CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston women's basketball team struggled late in all four quarters as they fell 65-53 to University of Minnesota Duluth Fri., Jan. 6 at Lysaker Gymnasium. The Bulldogs out-scored the Golden Eagles 35-19 in the final five minutes of each quarter as they took down UMC in their 2017 opener in Crookston, Minn.

The Golden Eagles played strong defense on the day, limiting the Bulldogs to 65 points and 42.2 percent from the field. In addition, UMC played small throughout the entire game with generally just one player over 5-11 on the floor at a time. The Golden Eagles crashed the boards well to out-rebound the Bulldogs 38-36. UMC showed vast improvement on the glass against UMD compared to their earlier performance against the Bulldogs in Duluth, Minn. UMD out-rebounded UMC 40-31 in their first meeting, including 18 offensive rebounds. They also shot 47.2 percent from the field in the first meeting this season and tallied 84 points. UMC improved in almost all facets.

Minnesota Crookston was led by Isieoma Odor (R-So., F/C, Bloomington, Minn.), who came off the bench for the first time this season. Odor had 19 points and nine boards on 7-of-10 from the field. Alison Hughes (So., G, Janesville, Wis.) tallied 17 points and seven boards on 6-of-16 from the field and 5-of-13 from beyond the arc.

Stephanie McWilliams (Fr., G, Grand Forks, N.D.) started her first career game with the Golden Eagles. She added energy for UMC as she finished with five points on 5-of-6 from the charity stripe. She chipped in four assists. Micaela Noga (So., G, Parkers Prairie, Minn.) was crucial on the boards as she finished with seven rebounds.

The Golden Eagles shot 17-of-52 from the field for 32.7 percent. They struggled from beyond the arc as they were just 5-of-23 for 21.7 percent on the evening. UMC did perform well on the line as they were 14-of-17 for 82.4 percent.

Minnesota Duluth took advantage of the defensive mismatches inside as they utilized their size. Their two post players finished with a combined 36 points. 

Taylor Meyer had 21 points on 10-of-22 from the field. Allyson Harris chipped in 15 points on 6-of-9 from the field. Josie Buckley would come off the bench for 11 points and seven boards.

UMC had a strong defensive performance on UMD's top scorer Sammy Kozlowski. They limited the guard to just seven points on 2-of-8 from the field. She made an impact in other aspects of the game as she had eight rebounds, four assists and three steals.

The Bulldogs were 27-of-64 from the field for 42.2 percent from the field. They shot 5-of-16 for 31.3 percent from the charity stripe.

Minnesota Crookston had an 11-9 advantage on the Bulldogs with 5:14 left in the first quarter after a clutch Hughes three. However, UMD would end the half on a 10-0 run led by six points from Buckley as they led 19-11 going into the quarter break.

UMD would go up 23-12 early in the second quarter on a Harris bucket. UMC would cut the deficit to seven points (25-18) on an Odor free throw. The Golden Eagles would get the Bulldogs lead down to four points on an Odor bucket with 1:03 left. They would close the half with a Katie Stark jumper to go up 34-26 going into the break.

UMD would extend their advantage to 41-29 with 7:10 left in the third quarter on a Harris bucket. The Golden Eagles would cut the lead to 41-36 on an Odor bucket. They would cut into the lead even further, getting it down to 46-43 on a Kitri Zezza (Fr., G, Albertville, Minn.) basket.

The Bulldogs would go into the quarter break up 51-43 after a Kozlowski trey.

UMC would not be able to get much closer in the fourth quarter and the Bulldogs would able to extend their lead to 65-53 by the end of the game to pick up the win.

Minnesota Crookston will look to get back on track on Sat., Jan. 7 at 4 p.m. against St. Cloud State University.