WAYNE, Neb. – Wayne State College scored 29 points in the fourth quarter to upend the University of Minnesota Crookston women's basketball team 88-83 Sun., Dec. 16 at Rice Auditorium in Wayne, Neb. The Golden Eagles led for the first three quarters, but they allowed 27 points off turnovers and 13 second-chance points as the Wildcats picked up the win.
Minnesota Crookston falls to 7-4 (2-3 NSIC) with Sunday's loss to the Wildcats. Wayne State moved to 7-3 (3-2 NSIC) with the victory. The Golden Eagles continue on their best start since the 2015-16 season despite the loss Sunday.
The Golden Eagles had four players score in double-figures.
Isieoma Odor (R-Sr., F/C, Bloomington, Minn.) secured a season high with 29 points on 13-of-22 from the field. Odor needs just six points to surpass Brittani Wiese for sixth all-time in career points.
Caitlin Michaelis (Sr., G, Marshfield, Wis.) added 15 points and five boards, including going 5-of-10 from beyond the arc.
Paige Weakley (Jr., G/F, Kearney, Mo.) posted a season-high with 14 points, including going 4-of-8 from behind the three-point line. In addition,
Bren Fox (Fr., F/C, Norwood Young America, Minn.) continues to come into her own as she had a career-high and her first double-double of her career with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Kylie Post (Fr., G, Corcoran, Minn.) added nine points and six boards.
The Golden Eagles were 32-of-69 from the field for 46.4 percent. Minnesota Crookston shot the ball well from beyond the arc as they went 12-of-28 for 42.9 percent. The Golden Eagles were an unblemished 7-of-7 from the charity stripe.
Minnesota Crookston had 18 assists to 15 turnovers on the day. They narrowly out-rebounded the Wildcats 39-37.
Wayne State had five players tally double-figure scoring. Kylie Hammer paced the Wildcats off the bench with 19 points. Erin Norling added 18 points. Andrea Larson completed a double-double with 12 points and 13 boards. Halley Busse and Brittany Bongartz each added 12 points. Maggie Lowe chipped in nine points.
Wayne State was 32-of-72 from the field for 44.4 percent. The Wildcats shot 10-of-27 from beyond the arc for 37.0 percent. Wayne State was 14-of-18 from the foul line for 77.8 percent. The Wildcats had 27 points off the 15 turnovers for Minnesota Crookston. Wayne State had 19 assists to 10 turnovers on the game.
Michaelis opened the game up with a three on the wing to give the Golden Eagles and early 3-0 advantage. The Golden Eagles widened their lead out to 12-4 as Michaelis nailed another triple, and Weakley found Odor in the post for a lay-up. Minnesota Crookston's senior captains Michaelis and Odor each opened up the game with six points apiece.
The Wildcats were able to cut the deficit to 14-9 as Hammer hit an old-fashioned three-point play, followed up by an Amelia Ivester jumper. Another Ivester basket helped slice the gap down to 14-11. Minnesota Crookston responded as
Ashley Freund (So., G/F, Jordan, Minn.) sank a trey from the wing to extend the lead to 17-11. Fox hit a pair of free throws and a jumper as the Golden Eagles widened the gap to 21-11 with two minutes remaining in the first quarter.
Wayne State was able to come back as they used six points from Hammer to trim the lead down to 21-17. Michaelis halted the run with a trey to extend the lead to 24-17. However, Larson sank a triple as time expired in the quarter to cut the deficit to 24-20 going into the second stanza.
Michaelis opened the second quarter with her fourth three-pointer of the game as the Golden Eagles took a 27-20 lead. Weakley followed suit with a trey of her own to move the advantage out to 30-20 with 7:30 remaining in the second frame.
Wayne State was able to cut the lead to 34-29 with three minutes remaining in the second stanza as Ivester hit a basket, followed by a Lowe trey. The Wildcats utilized another Lowe three-pointer to slice the advantage down to 34-32. Fox stopped the 8-0 run for the Wildcats with a jumper as she moved the lead out to 36-32. After a key defensive stop, Fox found Post on the wing for just her second triple of the season to push the lead out to 39-32. Busse hit a three-pointer as time expired in the half as the Wildcats trimmed the deficit to 39-35 going into the break.
Minnesota Crookston shot 14-of-36 from the field for 38.9 percent. The Golden Eagles were 7-of-17 for 41.2 percent from beyond the arc, and a perfect 4-of-4 from the foul line.
The Golden Eagles were led by Michaelis with 12 points on 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. Fox added six points and 11 rebounds. Minnesota Crookston ran a very efficient offense as they had 10 assists to just five turnovers.
Wayne State was 14-of-36 for 38.9 percent from the field. The Wildcats were just 5-of-15 from beyond the arc for 33.3 percent.
The Golden Eagles controlled the boards by the tune of 24-19.
Wayne State was guided by nine points off the bench from Hammer. Busse added seven points, while Ivester and Lowe each had six points apiece.
The Golden Eagles pushed the lead out to 46-39 following a Weakley three-pointer. The Wildcats were able to cut the deficit to 48-43 with a basket from Norling. Wayne State utilized a three-point play from Bongartz and a Norling basket off a steal to slice the deficit down to 50-48.
Odor came up with an opportune bucket on the next possession to push Minnesota Crookston back out to a 52-48 advantage. Weakley nailed her third three-pointer of the second half, following a defensive stop for the Golden Eagles, as Minnesota Crookston pushed out to a 55-48 lead. Norling trimmed the lead down to 55-50 with 4:04 remaining in the third quarter. The Golden Eagles countered in a big way with three-pointers from Weakley and
Kylea Praska (Fr., G, Thief River Falls, Minn.) to extend the lead out to 61-50 with 3:21 remaining in the stanza.
Wayne State was able to cut the deficit to 63-55 on a Busse triple. After a defensive stop for the Wildcats, Larson hit a three-pointer as Wayne State trimmed the lead to 63-58. Minnesota Crookston's senior leader Odor came up in a big spot as she drove the lane and got the bucket and the foul. Odor completed the old-fashioned three-point play to extend the lead out to 66-58 with 1:03 left in the stanza. The Golden Eagles went into the quarter break with a 66-59 lead.
Wayne State cut the lead to 66-62 with a Norling bucket early in the fourth quarter. Post responded with a basket for the Golden Eagles to extend the lead out to 68-62. However, Hammer countered with a trey for the Wildcats to trim the deficit to 68-65. After a defensive stop for Wayne State, Norling put in a hoop to pull the Wildcats within one at 68-67.
Wayne State took over the lead 70-68 as Hammer hit a triple following an Odor turnover. The Golden Eagles were able to respond out of a timeout as Odor picked up a pair of free throws to knot the game up at 70-70 with 7:13 remaining in the game.
The Golden Eagles and Wildcats traded buckets for the next several minutes until Lowe hit a trey to push Wayne State out to an 82-78 lead with 3:48 left in the game.
Michaelis responded in a key moment out of a timeout as she knocked down a three-pointer to pull Minnesota Crookston within 82-81. After a couple of defensive stops, Odor put in a jumper to put the Golden Eagles ahead 83-82 over the Wildcats with 1:57 left in the game.
Larson put in a pair from the charity stripe to put Wayne State up 84-83 with 1:36 left in the game. A pair of free throws from Hammer extended the lead to 86-83 for the Wildcats with 1:01 remaining in the tilt.
A travel for Bongaartz gave the Golden Eagles a final chance with 15.2 seconds left on the clock. Unfortunately, Minnesota Crookston turned the ball over as Wayne State held on for the 88-83 win.
The Golden Eagles return out of the Holiday break to face Bemidji State University Sun., Dec. 30 at 2 p.m. at Lysaker Gymnasium. The game opens up a three-game home stand for Minnesota Crookston.