• THE MINNESOTA CROOKSTON women's basketball team looks to keep their hot streak alive with a pair of tough opponents coming into Lysaker Gymnasium. The Golden Eagles have won their last five games and come into the weekend with an 8-8 (7-3 NSIC) mark. UMN Crookston has their best start in conference play since opening the 2015-16 season with an 8-2 mark. The Golden Eagles are currently in a three-way tie for second place in the NSIC North with the University of Mary and St. Cloud State University. The Golden Eagles are averaging 64.8 points per tilt, and limiting foes to 69.6 points per game. Minnesota Crookston is shooting 39.4 percent from the field. They are hitting at a 33.2 percent clip from beyond the arc. 

• AGAINST THE OPPOSITION. The Golden Eagles are looking to snap a five-game losing streak against Minnesota State. Their last win against the Mavericks came February 24, 2016 with an 83-72 win in Crookston. They are also looking to end a four-game losing streak to Concordia-St. Paul. The Golden Eagles last win against the Golden Bears came January 27, 2018 in St. Paul, Minn., with a 75-60 victory. Their last win versus the Golden Bears in Crookston was February 25, 2015 with a 63-62 victory in the playoffs to move on to the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament quarterfinals in Sioux Falls, S.D. 

·   MILLER TIME. Emma Miller has been a major impact for the Golden Eagles as a freshman. Miller leads UMN Crookston averaging 17.7 points per game. Miller is the second-leading scorer in the NSIC currently, behind only University of Minnesota Duluth star Brooke Olson. Miller is also averaging 4.9 points, and 3.1 assists per tilt. She is shooting 42.4 percent from the field, and 37.8 percent from beyond the arc. Miller's career-high 37 points, also a Minnesota Crookston single-game record, came December 17 versus Bemidji State University. Miller will look to be a major factor against the Mavericks and Golden Bears.

·  DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE. Bren Fox has already secured seven double-doubles during the 2022-23 season. Fox has been a rebounding machine for the Golden Eagles. She is averaging 12.0 rebounds per game in the last seven tilts. Fox has secured double-digit boards in the last seven games. She is averaging 10.1 points per game during the same stretch. Fox comes in notching 7.9 points and 9.0 rebounds per game for the season. She is second in the league in rebounds per game. Fox has scored 727 points in her career, and has 641 career rebounds. She ranks fourth all-time in career rebounds, recently surpassing Emily Gruber. Fox needs 55 rebounds to surpass Laurie Tyson for third all-time in rebounds at Minnesota Crookston. She needs 57 boards to move past Katrina (Moenkedick) Nordick for second in the program's history. Isieoma Odor holds the record with 775 rebounds. Fox is 135 rebounds away from surpassing her former teammate for the mark. Fox needs to average 11.3 rebounds per game over the 12-game stretch of the regular season to move past Odor. If the Golden Eagles at least make the first round of the playoffs, she would need to tally 10.4 rebounds per tilt. 

• TURN THE PAGE. Minnesota Crookston sophomore Alex Page is having a solid sophomore season. Page has been an important piece this season for the Golden Eagles. She is coming off her best three-game stretch of the season. Page is averaging 18.3 points per game in the last three. She is coming off a career-high 29 points in a win on the road over Upper Iowa University. On the season, Page is notching 9.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. She is shooting 46.8 percent from the field, and 34.1 percent from beyond the arc. 

·  STAY IN YOUR LANE. University of North Dakota transfer Erika Lane has been huge in the last three games for the Golden Eagles. She has come off the bench for an average of 8.3 points per game, including 11 points in a win over the University of Mary December 31. Lane is averaging 6.1 points per game for the season. She is a 35.9 percent shooter from beyond the arc. Lane will look to make an impact this weekend against Minnesota State and Concordia-St. Paul. 

• DON'T HURT US FROM DEEP. Minnesota Crookston continues to prevent opponents from shooting the long ball well. The Golden Eagles are holding foes to just 27.3 percent from beyond the arc this season. Teams are just averaging 5.7 three-pointers per game. Minnesota Crookston held MSU Moorhead to 23.5 percent last weekend. Against St. Cloud State on December 3, the Huskies shot just 29.4 percent from beyond the arc. The Golden Eagles completely shut down Minot State and UMary two weekends ago. Minot State shot just 15.4 percent from beyond the arc, while UMary shot only 19.2 percent. Palm Beach Atlantic and Winona State are the only two teams to shoot over 40.0 percent on more than 10 attempts from beyond the arc. 

• HITTING THE FREE ONES. Minnesota Crookston has made it count at the charity stripe this season. The Golden Eagles lead the conference with a 79.5 free throw percentage this season. They have made 171-of-215 shots this season. Bren Fox leads the team with a 90.3 percent clip at the line this season. Erika Lane comes in shooting 88.5 percent, while Alex Page is hitting at an 86.8 percent clip. Emma Miller is hitting at an 80.5 percent clip.

• FRIENDLY CONFINES. Minnesota Crookston is 3-3 at the friendly confines of Gary Senske Court at Lysaker Gymnasium. The Golden Eagles have won their last three games at home, with wins over Bemidji State, UMary, and Minot State. The Golden Eagles will look to continue a great trend at home against Minnesota State and Concordia-St. Paul.

MINNESOTA STATE. The Nationally-Ranked Minnesota State University Mavericks come into Lysaker Gymnasium with a 12-2 (8-2 NSIC) record. Minnesota State split last weekend at home with a dominant 86-61 win over St. Cloud StateUniversity and a 78-75 loss to No. 23 University of Minnesota Duluth. The Mavericks have a great defense, as they are limiting opponents to just 63.7 points per game. The Mavericks are forcing 25.8 turnovers per game. They are limiting teams to a 38.0 percent field goal percentage on the year. In addition, Minnesota State is averaging 85.1 points per game, as they are a potent offense. 

UP TO BATT. Joey Batt leads the way for Minnesota State. She is averaging 17.4 points per game, 3.4 rebounds per tilt, and 3.9 assists per game. On the defensive end, Batt leads the way with 3.5 steals per tilt. She comes in shooting 47.3 percent from the field. Batt's season-high 32 points came December 17 against Southwest Minnesota State University.

IT IS HER DESTINEE.  Destinee Bursch has been a crucial piece for the Mavericks this season, averaging 14.9 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. She is shooting 48.0 percent from the field. Bursch secured a season-high 28 points December 16 versus University of Sioux Falls.

BREMER OFF THE BENCH.  Natalie Bremer has come off the bench for the Mavericks in all but one game this season. She is the most potent deep threat for Minnesota State, shooting threes at a 39.1 percent clip. Bremer is averaging 14.1 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. She recorded 21 points twice this season, against Winona State University December 1 and Wayne State College December 10.

CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL. The Golden Bears come into Crookston with a 7-7 (4-6 NSIC) record. Concordia University-St. Paul has lost their last three games. The Golden Bears last win came December 17 against the University of Sioux Falls. Concordia-St. Paul isn't going to be a high-scoring team typically but they will be a strong defense. Concordia-St. Paul is scoring 60.8 points per game, while allowing 62.9 points per game. They are shooting 37.0 percent from the field, and 27.4 percent from beyond the arc. The Golden Bears outrebound teams 38.6-35.7.

ALLY DOES IT ALL. Ally Gietzel has been a key player for the Golden Bears this season in a lot of facets. The six-foot transfer who previously played at the University of Illinois-Springfield and Illinois State University, comes in averaging 11.6 points and 6.5 rebounds per tilt. Gietzel is shooting 37.3 percent from the field.

YOU BECH-A. Lindsey Becher comes into the weekend averaging 9.3 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Becher missed last weekend's games for the Golden Bears. Her season-high 17 points came against the University of Wisconsin-Parkside November 19. 

JADYN CONNECTION. Concordia-St. Paul guard Jadyn Hanson has a connection to the Golden Eagles. She is a 
relative of Minnesota Crookston Director of Athletics Stephanie Helgeson. Hanson is averaging 6.0 points per game. She shoots 30.3 percent from beyond the arc. Hanson has started eight games, and has come off the bench in the other six. 

WEEKLY SNAPSHOT

MINNESOTA CROOKSTON
Projected Starters
Fr. PG 1 Emma Miller (5-1, Albertville, Minn.) 17.7 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 3.1 APG
Fr. SG 3 Taryn Frazer (5-4, Cass Lake, Minn.) 6.8 PPG, 2.6 RPG
So. SF 20 Alex Page (6-0, Grand Forks, N.D.) 9.4 PPG, 3.6 RPG
Jr. PF 4 Nicole Hernandez (6-2, Oak Creek, Minn.) 4.8 PPG, 5.4 RPG
R-Sr. C 23 Bren Fox (6-3, Norwood Young America, Minn.) 7.9 PPG, 9.0 RPG
Top Bench Players
So. G 5 Erika Lane (5-10, Breezy Point, Minn.) 6.1 PPG, 2.1 RPG
Fr. F/C 15 Janie Tormanen (6-0, Menahga, Minn.) 3.7 PPG, 2.6 RPG
Fr. G 11 Natalie Mikrot (5-6, Willow River, Minn.) 3.4 PPG, 0.9 RPG
R-Jr. F 21 Abigail Leach (6-0, Wyoming, Minn.) 2.8 PPG, 1.9 RPG

MINNESOTA STATE
Projected Starters
Jr. PG 1 Joey Batt (5-5, New Ulm, Minn.) 17.4 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 3.9 APG
So. SG 14 Destinee Bursch (5-7, Chaska, Minn.) 14.9 PPG, 3.0 RPG
Jr. 3G 3 Taylor Theusch (5-7, Fountain City, Wis.) 8.8 PPG, 1.7 RPG
Jr. SF 40 Emily Herzberg (6-0, Melrose, Wis.) 9.0 PPG, 3.5 RPG
So. PF 30 Emily Russo (5-11, New Prague, Minn.) 4.3 PPG, 4.2 RPG
Top Bench Players
Fr. G 5 Natalie Bremer (5-11, Lake City, Minn.) 14.1 PPG, 3.9 RPG
So. G 12 Molly Ihle (5-6, Huxley, Iowa) 3.8 PPG, 4.1 RPG
Jr. F 13 Grace Mueller (5-11, Mequon, Wis.) 3.8 PPG, 2.1 RPG
Sr. F 35 Carah Drees (6-1, Sloan, Iowa) 1.9 PPG, 4.1 RPG
Fr. G 20 Hannah Herzig (6-0, Lino Lakes, Minn.) 8.3 PPG, 1.8 RPG

 
CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL
Projected Starters
Jr. PG 21 Ally Gietzel (6-0, Fond du Lac, Wis.) 11.6 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 1.9 APG
Fr. SG 1 Leah Dengerud (5-9, Lino Lakes, Minn.) 5.8 PPG, 2.5 RPG
So. 3G 23 Alyssa Daugherty (5-8, Zimmerman, Minn.) 2.9 PPG, 1.5 RPG
R-Fr. SF 5 Reagan Alexander (6-0, St. Louis Park, Minn.) 3.9 PPG, 4.0 RPG
So. PF 25 Megan Gamble (5-11, Clear Lake, Minn.) 5.8 PPG, 3.4 RPG
Top Bench Players
So. C 11 Lindsey Becher (6-1, Shoreview, Minn.) 9.3 PPG, 5.4 RPG
So. G 12 Sarah Kuma (5-6, Lakeville, Minn.) 8.2 PPG, 1.9 RPG
Jr. F 24 Jalyn Shaw (5-10, Herriman, Utah) 6.0 PPG, 3.1 RPG
Jr. G 14 Jadyn Hanson (5-6, St. Michael, Minn.) 6.0 PPG, 2.6 RPG
Fr. G 10 Lauren Feddema (5-8, Hanover, Minn.) 1.2 PPG, 2.5 RPG

GAMEDAY

#11/20 Minnesota State @ Minnesota Crookston
DATE: Friday, January 13
TIME: 5:30 p.m.
SITE: Crookston, Minn.
ARENA: Gary Senske Court at Lysaker Gymnasium
Watch Live: https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/
Live Stats: https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary
TWITTER: @UMNCrookstonATH/@UMNCrookstonWBB

Concordia-St. Paul @ Minnesota Crookston
DATE: Saturday, January 14
TIME: 3:30 p.m.
SITE: Crookston, Minn.
ARENA: Gary Senske Court at Lysaker Gymnasium
Watch Live: https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/
Live Stats: https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary
TWITTER: @UMNCrookstonATH/@UMNCrookstonWBB


KEYS TO THE WEEKEND

- Continue to play Defense, especially against the three

- Play tough defensively against both Minnesota State and Concordia-St. Paul

- Continue to control the glass

- Bren Fox continues her roll of double-doubles

- Players continue to step up off the bench
for UMN Crookston

- Limit Joey Batt for Minnesota State and Ally Gietzel for Concordia-St. Paul