MARSHALL, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston women's basketball team had four players score in double figures as they dominated Southwest Minnesota State University 85-65 Saturday at the R/A Facility in Marshall, Minn. The Golden Eagles were led by Alexa Thielman (Sr., G, Buffalo, Minn./Health Sciences), who had 18 points on 6-of-9 from the field and 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. Isieoma Odor (R-Fr., F/C, Bloomington, Minn./Health Management) completed a big weekend with 17 points on 8-of-11 from the field. Odor averaged 17.5 points on the weekend.

Minnesota Crookston moves to 15-7 (12-6 NSIC) with the win Saturday. Southwest Minnesota State falls to 5-19 (3-10 NSIC) with the loss. The Golden Eagles remain in a tie for third in the NSIC North, but they are just one game back of Minnesota State University Moorhead and Northern State University in first. With the win Saturday, they also secured home court for the first round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament at Lysaker Gymnasium. It will mark just the second home playoff game for UMC in any sport.
In addition to Thielman and Odor, Katrina Nordick (Sr., F, Perham, Minn./Applied Studies) was a great facilitator, finishing with 16 points, nine rebounds and seven assists on the game. Alison Hughes (Fr., G, Janesville, Wis./Early Childhood Education) added 13 points. Emily Gruber (So., F/C, Monticello, Minn./Communication) finished with nine points and 10 rebounds.

The Golden Eagles were 32-of-62 for 51.6 percent from the field and 12-of-28 for 42.9 percent from beyond the arc. They went 9-of-12 for 75 percent from the charity stripe.

Southwest Minnesota State was led by 16 points from Hope Bonlander, while Lauren Hedlund finished with a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds. The Mustangs were 22-of-6 for 36.7 percent from the field and 3-of-15 for 20 percent from beyond the arc.
The Golden Eagles got out to an 8-4 lead over Southwest Minnesota State after a Gruber three, but the Mustangs would respond with free throws from Lauren Hedlund and a bucket from Bonlander. The Golden Eagles would extend their lead to 11-8 with a Thielman three. The Mustangs would get within one on a Rosch lay-up to make it 14-13, but Thielman would again respond with a three to put the Golden Eagles up 17-13 which would begin a 14-0 run, including eight points from Odor and a three from Gruber to make it 28-13 at the end of the first quarter.

The Mustangs would open the second quarter with a three from Rosch to end the UMC run and cut the deficit to 28-16. The Mustangs would cut the lead to 31-23 after SMSU went 3-of-4 from the charity stripe. However, the Golden Eagles would again respond with back-to-back three-pointers from Nordick and Thielman to get their lead out to 37-23 with 5:30 left in the second quarter. The run would build to 8-0 as Odor was found breaking to the lane to make it 39-23. The run would be halted as Taylor Holicky found the hoop to cut the deficit to 39-25. The Golden Eagles would respond and find themselves up 48-29 after a Thielman lay-up with two minutes left in the second quarter. The Golden Eagles would go into the break ahead 51-33.

UMC was 10-of-14 from beyond the arc in the first half for 71.4 percent. UMC was 20-of-31 for 64.5 percent as a team in the first half. The Golden Eagles were led by 14 points from Thielman, who was 4-of-4 from beyond the arc. Odor added 11 points on 5-of-6 from the field, while Hughes had eight points. Nordick added five assists, while Micaela Noga (So., G, Parkers Prairie, Minn./Health Sciences) had four helpers.

Southwest Minnesota State was paced by eight points from Bonlander, while Hedlund added seven points and five boards. SMSU was 10-of-30 for 33.3 percent from the field and just 1-of-6 for 16.7 percent from beyond the arc.

The Golden Eagles would extend their lead to 57-34 early in the third quarter as Odor put in her 13^th point of the game, followed by a bucket from Hughes. The Mustangs would fight back and get the lead down to 59-41 on a Sarah Cheadle three-pointer. The Golden Eagles would get their lead back out to 65-43 on a Thielman baseline jumper with three minutes left in the third quarter. The Golden Eagles would be able to extend their lead to 70-47 on a pair of Gruber free throws.

The Golden Eagles would open the fourth quarter with their 11^th three of the game as Noga nailed the shot to make it 73-47. A 5-0 run culminated in a Hedlund fast-break lay-up would cut the deficit to 73-52 for the Mustangs, but Nordick would respond with a bucket to make it 75-52. A Hughes three, the 12^th of the game for the Golden Eagles, would extend UMC's lead out to 81-55 with six minutes left in the game. Noga would extend the lead to 85-57 with the drive and lay-up with 4:20 remaining in the game. The Golden Eagles would hang on for the 85-65 win over the Mustangs.

UMC will return to Lysaker Gymnasium for their final regular-season contests of the season at home as they take on Minot State University and University of Mary. The games will mark senior day for Nordick, Thielman and Megan Taylor (Sr., F/C, Estelline, S.D./Animal Science)

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

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The University of Minnesota Crookston is a NCAA Division II university located in the Red River Valley of Northwest Minnesota. UMC sponsors 11 intercollegiate athletic teams with membership in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate conference (NSIC) and the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA). The NSIC is a 16-team conference with schools situated in Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska.

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