CROOKSTON, Minn. - The University of Minnesota Crookston women's basketball team opens up Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) play this week. UMN Crookston will host St. Cloud State University Thursday, December 2 at 7:30 p.m. They will then hit the road for a split weekend as they take on the University of Minnesota Duluth Saturday, December 4 at 4 p.m. in Duluth, Minn.
The Golden Eagles enter the weekend with a 1-5 (0-0 NSIC) mark. St. Cloud State comes into the weekend with a 3-1 (1-0 NSIC) record, while Minnesota Duluth is 2-3 (0-1 NSIC).
GAME INFORMATION
vs. ST. CLOUD STATE
LIVE STATS - https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/wbball/
summary
LIVE VIDEO - https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/
at MINNESOTA DULUTH
LIVE STATS - https://umdbulldogs.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary
LIVE VIDEO - https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/
HOME SWEET HOME
Minnesota Crookston will open up their home slate for the 2021-22 season Thursday, December 2 as they take on the St. Cloud State University Huskies. Including exhibitions, UMN Crookston has played eight home games on the road to open the season. The Golden Eagles are 3-3 in home openers since the 2015-16 season. UMN Crookston went 3-5 at Gary Senske Court at Lysaker Gymnasium last season.
RANKED OPPONENTS
Minnesota Crookston has played three ranked opponents so far this season. Minnesota Duluth was ranked in a tie for 14th in the WBCA poll and 21st in the D2SIDA poll last week. If they remain ranked they would be the fourth ranked team the Golden Eagles have played this season. They have also played ranked teams Nebraska Kearney, Michigan Tech, and Lubbock Christian.
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 strong overall this season. Fox leads the team with 10.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game this season. She is
shooting 38.7 percent from the field and 85.0 percent from the charity stripe. She will be crucial again this week against St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth.
ALL ABOUT ABI
•
Abi Fraaza has made an instant impact as a freshman for the Golden Eagles. Fraaza is tallying 8.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game in her first season in the Maroon and Gold. She leads the team shooting 48.7 percent from the field this season. Fraaza's season-high 14 points came in a win over Chaminade last week in Hawai'i.
SOMETHING ABOUT MARY
• Minnesota Crookston senior
Mary Burke has been a lynchpin in the line-up for UMN Crookston. Burke comes into the weekend averaging 9.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. She is shooting 40.0 percent from beyond the arc for the Golden Eagles this season. Burke's season-high 18 points came against Michigan Tech November 19.
GET IT TO POST
•
Kylie Post is in her senior season for the Golden Eagles. Post comes in averaging 7.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game for UMN Crookston. She has 625 career points, 261 rebounds, and 145 career assists. Post had 10 points against Michigan Tech November 19.
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.
WIN IN HAWAI'I
• The Golden Eagles picked up their first win of the season with a 56-32 victory over Chaminade November 24. UMN Crookston was guided by 17 points and 14 rebounds from
Bren Fox.
Abi Fraaza had 14 points and eight boards.
Eden Golliher tallied seven points, while
Veronica Schwartz had six points.
ST. CLOUD STATE
FIFTH-YEAR SENIORS
• St. Cloud State has a very experienced team as they have four players in their fifth year with the Huskies with Erin Navratil, Nikki Kilboten, Tori Wortz, and Caitlyn Peterson.
BREHNA IS BRINGING IT
• St. Cloud State has been led this season by junior guard Brehna Evans, who is averaging 13.8 points per game for the Huskies. Evans is shooting 31.3 percent from beyond the arc, and 46.3 percent from the field. She had a season-high 24 points against Newman November 20.
KILBOTEN IN THE POST
• St. Cloud State has been led in the post by Nikki Kilboten, who comes in notching 13.5 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. Kilboten is shooting 51.2 percent from the field this season. She had a double-double of 24 points and 12 rebounds November 23 in a win over UMD.
MINNESOTA DULUTH
EXPERIENCE
• Minnesota Duluth is also a very experienced team, just like St. Cloud State. The Bulldogs have fifth year players Ann Simonet, Payton Kahl, and Sarah Grow, along with seniors Lauren Miller, Maesyn Thiesen, and Brooke Olson.
OLSON OVERLOAD
• Brooke Olson was a WBCA Division II First Team All-American for the Bulldogs last season. She is continuing to bring it as a senior for UMD. She comes in averaging 21.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game to lead the way for the Bulldogs.
MARVELOUS MAESYN
• Maesyn Thiesen comes in averaging 8.2 points per game for the Bulldogs, but she is also crucial in facilitating the offense for Minnesota Duluth. Thiesen is averaging 5.4 assists per game for the Bulldogs. She is also notching 3.8 rebounds per game.
