Minnesota Crookston Women's Basketball Heads to Sunshine to Close Out Non-Conference Play


#WBBNOTES

• THE MINNESOTA CROOKSTON women's basketball team will head to the sunshine state this weekend to close out non-conference play against Nova Southeastern and Palm Beach Atlantic. The Golden Eagles are coming off of a nice NSIC victory over Bemidji State, where they erased a 14 point deficit in the second half.

·   IT'S MILLER TIME. Emma Miller was fantastic in the two games last weekend. On Thursday night against the Wildcats, Miller scored a career-high 20 points, while dishing out three assists. Miller also played a career-high 38 minutes in the loss. On Saturday against Michigan Tech, the freshman scored 15 points, while pulling down a career-high eight rebounds and dishing out four assists. Her scoring ability and elite passing gives the Golden Eagles an unbelievable piece to the puzzle.

·  3-POINT SHOOTER. Natalie Mikrot isn't afraid to shoot the ball from long range. The freshman from Willow River, Minn., has attempted 24 shots from the field this season, 19 of which have been from deep. That is almost 80 percent of her shots. Of her nine makes from the field this season, eight of them have been from downtown. Mikrot is an outstanding shooter and she hopes that her 3-5 performance against Northern Michigan can be the sign of good things to come for the first-year Golden Eagle.

·  DOWN MEMORY LANE. Erika Lane had undoubtedly her best performance in the maroon and gold last weekend. The University of North Dakota transfer averaged 8.5 points per game, including a career-high 10 points on 3-9 shooting from the field. Lane made some huge shots down the stretch against the Wildcats and will hope to do more of the same against Bemidji State on Tuesday night.

·  TURN THE PAGE. Alex Page has been a consistent performer this season. The sophomore from Grand Forks has scored seven points in every game except one and has three rebounds in every game except one. Oh yeah, she also has three made field goals in every game except one. Page will look to continue her strong start tomorrow in the conference opener.

·  CHAAAAARRRRGEEEEE! There isn't a stat for charges taken throughout the season, but if we did have record of that, there would be a good chance Abigail Leach would lead the conference in charges taken. It is a stat and a play that doesn't seem like a big deal, but it counts just as good as a turnover. This past weekend, Leach took three charges. Leach puts her body on the line each and every game.

• STIFLING DEFENSE. Minnesota Crookston was able to win their conference opener on Tuesday, thanks in large part to the defense they played down the stretch against Bemidji State. In the first quarter alone, the Beavers seemingly couldn't miss, scoring 20 points on 43 percent shooting. In the second half, Minnesota Crookston held the Beavers to just 27 points, outscoring BSU 41-27 and held the Beavers to just 9-24 shooting down the stretch. The Golden Eagles went on a late 6-0 run in the final minute and a half for their first conference victory of the season.

• DOUBLE-DOUBLE. It took five games, but Bren Fox might have finally found a groove, something that the Golden Eagles would love to see. Fox, the senior from Norwood Young America, Minn., finished with 16 points and ten rebounds, including two huge free throws down the stretch. Fox finished with two double-doubles a season ago and will look to continue that in the sunshine state. Fox is considered a leader for the Golden Eagle and getting her to put out that performance on a nightly basis will be important for the maroon and gold.


• DOUBLE-DOUBLE. With their win over the Beavers on Tuesday night, the Golden Eagles accomplished two things in one night: their first win in Bemidji since 2018 and their first conference-opening win since 2018, which coincidentally took place on the same night in 2018. The young Golden Eagles fought down the stretch and got a huge confidence boost for their trip to sunny Florida.


GAMEDAY

Minnesota Crookston @ Nova Southeastern
DATE: Fri. Nov. 25
TIME: 11 A.M.
SITE: Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
ARENA: Rick Case Arena
Watch Live: https://www.sunshinestateconference.tv/novasoutheastern/?bfplayvid=441064
Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=432352
TWITTER: @UMNCrookstonATH/@UMNCrookstonWBB

Minnesota Crookston vs Palm Beach Atlantic
DATE: Sat. Mov. 26
TIME: 1 P.M.
SITE: Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
ARENA: Rick Case Arena
Watch Live: https://www.sunshinestateconference.tv/novasoutheastern/?bfplayvid=441064
Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=432352
TWITTER: @UMNCrookstonATH/@UMNCrookstonWBB


KEYS TO THE WEEKEND

- Golden Eagles in the Sunshine State

- Erika Lane has been outstanding the last three games

- Bren Fox collected her eighth career double-double against Bemidji State

- Putting together a full 40 minutes

- Defense, Defense, Defense

- Limit the Turnovers


Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles
Head Coach: Mike Roysland (Bemidji State, 1980)
Career Record: 137-290 (17th Season at Minnesota Crookston)
2015 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Coach of the Year


Nova Southeastern Sharks
Head Coach: LeAnn Freeland-Curry (Southern Indiana University, 1998)
Career Record: 205-102 (11th Season at NSU)


Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish
Head Coach: Manisha Redus (University of Alabama, 2005)
Career Record: 21-72 (Fifth Season at PBA)



WEEKLY SNAPSHOT

MINNESOTA CROOKSTON
Projected Starters
Fr. G 1 Emma Miller (5-1, Albertville, Minn.) 12.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 4 APG
So. G 5 Erika Lane (5-10, Breezy Point, Minn.) 6.8 PPG, 2.4 RPG
Fr. G 3 Taryn Frazer (5-4, Cass Lake, Minn.) 4.4 PPG, 2.6 RPG
Jr. F/C 4 Nicole Hernandez (6-2, Oak Creek, Minn.) 4.6 PPG, 3.6 RPG
R-Sr. C 23 Bren Fox (6-3, Norwood Young America, Minn.) 7.6 PPG, 7.6 RPG
Top Newcomers
So. F 20 Alex Page (6-0, Grand Forks, N.D.) 6.4 PPG, 3.4 RPG
Fr. F/C 15 Janie Tormanen (6-0, Menahga, Minn.) 6.0 PPG, 2.4 RPG
Fr. G 11 Natalie Mikrot (5-6, Willow River, Minn.) 6.6 PPG, 1.6 RPG
R-Jr. F 21 Abigail Leach (6-0, Wyoming, Minn.) 2.0 PPG, 1.8 RPG

NOVA SOUTHEASTERN
Projected Starters
R-Sr. 3 Hailey Conley (5-9, North Franklin, Conn.) 14.8 PPG, 2.8 RPG
Sr. F 13 A'lexus Bryant (6-4, Jacksonville, Fla.) 9.7 PPG, 4.0 RPG
R-Sr. 23 Madison Frederick (5-10, Tipp City, Ohio) 9.0 PPG, 9.0 RPG
R-Sr. 24 Kyarrah Grant (5-7, Choctaw, Miss.) 7.5 PPG, 2.3 RPG
R-Sr. 31 Kyannah Grant (5-6, Choctaw, Miss.) 8.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG
Top Bench Players
So. G 00 Sarei McGill (5-8, Pembroke Pines, Fla.) 12.3 PPG, 4.0 RPG
R-Sr. G 2 Mackenzie Steele (Plant City, Fla.) 9.5 PPG, 2.0 RPG
So. G 11 Zeyno Seren (5-10, Ankara, Turkey) 4.8 PPG, 3.3 RPG
So. G 2 India Shepherd (5-5, Belle Glade, Fla.) 3.5 PPG, 2.0 RPG

PALM BEACH ATLANTIC
Projected Starters
Jr. G 5 Kash Ayuso (5-6, West Palm Beach, Fla.) 4.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG
Jr. G 11 Jillian Schenk (5-10, Boynton Beach, Fla.) 3.0 PPG, 4.5 RPG
R-Sr. G 12 Maraya Benitez-Zayas (5-3, San Juan, Puerto Rico) 4.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG
So. G 23 Jahnae Midget (5-11, West Palm Beach, Fla.) 11.5 PPG, 2.5 RPG
R-Sr. F 24 Alma Danielsson (6-2, Uppsala, Sweden) 12.0 PPG, 3.5 RPG
Top Bench Players
Jr. G 2 Darria Whitley (5-7, Miami, Fla.) 10.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG
Jr. F 10 Mariyah Fletcher (5-9, McDonough, Ga.) 9.0 PPG, 6.5 RPG
Fr. F 1 Claire Davis (6-2, Cartersville, Ga.) 8.5 PPG, 3.5 RPG


#Tidbits

NOVA SOUTHEASTERN. The Sharks are off to an outstanding start in 2022. NSU is 4-0 on the season and their wins haven't exactly been close. All four of their wins have come by at least 13 points or more, including a 40-point win over Flagler College and a 31-point win over St. Augustine's University in back-to-back wins. Nova Southeastern advanced to the Elite Eight in 2018-19.

LIGHTS OUT. Hailey Conley is especially dangerous. The fifth-year senior from Connecticut leads the Sharks in points per game and is shooting 50 percent from deep on the season. Conley scored 19 points in the Sharks last win and has five or more field goals in all four Sharks wins this season. Stopping Conley will be a priority for the Golden Eagles.

MAGNIFICENT MADISON. Another fifth-year senior making an impact for the Sharks is Madison Frederick. Frederick is in her first year at Nova Southeastern after spending the previous four at Iowa State of the Big 12. Frederick is also shooting 50 percent on the season and has a six make output from deep earlier this season in a victory.

PALM BEACH ATLANTIC. The Sailfish are 1-1 on the season and are coming off an exhibition loss to Florida Atlantic last week. The Sailfish are rebuilding, after a six win season a year ago and a four win season in 2019-20. Palm Beach Atlantic has the lone win between these two programs, a 69-66 victory in 2018.

FROM LAND TO SEA. Although it has been a super small sample size, one of the standouts so far for the Sailfish has been Alma Danielsson. The transfer from Florida International, who started 32 games as a Panther scored a career-high 18 points in the PBA loss to Florida Southern. The Sweden native brings size and rebounding to the Sailfish.

STOP THE OPPONENT. In two games, Palm Beach Atlantic has really struggled to shoot the ball from deep, shooting just 26.8 percent from long range in two games, but they also haven't let their opponents get hot from deep. PBA has held their two opponents to 23 percent shooting from deep and they held Florida National to just 30 percent shooting from the field in general. The Golden Eagles will look for success from deep against the Sailfish.