CROOKSTON, Minn. - The University of Minnesota Crookston put up a dominant performance to upend Upper Iowa 89-61 to win the final game of the 2017 calendar year Sun. Dec. 31 in Lysaker Gymnasium. Upper Iowa took the first points, only to be answered with a jumper for Minnesota Crookston, who never looked back leading the entire game with the biggest lead of 27 to end the game.
The Golden Eagles continued their strong shooting from the day of before as they hit 13-of-21 from beyond the arc for 61.9 percent. Minnesota Crookston hit 28 three-pointers in two games on the weekend as they shot a combined 28-of-55 for 50.9 percent from beyond the arc over two games.
Minnesota Crookston rises to 2-9 (2-5 NSIC) with the win to end 2017, while Upper Iowa fell to 2-12 (0-8 NSIC) with Sunday's loss. The Golden Eagles move to 11-5 all-time against the Peacocks. Minnesota Crookston had an identical 2-9 mark last season but they would finish the season with a 8-20 (7-15 NSIC) mark on their way to earning their third-straight appearance in the NSIC/Sanford Health quarterfinals.
The Golden Eagles had five players tally double-figure scoring on the night. Isieoma Odor (R-Jr., F/C, Bloomington, Minn.) led the team with 17 points, including six boards and tying a season-high five blocks. Caitlin Michaelis (Jr., G, Marshfield, Wis.) followed it up with 15 points. Michaelis had a big weekend, averaging 17 points a game.
Micaela Noga (Sr., G, Parkers Prairie, Minn.) also had a stunning night, with 13 points, along with six assists. The Golden Eagles also looked to Paige Weakley (So., G/F, Kearney, Mo.) who had another dominant day notching 12 points from four 3-pointers off the bench, giving her a total of seven beyond-the-arc on the weekend. Weakley has averaged 8.3 points per game in the last four games for Minnesota Crookston.
Emily Gruber (Sr., F, Monticello, Minn.) also helped with 11 points and five boards, while Stephanie McWilliams (So., G, Grand Forks, N.D.) had seven assists and eight points.
Minnesota Crookston went 13-of-21 from beyond the arc for an outstanding 61.9 percent which is their best mark beyond the arc on the 2017-18 season. They went 32-of-59 from the field for 54.2 percent and 12-of-15 from the charity stripe for 80 percent. They had yet another incredible day with ball management with 23 assists and only seven turnovers as ball movement was the key to finding open shots on the day for Minnesota Crookston.
Upper Iowa shot 20-of-56 from the field for 35.7 percent, along with 5-of-23 from three to get 21.7 percent. They shot 16-of-18 though from the free throw line for 88.9 percent.
The Peacocks looked to Natalie Dinius who led the team with 17 points, including five 3-pointers from the bench. They also looked to Bekka Pierson who had 13 points going 5-of-5 from the charity stripe. Blair Klostermann had a great night highlighted by eight rebounds and nine points. Defensively the Peacocks looked to Haley Martin who had rebounds and two blocks.
Upper Iowa would put the first points on the board as Pierson scored on a hook shot, only to be followed up by a jumper from Odor. Then rallied a little bit to make it a 4-4 game. The Golden Eagles then started to come out with a 8-0 point drive ignited by two free-throws by Abby Guidinger (Fr., G/F, Waukesha, Wis.) off of a foul from Savannah Domeyer, and followed up by a pair of three-pointers from Weakley and Noga to make the score 12-4. Upper Iowa wasted no time though, following that up with a 6-0 drive including four-consecutive free-throws to cut the deficit to 12-10. The Golden Eagles kept up their dominance throughout the end of the first quarter as they scored another six-straight points starting with a layup from Odor, followed by two free throws from Michaelis, ending with a jumper from Gruber to go into the second quarter leading 18-10.
The second quarter started with a trey from Michaelis to start a rally of threes from Weakley for her second on the day, another from Michaelis, and one from McWilliams, also featuring a pair of layups from Gruber and Noga to give the Golden Eagles a dominant 34-15 lead. The Peacocks started to get it going with an 8-3 drive cutting the lead down to 14 at 23-37. The Golden Eagles would hold the advantage at 14 with a 48-34 advantage going into the locker room.
Both teams started out well in the second half, with the Peacocks pulling up with a 10-6 drive to cut the lead to 54-44 following an Angelica De Paulo basket. Minnesota Crookston fought off the charge with a 5-0 run guided a Weakley triple to make it 59-44 with 3:41 remaining in the third quarter. The Golden Eagles pushed their lead out to 17 using another Weakley triple. Upper Iowa countered with a 5-0 run ignited by a Martin old-fashioned three-point play to cut the Minnesota Crookston lead to 66-54. Noga came up big at the conclusion of the quarter as she knocked down a three at the buzzer to extend the Golden Eagle lead to 69-54.
Odor started the four quarter by making a layup right away, and following it up with two good free throws. Gruber took over with a trey for her fourth against Upper Iowa, giving Minnesota Crookston a 22-point lead at 76-54. De Paulo ended the run by hitting 1-of-2 from the charity stripe. However, the Golden Eagles left off right from where they were as they added a quick 4-0 run to their repertoire to move the lead to 80-55 with 6:39 left in the game. Klostermann countered with an old-fashioned three-point play to cut the lead to 80-58. Minnesota Crookston responded with another 4-0 run to extend the advantage to 84-58. The Golden Eagles would come away with the 89-61 as the final buzzer sounded.
Minnesota Crookston will return to action in 2018 as they take on University of Minnesota Duluth Fri., Jan. 5 at 6 p.m. in Duluth, Minn. The game will open up a four-game road stand for the Golden Eagles.
