The Scoop
The University of Minnesota Crookston women's basketball team will head just 88 miles down U.S. Highway 2 to take on Bemidji State University Sat., Dec. 16 at 2 p.m. at BSU Gymnasium. The Golden Eagles have taken four-straight games over the Beavers. Minnesota Crookston is 6-2 in the last eight meetings against their conference rival.

Previewing the Golden Eagles
Minnesota Crookston comes into the weekend with a 1-7 (1-3 NSIC) mark. The Golden Eagles picked up their first win of the season in a thrilling game against conference preseason favorite Minnesota State University Moorhead. The win over the Dragons was the first in Moorhead for the Golden Eagles since Dec. 10, 2011. 

The Golden Eagles will look to pick up momentum with the way they played against the Dragons last Friday. Minnesota Crookston has been led by the play of Isieoma Odor (R-Jr., F/C, Bloomington, Minn.) in the post. Odor is averaging 14.0 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. Micaela Noga (Sr., G, Parkers Prairie, Minn.) comes into Saturday tallying 12.8 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Noga was a 35.4 percent three-point shooter last year, but has yet to find consistency this season. She is shooting 32.0 percent coming into Saturday. 

Emily Gruber has continued to show improvement during her senior campaign. She is averaging 11.6 points and 7.0 rebounds over the last five games. Caitlin Michaelis has also been key this season for Minnesota Crookston, especially in distributing the ball. Michaelis is tallying 3.2 assists per game over the last five games. In addition, she is tallying 10.7 points per game over the past six contests for the Golden Eagles. Michaelis is shooting 39.3 percent from beyond the arc on the season. Stephanie McWilliams has also green a great facilitator for the offense. She is notching 3.5 assists per game over the past two games.

Off of the bench, Abby Guidinger returned against Northern State after missing four games due to injury. Guidinger notched nine points and five rebounds off of the bench against the 14th-ranked Wolves. 

Minnesota Crookston is averaging 58.6 points per game on the season. The Golden Eagles are shooting 38.9 percent from the field and 24.1 percent from beyond the arc. Minnesota Crookston is notching 32.4 rebounds per game, while allowing their opponents to grab 42.4 rebounds per contest. The Golden Eagles are allowing foes to score 69.1 points per game and to shoot 41.2 percent from the field.

Previewing the Beavers
Bemidji State comes into the weekend with a 2-6 (1-3 NSIC) record. The Beavers have a very young squad on the 2017-18 season. Bemidji State returned two starters from last season, but only four players who appeared in 10.0 minutes per game or more. 

The Beavers are led by freshman guard Brooklyn Bachmann, who is tallying 12.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Bachmann comes into Saturday putting up 12.4 shots per game, she is connecting on 32.3 percent of those shots. In addition to Bachmann, 6-2 center Sierra Senske is averaging 9.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Senske is the daughter of Minnesota Crookston Hall of Famer Steele Senske and the grand-daughter of former Minnesota Crookston men's basketball coach and Hall of Famer Gary Senske. 

Sophomore Sydney Arrington has also had an impact in the post for Bemidji State. Arrington is tallying 9.1 points and 3.4 rebounds per game off of the bench. 
Bemidji State is averaging 57.0 points per game, while giving up 65.4 points to their opponents. The Beavers are shooting 34.8 percent from the field and just 29.6 percent from beyond the arc. Bemidji State is being outrebounded 43.9 to 37.5 on the season. Bemidji State is limiting opponents to 37.0 percent from the field and just 26.7 percent from three-point range.

Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Head Coach: Mike Roysland
Record at UMC: 106-201 Season at UMC: 12th Season

Bemidji State Beavers
Head Coach: Chelsea DeVille
Record at BSU: 16-46 Season at BSU: Third Season

Date: Dec. 16, 2017
Time: 2 p.m. 
Opponent: Bemidji State (Saturday
Site: Bemidji, Minn.
Arena: BSU Gymnasium
Capacity: 2,500
Live Stats: http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statbroadcast.php?t=1&gid=best
Video: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/bsu/
Radio: 1260 KROX AM/105.7 FM
Series against BSU: Minnesota Crookston leads 19-17 in the NCAA Division II Era. BSU leads the overall series 21-19.
Last: Minnesota Crookston took both games last year with an 80-68 win at home and an 83-75 in Bemidji.
Recent Trends: Golden Eagles have won the last five games. Last BSU win came Dec. 19, 2014 in Crookston, 71-69. Minnesota Crookston is 6-2 in the last eight meetings with the Beavers
Officials: Rod Nudell, Adam Salo, Zach Freeman

Projected Starters
So. PG 4 Stephanie McWilliams, 5-8, Grand Forks, N.D. 3.4 PPG, 2.5 APG
Sr. SG 10 Micaela Noga, 5-7, Parkers Prairie, Minn. 12.8 PPG, 4.5 RPG
Jr. 3G 3 Caitlin Michaelis, 5-8, Marshfield, Wis. 9.9 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 2.3 APG
Sr. SF 22 Emily Gruber, 5-11, Monticello, Minn. 9.4 PPG, 7.1 RPG
R-Jr. PF 15 Isieoma Odor, 6-0, Bloomington, Minn. 14.0 PPG, 7.6 RPG
Top Bench Players
Fr. G/F 12 Abby Guidinger , 5-10, Waukesha, Wis. 5.3 PPG, 3.0 RPG
So. G/F 32 Paige Weakley, 5-9, Kearney, Mo. 2.6 PPG, 1.1 RPG
Jr. G/F 21 Lindsey Weber, 5-11, Delafield, Wis. 1.8 PPG, 1.4 RPG

Bemidji State
Projected Starters
Fr. PG 12 Brooklyn Bachmann, 5-9, Minooka, Ill. 12.4 PPG, 5.1 RPG
So. SG 3 Erica Gartner, 5-7, Altamont, Kan. 4.9 PPG, 1.8 RPG
Sr. 3G 24 Mikayla Larson, 5-10, Des Moines, Iowa 2.9 PPG, 3.4 RPG
Sr. SF 22 Sam Adamich, 5-11, Anoka, Minn. 2.3 PPG, 4.6 RPG
Sr. PF 32 Sierra Senske, 6-2, Glyndon, Minn. 9.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG
Top Bench Players
Fr. G 20 Sydney Zerr, 5-6, Shakopee, Minn. 3.3 PPG, 1.6 RPG
Fr. G 15 Maria Appicelli, 5-8, Winona, Minn. 5.3 PPG, 3.1 RPG
Jr. F 34 Emma Rappe, 6-0, Fox Lake, Ill. 3.8 PPG, 2.8 RPG
So. F/C 55 Sydney Arrington, 6-0, Sioux Falls, S.D. 9.1 PPG, 3.4 RPG


#5StoryLines
1. Can the Golden Eagles shoot the ball more consistently?

2. Will the Golden Eagles get the post defense that they had against MSU Moorhead?

3. Will Minnesota Crookston get solid contributions off of the bench like they did from Abby Guidinger and Paige Weakley against Northern State? 

4. Can Minnesota Crookston put a full 40 minutes together?

5. Can the Golden Eagles force the young roster of Bemidji State into mistakes?

#GetItToThePost
Minnesota Crookston redshirt junior forward Isieoma Odor has had a great 
start to her junior season. Odor is averaging  14.0 points and 7.6 rebounds per game on the season. She was crucial in the win over MSU Moorhead with 21 points on 8-of-14 from the field for 57.1 percent. Odor has tallied double-figure scoring in 7-of-8 games on the season. She has picked up three double-doubles on the 2017-18 season.

#Find22
Emily Gruber has been demanding the ball more offensively over the past five games. The senior forward has had four double-figure scoring performances in the past five games. She is averaging 11.6 points and 7.0 rebounds per game in the last five for the Golden Eagles. Gruber notched a near double-double of 12 points and nine rebounds against MSU Moorhead and was crucial defensively with three blocks. Gruber will be a crucial cog for Minnesota Crookston this weekend against Bemidji State.

#FindingHerShot
Minnesota Crookston senior Micaela Noga has been a crucial part of the team's offense this season with 12.8 points per game. She is beginning to rediscover her shot after struggling early on in the season. Noga was 2-of-5 for 40.0 percent from beyond the arc in the win over MSU Moorhead with 18 points and five boards. Noga will look to continue to hit on all cylinders from beyond the arc as the Golden Eagles face Bemidji State this weekend. 

#DearAbby
Freshman Abby Guidinger is returning to the team after missing foru games due to injury. The Waukesha, Wis., native, was crucial against Northern State on Saturday. She had nine points and five boards against the Wolves. Guidinger is tallying 5.3 points and 3.0 rebounds per game.