HONOLULU, HAWAI'I – The University of Minnesota Crookston women's basketball team opened the Malika Sport Tours Oahu Thanksgiving Classic with a 56-32 victory over Chaminade University of Honolulu Wednesday, November 24 at The Shark Tank in Honolulu, Hawai'i.
The Golden Eagles move to 1-4 with Wednesday's win over the Silverswords. Chaminade drops to 1-1 with the loss.
Minnesota Crookston was propelled by the play of
Bren Fox (R-Jr., F/C, Norwood Young America, Minn.), who tallied a double-double of 17 points and 14 rebounds. Fox was 5-of-10 from the field and 7-of-8 from the foul line.
Abi Fraaza (Fr., F, Birnamwood, Wis.) came off the bench for 14 points and eight rebounds on an unblemished 6-of-6 from the field.
Eden Golliher (So., F, Iron River, Mich.) chipped in seven points.
Veronica Schwartz (Jr., G/F, Parkers Prairie, Minn.) added six points and nine boards, while
Alex Page (Fr., F, Grand Forks, N.D.) had five points and nine rebounds.
The Golden Eagles dominated the battle on the glass 59-39 with 19 offensive rebounds. UMN Crookston shot 20-of-62 from the field for 32.3 percent. They struggled from beyond the arc going 1-of-20. UMN Crookston was 15-of-22 from the foul line for 68.2 percent. The Golden Eagles had nine assists to 12 turnovers Wednesday. Minnesota Crookston had 32 points in the paint and 17 second-chance points.
Chaminade was led by nine points from Mary-Lee Mitchell. Sasha Phillip added seven points. The Silverswords were held to just 11-of-62 from the field for 17.7 percent. Chaminade finished the game 3-of-18 from beyond the arc for 16.7 percent, and 7-of-11 from the foul line for 63.6 percent.
The Golden Eagles obtained a 12-9 lead at the end of the first quarter when Schwartz drained a three-pointer for UMN Crookston.
Chaminade pulled within 18-16 with 5:51 left in the second quarter after a jumper from Mitchell. The Golden Eagles were able to close the quarter out with a jumper from Fraaza as they went into the locker room with the 25-21 advantage.
The Silverswords closed the gap to 25-23 with 7:52 left in the third quarter using a bucket from Phillip. Minnesota Crookston countered with a 13-3 run to end the quarter as a Fraaza basket put the Golden Eagles ahead 38-26 going into the quarter break.
The Golden Eagles were able to push their advantage out to a game-high 25 with a Golliher hoop late in the fourth quarter. Chaminade's Paige Relph closed out the game with a free throw, but Minnesota Crookston was able to come away with a dominant 56-32 win. The Golden Eagles out-scored Chaminade 31-11 in the second half.
Minnesota Crookston will look to build off the win as they take on defending NCAA Division II National Champion Lubbock Christian Thursday, November 25 at 6 p.m. C.T. at The Shark Tank in Honolulu, Hawai'i. The Chaps are currently ranked No. 2 in the WBCA poll and No. 6 in the D2sida poll.
