CROOKSTON, Minn. - The University of Minnesota Crookston women's basketball team continues their six-game road excursion in non-conference play to open the season as they head to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to take on Northern Michigan University and No. 16 Michigan Technological University.

The Golden Eagles will take on Northern Michigan Thursday, November 18 at 4:30 p.m. C.T., and Michigan Tech Friday, November 19 at 4:30 p.m. C.T.  The Golden Eagles last played Northern Michigan Nov. 18, 2017 with the Wildcats winning 73-55 in Crookston. The last meeting against Michigan Tech was November 17, 2017 with the Huskies earning a 68-52 win.

MISSOURI, MICHIGAN, AND HAWAI'I
Those are the three states the Minnesota Crookston women's basketball team will play in before playing a game in the state of Minnesota. The first game for the Golden Eagles in Minnesota is slated to be at home at Gary Senske Court at Lysaker Gymnasium Thursday, December 2 versus St. Cloud State University.

BOXED OUT BY FOX

• Bren Fox returns for her fourth year in the Golden Eagle uniform. She is a redshirt junior this year and the 6-3 native of Norwood Young America, Minn., has been a stand-out through two exhibitions and two non-conference games. Fox is averaging 12.0 points and 6.0 rebounds coming into the week. She is shooting 40.9 percent from the field. Fox had 10 points and nine rebounds against Nebraska Kearney and notched 14 points versus Northwest Missouri State. She will look to be a force against Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech.

ALL ABOUT ABI

• Abi Fraaza had a strong debut overall as a freshman playing her first official collegiate game last week. Fraaza comes into the week notching 8.5 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. She shot 42.9 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc. Fraaza will look to make a major impact this week.

POST PLAY

• UMN Crookston senior Kylie Post has been a staple in the Golden Eagle line-up for the last four years. She will look to cap off her career with a strong senior season. Post is averaging 7.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game coming into Thursday. She will be a major factor for UMN Crookston's success the whole way through this season.

SOMETHING ABOUT MARY

• Senior Mary Burke has been a linchpin in the line-up and is looking to end her career on a strong note. Burke tallied 7.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game in the first week. She showed a nice touch from outside, shooting 50.0 percent from beyond the arc. Burke's ability to stretch the floor will be key for the Golden Eagles this week.

NEWCOMERS

• UMN Crookston has four newcomers on the 2021-22 roster. The Golden Eagles will look forward to seeing what Abigail Leach, Abi Fraaza, Alex Page, and Lily Orazem add to the squad this season. All four will look to make impacts this season.

TALE OF TWO TEAMS

• Minnesota Crookston will look to find consistency from beyond the arc this week. The Golden Eagles were 8-of-18 for 44.4 percent Friday against Nebraska Kearney, but turned around and struggled Saturday against Northwest Missouri State. UMN Crookston was just 1-of-9 for 11.1 percent against the Bearcats. The Golden Eagles will look to find a consistent stroke from distance as they play two strong teams this weekend.

NORTHERN MICHIGAN
TIME FOR MAKAYLEE

• Makaylee Kuhn has been the go-to player for Northern Michigan in their first two games. The 5-11 sophomore guard is averaging 17.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per game coming into the week. Kuhn had 21 points in a win over William Jewell.

LUTZ FROM BEYOND THE ARC

• Elizabeth Lutz comes in averaging 10.0 points per game. She is shooting 4-of-8 (50.0%) from beyond the arc coming into this week. Lutz had 13 points against William Jewell. She shot 3-of-5 from beyond the arc against William Jewell.

THREE-POINT STRUGGLES

• Northern Michigan was 36.9 percent from the field last week, but they struggled from beyond the arc as they hit at just a 23.4 percent clip last week. On the other side though, their three-point defense was outstanding as they limited opponents to just 19.5 percent from behind the arc.

MICHIGAN TECH
NUMBER 16

• Michigan Tech comes into the week with a 2-0 mark. The Huskies are currently ranked No. 16 in the D2SIDA poll released earlier this week. It will mark the second-straight week UMN Crookston has faced a ranked opponent as Nebraska Kearney was ranked last week.

EVERYTHING ELLIE

• Michigan Tech guard Ellie Mackay leads the team with 14.5 points per game this season. She is shooting 47.6 percent from the field, is averaging 6.0 rebounds per game, and 2.5 assists per game. She will be a key factor this week.

DOUBLE DOWN DAX

• Sara Dax, a 6-1 sophomore, has been big down low for the Huskies. Dax is averaging 13.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. She is shooting an astounding 78.6 percent from the field after the opening week of the season.