CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston's veteran leaders powered the Golden Eagles to a 77-57 exhibition win over Concordia College (Minn.) Thurs., Nov. 2 at Lysaker Gymnasium in Crookston, Minn.

Minnesota Crookston's three 4-year players totaled 54 of a total 77 points in the exhibition victory. Isieoma Odor (R-Jr., F/C, Bloomington, Minn.) led the Golden Eagles with 22 points on 9-of-13 from the field. Micaela Noga (Sr., G, Parkers Prairie, Minn.) added 19 points, including 5-of-11 from beyond the arc. Emily Gruber (Sr., F, Monticello, Minn.) added 13 points.

The Golden Eagles start the season 1-0 in exhibition play. Minnesota Crookston will take on Division ( foe University of North Dakota Wed., Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. in Grand Forks, N.D. Concordia College starts the season with an 0-1 record in exhibition play.

Minnesota Crookston was 30-of-60 from the field for 50 percent. The Golden Eagles shot 7-of-23 from beyond the arc for 30.4 percent and 10-of-16 from the charity stripe for 62.5 points.

 Noga ignited the Golden Eagles out of the gate with 12 points in the first quarter. Odor notched 20 points in the final three quarters of the contest. Caitlin Michaelis (Jr., G, Marshfield, Wis.) added five points and four assists.

Kasey Harper (Fr., G, Mesa, Ariz.) was a sparkplug off of the bench as she brought energy and speed to the line-up. Harper had five points and three assists, but tried to do too much late as she finished with five turnovers. Abby Guidinger (Fr., G/F, Waukesha, Wis.) added five points, while Amber Schoenicke (So., F/C, Marshall, Minn.) was strong on the glass with eight rebounds. She added four points to Minnesota Crookston's tally.

Concordia shot 19-of-53 from the field for 35.8 percent. They were just 3-of-18 from three-point range for 16.7 percent. They made up for it at the free-throw line, where they finished 16-of-20 for 80 percent. The Cobbers looked to Grace Wolhowe with 13 points and four assists. Aleya Parker added 10 points off of the bench. Lincoln Haiby and Jamie Mentzer each added six points.

The Golden Eagles jumped of the gate on a 13-0 run led by a trio of three-pointers from Noga. The Cobbers finally got on the board with 1:58 left in the first quarter as Wolhowe knocked down a pair at the charity stripe. Concordia cut the advantage to 13-6 after a fast-break lay-up from Parker. The Golden Eagles closed out the quarter on a 5-0 run after a pair of free throws from Odor and a triple from Noga. Minnesota Crookston led 18-6 at the quarter break.

Minnesota Crookston pushed their lead out to 22-9 early in the second quarter following a bucket from Gruber. Concordia would get the deficit down to nine at 22-13 after a pair of free throws from Haiby with 7:22 left in the half. The Cobbers continued to test the Golden Eagles in the quarter as they cut the lead to 24-17 with a fast-break lay-up from Parker with 5:42 left in the frame. Minnesota Crookston countered with a 4-0 run after a three from Harper and a free throw from Gruber as they went ahead 30-17. The Golden Eagles held the advantage as they went into the break with a 35-22 advantage.

The Golden Eagles shot 12-of-28 for 42.9 percent in the first half. They were 5-of-15 from beyond the arc. Noga paced the team with 12 points on 4-of-11 from the field and 4-of-9 from beyond the arc. Odor added 11 points on 4-of-7 from the field. Gruber added seven points.

The Cobbers shot 8-of-21 for 38.1 percent from the field. They were 6-of-7 from the free throw line in the opening half. Concordia looked to seven points from Wolhowe and four from Parker.

The Cobbers started the second half with a triple from Cassidy Rahman to cut the lead to 35-25. The Golden Eagles countered with a 5-0 run with all the points coming from senior leader Noga. Concordia responded with a 5-0 run of their own to get the deficit down to 40-30 after a jumper from Wolhowe. Minnesota Crookston responded with a 10-2 run paced by six points from Odor as they led 52-34 with 2:04 remaining in the third quarter. Haiby stopped the run with a lay-up. However, Minnesota Crookston held on to the reins as they used a 6-0 run to go up 56-34 after a pair of Gruber free throws. The Golden Eagles closed out the third quarter with a 59-38 advantage over the Cobbers.

Minnesota Crookston kept their foot on the pedal as they opened the fourth quarter on a 13-2 run paced by five points from Guidinger. The Golden Eagles lead would sit at 72-40 after the run. The Cobbers countered with a 14-0 run of their own to cut the lead to 72-54 with 49 seconds left. Minnesota Crookston used a three from Michaelis and a put-back from Schoenicke to fend Concordia off late as they took the 77-57 win in exhibition play.

Minnesota Crookston will return to play Wed., Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. with an exhibition against University of North at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center in Grand Forks, N.D.