• THE MINNESOTA CROOKSTON women's basketball team comes in with a 2-12 (1-9 NSIC) mark. The Golden Eagles are shooting 36.2 percent from the field and 28.1 percent from beyond the arc. Minnesota Crookston comes is averaging 59.0 points per game. The Golden Eagles are looking to snap a five-game losing streak and get their first win since a 66-65 victory over Wayne State College Dec. 14. Minnesota Crookston is just narrowly being out-rebounded 37.9 to 36.3. The Golden Eagles have a young squad during the 2019-20 season with 10 players that are either freshmen or sophomores. Minnesota Crookston has progressively shown improvement, playing Minnesota Duluth close in a Jan. 4 game and getting a big win over Wayne State. 

• DEAR ABBY. Minnesota Crookston junior Abby Guidinger has become Minnesota Crookston's go-to scoring option as evidenced by her 15.1 points per game over the last six for Minnesota Crookston. Guidinger has tallied double-figure scoring in six of the last seven games for the Golden Eagles, including a season-high 20 points in a win over Wayne State. Guidinger averaged 15.5 points over the last two for Minnesota Crookston. She comes into the weekend shooting 46.9 percent from the field and 36.8 percent from beyond the arc. Guidinger has been 6-of-14 for 42.9 percent from behind the three-point line over the last two games for Minnesota Crookston. She will look to have as big of impact on the Golden Eagles this weekend against Winona State and Upper Iowa. 

• GIVE ME SOME PEP. Julia Peplinski has given some energy off the bench for the Golden Eagles. Peplinski had a strong game against MSU Moorhead with 12 points and seven rebounds. Peplinski comes in notching 6.0 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. She is averaging 7.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per tilt over the last four games. Peplinski is shooting 42.6 percent from the field for the Golden Eagles. Peplinski will look to have a major impact off the bench for the Golden Eagles. 

• SOMETHING ABOUT MARY. Redshirt Freshman Mary Burke is in her first full season playing for the Golden Eagles and she has a bright future ahead of her. Burke has continued to come into her own for Minnesota Crookston. She has had a great stretch over the last three games as she is notching 12.3 points per game. Burke had 16 points on the road at Minnesota Duluth near her hometown of Virginia, Minn. Last weekend, she tallied nine points versus Northern State and added 12 points versus MSU Moorhead. Burke will look to continue this strong stretch heading into this weekend at Winona State and Upper Iowa.  

• POST GAME.  She might not be a post player, but Kylie Post continues to make a major impact on the game for the Golden Eagles. The sophomore from Corcoran, Minn., had a strong game with 17 points on 6-of-9 from the field last Friday against Northern State. Post has scored in double figures three times this season. The 17 points was her season high during her sophomore campaign. She comes into the weekend notching 6.9 points per game. Post will look to get to the hoop and also be a strong facilitator for Minnesota Crookston this weekend.

• FRESHMEN.  Minnesota Crookston has moved to starting a pair of freshmen this season, as Mattea Vetsch and Alyssa Peterson have both moved into the starting line-up recently. Vetsch, a native of Devils Lake, N.D., has started 11 games on the season, while Peterson has started nine games for the Golden Eagles. Vetsch is great on the defensive end, and has shown off her ability to shoot the ball, including a season-high 17 points against Northern State. Vetsch was an impressive 5-of-7 from beyond the arc at Wachs Arena. Peterson also is a strong shooter for Minnesota Crookston. She had a season-high 15 points on the road at Minnesota State University Moorhead. Peterson is averaging 5.5 points per game for the Golden Eagles on the 2019-20 campaign, while Vetsch comes in notching 3.9 points per tilt. 

• FINDING THE THREE BALL.  Minnesota Crookston has continued to try to find their three-point shot this season. The Golden Eagles are currently shooting 28.1 percent from beyond the arc this season, while their opponents are hitting at a 36.3 percent clip. Minnesota Crookston shot 40.0 percent on 8-of-20 from the field two weekends ago at Minnesota Duluth. They have had two games shooting over 40 percent, and three games where they have shot over 30 percent. Minnesota Crookston is looking to find consistency for beyond the arc. 

• AGAINST THE WARRIORS.  Minnesota Crookston has lost their last eight meetings against Winona State. The last win for the Golden Eagles came Feb. 19, 2011 at Lysaker Gymnasium. Minnesota Crookston's last win on the road over the
Warriors occurred on Jan. 14, 2011 with an 82-72 victory at McCown Gymnasium over Winona State. 

• BATTLING THE PEACOCKS.  Minnesota Crookston has controlled the series in recent years, as the Golden Eagles have captured the last six games in the series over Upper Iowa. The last win for the Peacocks came Jan. 18, 2013 with a 91-68 win in Fayette, Iowa. Minnesota Crookston will look to continue their trend against Upper Iowa. 

WINONA STATE. Winona State enters this weekend with a 10-4 (6-4 NSIC) mark. The Warriors went 1-1 last weekend with a win over Wayne State College and a loss to Augustana University. Winona State is currently in a four-way tie for second in the NSIC South. The Warriors are averaging 72.7 points per game, and allowing 68.4 points per tilt to their foes. Winona State is shooting 41.5 percent from the field, and 31.3 percent from beyond the arc. 

TAYLOR TIME. Taylor Hustad has had a great year thus far for Winona State. Hustad is leading the way for the Warriors with 14.0 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. She is shooting a tremendous 58.2 percent from the field. Hustad has been on her A-game of late as she is notching 18.3 points per game over the last three tilts, including 23 points against Northern State, and 20 versus Wayne State. Hustad will be a major factor this weekend for the Warriors. 

ALL ABOUT ALLIE. Allie Pickrain has been a strong shooter for the Warriors, as she is hitting at a 35.6 percent clip for Winona State this season. Pickrain is averaging 10.3 points per game for Winona State. She has struggled over the last three games, notching just 17 points in three games. She has notched six double-figure games for the Warriors this season.

JUST FOR KIECKS. Emily Kieck has been a strong facilitator for Winona State with 4.8 assists per game. In addition, she is notching 9.6 points per game. Kieck has struggled on her outside shot, hitting just 20.9 percent from beyond the arc this season. 

UPPER IOWA. The Peacocks are in their first season under former North Dakota State assistant coach Nate Oakland. Upper Iowa comes into the weekend with a 2-14 (1-9 NSIC) mark. The Peacocks are shooting 34.8 percent from the field and 29.8 percent from beyond the arc.

MUCH ADO ABOUT MUSGRAVE. Freshman Jessica Musgrave has made an instant impact for the Peacocks. Musgrave is leading the team with 13.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. She is a 42.9 percent shooter from beyond the arc. Musgrave is averaging just 3.5 points over the last two, but prior to that he was tallying 15.3 points per game for the Peacocks. Minnesota Crookston will look to limit Musgrave this weekend.

PETEY. Megan Peterson comes in notching 8.8 points per game for Upper Iowa. She has also been a strong shooter for Oakland's squad, hitting at a 36.1 percent clip on the season. Peterson's best games came with 15 points against Concordia-St. Paul and Northern State.

BROOKE ON THE BOARDS. Brooke Evenson is second on the team with 4.8 rebounds per game. She has also shown potential to score with 15 points on Jan. 10 against Augustana. Evenson also had 14 points against North Central, and 10 points versus Minnesota State.

MINNESOTA CROOKSTON GOLDEN EAGLES
Head Coach: Mike Roysland (Bemidji State, 1980)
Career Record: 125-244 (14th Season at Minnesota Crookston)
2015 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Coach of the Year

UPPER IOWA
Projected Starters
R-Fr. PG 10 Megan Peterson (5-10, Oconomowoc, Wis.)    8.8 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 2.1 APG
Fr. SG 23 Jessica Musgrave (5-7, Toledo, Iowa)    13.8 PPG, 5.5 RPG
Jr. 3G 5 Natalie Dinius (5-8, Canby, Minn.)     7.7 PPG, 2.2 RPG
Fr. SF 11 Brooke Evenson (6-0, Baldwin, Wis.)    5.5 PPG, 4.8 RPG
Fr. PF 15 Lexie Lodermeier (6-3, Goodhue, Minn.)    4.1 PPG, 3.3 RPG
Top Bench Players
Sr. F 22 Bekka Pierson (6-2, Shell Rock, Iowa)    5.5 PPG, 3.5 RPG
Sr. G 2 Marina Peinado Balaguer (5-7, Mataro, Spain)    2.4 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 2.5 APG
Fr. G 3 Caralina Apostolou (5-4, Niles, Ill.)     3.5 PPG, 0.9 RPG
R-Sr. F/C 42 Erica Armstrong (6-0, Guttenberg, Iowa)    2.3 PPG, 4.1 RPG

- Can the Golden Eagles stop their losing streak this weekend?

- Can the Golden Eagles limit Taylor Hustad inside against Winona State?

- Can the Golden Eagles limit some of the outside shooting for Winona State this weekend?

- Can the Golden Eagles slow down Upper Iowa guard Jessica Musgrave?

- Will Abby Guidinger continue to have a strong impact on the game for Minnesota Crookston?

- Will Mary Burke continue to come into her own for the Golden Eagles?

- Who else will step up and make big plays for the Golden Eagles?

- Can Minnesota Crookston find their three-point shot consistently this weekend?