Golden Eagles and Cougars Get Set for Round Two In NSIC/Sanford Health Quarterfinals


• The Minnesota Crookston women's basketball team enters the first round of the NSIC/Sanford Health conference tournament in the midst of a ten game losing streak. The Golden Eagles will play the Cougars of the University of Sioux Falls Wednesday night in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Cougars defeated the Golden Eagles The Golden Eagles come in averaging 66.7 points per game, while allowing 71.6 points per tilt. Minnesota Crookston is shooting 40.7 percent from the field, 33.0 percent from beyond the arc, and 75.0 percent from the stripe. These two teams are very familiar with each other. These two teams met on Feb. 2, 2019, where the Cougars came away with a 33 point victory. Freshman guard Kylie Post was one of the bright spots that Saturday for the Golden Eagles, shooting 7-10 from the field for 18 points. 

•  REMATCH. This season, the second time around against opponents have been much kinder than the first time around for the Golden Eagles, as the games have been much closer in the second meeting. Head coach Mike Roysland hopes that trend continues with the Cougars this weekend as the Golden Eagles look to upend the number two seed in the South division.


• YEAH, SHES A GUARD. You would think with a last name of Post, freshman guard Kylie Post would be a perfect fit for, well down in the post. The 5-7 guard from Corcoran, Minn., is a point guard for the Golden Eagles and has had a solid freshman season for the Golden Eagles. Post is averaging 8.6 PPG on the season, while bringing down 3.3 RPG. The lefty has also been solid as of late for Minnesota Crookston from behind the three-point line, making two in last Saturday's loss to St. Cloud State. Post has the most steals as well for Minnesota Crookston, with 46 on the season. Post will look to make an impact in the postseason for the Golden Eagles.

• PRASK (A)TTACK. Thief River Falls native Kylea Praska has done some nice things this season for the Golden Eagles in her freshman year. Praska is averaging 11.6 MPG on the season and has 19 field goal makes, 16 of which have come from behind the three-point line. Praska will look to continue to shoot the ball well from deep for the Golden Eagles.

• WHATS IN THE WATER IN OAK CREEK. Paige Cornale, the freshman guard from Oak Creek, Wis., has seen her minutes rise in recent games. With her numbers increasing, Cornale's play has increased as well. Cornale is averaging 4.9 PPG on the season and has started the last nine games for her team. Cornale has surged as of late and she will look to continue that run this week against Sioux Falls

• SHE ISNT WEAK(LEY) FROM 3. Junior guard Paige Weakley has found her three-point shot in recent games. In her last twelve games in the maroon and gold, Weakley has made 27 threes, including a career-high seven threes in an early January loss to Winona State. Weakley has 42 three point makes on the season and is shooting 42 percent from behind the arc. 

• ITS ISY FOR HER.  Isieoma Odor, the reshirt senior from Bloomington, Minn., has had quite a career for the Golden Eagles. Her final season might be her best one for Minnesota Crookston. The former Bloomington Kennedy Eagle is averaging 17.9 PPG and tearing down 8.2 RPG. Odor scored a game-high 23 points in the loss to St. Cloud State and even made just her third three point shot on the season. Playoffs are all about getting your best players involved early and often and let them do the rest. The Golden Eagles will hopefully rely on Odor to make some plays in the postseason.

• FOLLOW THE LEADER.  Caitlin Michaelis and Isieoma Odor have seen a lot in their times as Golden Eagles. Michaelis has been in the maroon and gold for four years, while Odor has been in Crookston for five. One thing has been common with both of them, success. The Golden Eagles went to the Sanford Pentagon three times in the last four years. Odor has been a part of all three, while Michaelis has played in the historic venue twice. This season, if the Golden Eagles want to return to one of the most historic venues in all of basketball, they will have to rely on their seniors. Odor and Michaelis are the only two players to be averaging more than 10 per game and with the season coming down to just one game, the young Golden Eagles will look to their senior leaders to help get them back to the Pentagon for the fourth time in five years.

• CLEAN THE GLASS.  In many losses this season for the Golden Eagles, one key statistic has stood out: rebounding. The Golden Eagles are 10th in the NSIC in defensive rebounding at 26.0 and 13th in offensive rebounding at 8.7. The opponent for the first round, the Sioux Falls Cougars are ninth in the conference in total rebounding. The Golden Eagles have two very good rebounders in Odor and Bren Fox, but it will take all five on the floor to rebound effectively and limit the second chances for the Cougars.

•  MARCH MADNESS.  March is undoubtedly one of the best times of the year. It gives playoff teams the chance to make a run at history. The Golden Eagles will look for that March Magic this Wednesday against Sioux Falls. In a one game playoff, anything can happen.

Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Head Coach: Mike Roysland
Record at UMC: 123-231 Season at UMC: 13th Season

Sioux Falls Cougars
Head Coach: Travis Traphagen
Record at USF: 215-110 Season at USF: 11th Season

Minnesota Crookston at Sioux Falls
Date: Wed., Feb. 28
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Video: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/siouxfalls/
Live Stats: https://usfcougars.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary
Series Record: Sioux Falls leads 6-2
Last Meeting: Sioux Falls won the last meeting 80-47 on Feb. 2, 2019 in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Trends: These two teams last met in the postseason in 2015-16. The Cougars won that matchup 75-62 in the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Radio: 1260 KROX AM/105.7 FM, on the app, www.kroxam.com, and on Amazon Alexa
Officials: Zac Brost, Marlin Schoonhoven, Curt Schilling

Minnesota Crookston
Projected Starters
Fr. PG 24 Paige Cornale (5-10, Oak Creek, Wis.) 4.9 PPG, 0.8 APG
Sr. SG 3 Caitlin Michaelis (5-8, Marshfield, Wis.)10.8 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 2.0 APG
Jr. 3G 32 Paige Weakley (5-9, Kearney, Mo.) 6.3 PPG, 2.1 RPG
Fr. SF 23 Bren Fox (6-3, Norwood Young America, Minn.)4.4 PPG, 5.3 RPG
R-Sr. PF 15 Isieoma Odor (6-0, Bloomington, Minn.) 17.9 PPG, 8.2 RPG
Top Bench Players
Fr. G 5 Kylie Post (5-8, Corcoran, Minn.) 8.6 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 2.2 APG
Fr. G 11 Kylea Praska (5-8, Thief River Falls, Minn.) 2.3 PPG, 1.1 RPG
Jr. F/C 14 Amber Schoenicke (6-1, Marshall, Wis.) 1.6 PPG, 2.0 RPG
Fr. F 31 Julia Peplinski (5-10, Hustisford, Wis.) 2.5 PPG, 2.4 RPG

SIOUX FALLS
Projected Starters
Jr. G 12 Kaely Hummel (5-8, Cherokee, Iowa) 15.8 PPG, 2.5 RPG
R-So. G 2 Anna Goodhope (6-0, Sioux Falls, S.D./NDSU) 8.3 PPG, 5.6 RPG
Jr. G 12 Jessie Geer (5-8, Gillette, Wyo./Utah State) 8.4 PPG, 2.6 RPG
Jr. G 22 Mariah Szymanski (5-6, Pulaski, Wis.) 9.4 PPG, 3.3 RPG
Fr. F 34 Krystal Carlson (5-11, Hastings, Minn.) 4.5 PPG, 2.6 RPG
Top Bench Players
Jr. G 3 Augusta Thramer (5-8, Sioux City South, Neb.) 3.2 PPG, 3.3 RPG
R-Fr. G 4 Jasmine Harris (5-10, Davenport, Iowa) 4.4 PPG
Jr. F 21 Gloria Mulumba (6-1, Helsinki, Finland) 5.3 PPG, 2.8 RPG
So. G 32 Lauren Sanders (5-7, Millard, Neb.)  4.0 PPG, 1.5 RPG

UNIVERSITY OF SIOUX FALLS. The Cougars come into Wednesday's quarterfinal matchup with the Golden Eagles as one of the hottest teams in the conference. Sioux Falls, coached by Travis Traphagen are riding high on an eight game win streak and will be the number two seed in the south division in the NSIC/Sanford Health tournament. The Cougars defeated the Golden Eagles 80-47 the last time these two teams met on Feb. 2. That win was the second win in the eight game win streak for Sioux Falls. In that game, the Golden Eagles were outscored by the Cougars 19-6 in the second quarter and 25-11 in the third stanza. Overall, the Cougars shot a red-hot 51.6 percent from the field and 40.9 percent from beyond the arc. The Cougars also had four players in double-figures, led by Kaely Hummel, who finished with 17 points. 

HOLY HUMMEL. In the NSIC, there are a lot of very good guards in the conference. The best guard in the conference is up for argument, but one guard in that conference is junior guard Kaely Hummel. Hummel scored 17 points in the last meeting and only missed four shots from the field. Hummel is sixth in the conference in scoring at 15.8 PPG all while shooting 47 percent from the field. Hummel is especially dangerous from behind the three-point line. Hummel is third in the conference in three point makes per game at 2.4. Hummel has 68 three point makes on the season, which is 40th in the entire nation. Hummel is the heartbeat of the whole operation for the Cougars and when she plays well, the Cougars play well. 

PUT IN TO GEER. Jessie Geer is one of two division I transfers that play a giant role for the Cougars. The former Utah State Aggie is having an excellent season in her first year as a Cougar. Geer is averaging 8.4 PPG on the season. Since December 18, the Gillette, Wyo., native has scored in double-figures ten times, including a 26 point outburst on 11-20 shooting in an early January tilt with Wayne State College. On December 18, Geer was averaging just 4.7 PPG, but since then, she has raised her average by almost four points. Geer is just one of the many solid guards in Travis Traphagen's arsenal.

WHEN SHE'S GOOD, THERE'S HOPE. Much like Geer, redshirt sophomore Anna Goodhope is a division I transfer from North Dakota State University. Goodhope, who is from Sioux Falls, S.D., ultimately decided to come back home and she has made a huge difference for the Cougars. Goodhope is averaging 8.3 PPG, but scored a season high 30 points against Winona State just 13 days ago. Goodhope made five threes against the Warriors as well. Goodhope can score in bunches and that is evident with her 30 points against Winona State and 28 points against Minnesota State. 

STINGY. What makes the Cougars so scary is that they are good on both ends of the ball. Offensively, Sioux Falls scores 72.0 PPG which is third in the entire conference. The Cougars have scored over 80 points 10 times this season, including 80 points in the first matchup. What the Cougars do best though might be on the defensive side of the ball, where they give up 59.1 PPG on the season, which is fourth in the conference. The Cougars steal the ball from the opposing offense 8.6 times per game and when they win, they win by a large margin, at almost 12.9 points.

#5StoryLines

1. Can Minnesota Crookston get off to a fast start in Sioux Falls?

2. Can the Golden Eagles limit second chance points?

3. Can the Golden Eagles knock down the three ball?

4. Will Mike Roysland's team put together a full 40 minutes?

5. Can the Golden Eagles contain the Cougar guards?