber, forward Claire Ziegler comes in averaging 13.7 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. The Mavericks are averaging 69.1 points per game, while giving up 74.0 points per game. Minnesota State is shooting 32.3 percent from beyond the arc, 40 percent from the field and 72 percent from the charity stripe.