• THE MINNESOTA CROOKSTON women's basketball team is coming off a weekend split on the road with a victory over Wayne State College on Saturday, and a narrow loss on Friday versus Augustana University. The Golden Eagles come into the weekend with a 9-11 (8-6 NSIC) mark. Minnesota Crookston is currently in fourth place in the NSIC North standings. The Golden Eagles have an important weekend at home, as they host the University of Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State University. The Golden Eagles are a win away from reaching 10 or more wins for the first time since the 2018-19 season. 

• AGAINST THE OPPOSITION. The Golden Eagles have lost the last eight games against the Sioux Falls. Their last win came September 6, 2015 with a 71-62 win over the Cougars. Minnesota Crookston has two wins over the Cougars, since USF joined the NSIC prior to the 2012-13 season. Southwest Minnesota State won last year's meeting 63-55. The Golden Eagles picked up the win at Lysaker Gymnasium January 31, 2020 as they were victorious 64-53. The Mustangs lead the series 17-13 since 2001. 

·   MILLER TIME. Emma Miller has been a major impact for the Golden Eagles as a freshman. Miller leads UMN Crookston averaging 18.6 points per game. She is second in the NSIC with 18.6 points per game. Miller currently has 371 points this season. She is 208 points from the single-season record for scoring set by Jessica Forsline during the 2001-02 season. Miller is only 73 points from breaking into the Top 10 for single-season scoring, surpassing Karna Plaine's 2004-05 season. Miller has to average at least 26.0 points per game to break the record during the regular-season. If Minnesota Crookston gets at least one playoff game in the NSIC, she would have to average 23.1 points. Miller had a school-record 37 points in a win over Bemidji State University February 17. She was just shy of her record, scoring 34 points last Friday on the road versus Augustana. Miller has nine games with 20 or more points this season.

·  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. Fox tallied 12.0 points per game and 12.5 rebounds per tilt in the last two games for the Golden Eagles. She currently leads the NSIC with 9.1 rebounds per game. Fox has 10 games with double-digit rebounds this season. Fox has scored 767 points in her career, and has 678 career rebounds. She ranks fourth all-time in career rebounds, recently surpassing Emily Gruber. Fox needs 18 rebounds to surpass Laurie Tyson for third all-time in rebounds at Minnesota Crookston. She needs 20 boards to move past Katrina (Moenkedick) Nordick for second in the program's history. Isieoma Odor holds the record with 775 rebounds. Fox is 98 rebounds away from surpassing her former teammate for the mark. Fox needs to average 12.3 rebounds per game over the eight-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 10.9 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. Page is second on the team with 9.4 points per game. She is averaging 3.6 rebounds per tilt. Page had crucial plays down the stretch against Wayne State in a 74-72 road victory. She hit a crucial three-pointer, took a charge, and hit two key free throws to help ice the victory for the Golden Eagles. Since December 31, Page is averaging 13.1 points per tilt. She will be a crucial piece for UMN Crookston down the stretch.

·  STAY IN YOUR LANE. University of North Dakota transfer Erika Lane has played a key role for the Golden Eagles this season. She stepped into the starting line-up against last weekend, and had one of the best games of her young career in a 74-72 road win over Wayne State. Lane had 15 points on 6-of-12 from the field, and 3-of-7 from beyond the arc. Lane is shooting 34.7 percent from beyond the arc this season, and is the top free throw shooter on the team as she is hitting at a 90.0 percent clip. Lane will look to play a major role this weekend against Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State.

• 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 27.0 percent from beyond the arc this season. Teams are just averaging 5.8 three-pointers per game. Minnesota Crookston has held eight opponents under 30.0 percent this season. Their best performance defensively came when they limited Bemidji State to 20.0 percent from the field November 22. 

• HITTING THE FREE ONES. Minnesota Crookston has made it count at the charity stripe this season. The Golden Eagles lead the conference with a 78.5 free throw percentage this season. They have made 266-of-288 shots this season. Erika Lane leads the team with a 90.0 percent clip this season. Bren Fox comes in shooting 85.1 percent. Alex Page is hitting at an 83.9 percent clip, while Emma Miller is connecting at an 81.5 percent rate this season. The Golden Eagles shot 80.0 percent on 26 attempts against Wayne State, in what would play a crucial role in the narrow victory on the road over the Wildcats.

• FRIENDLY CONFINES. Minnesota Crookston is 3-5 at Lysaker Gymnasium this season. The Golden Eagles are 3-3 at home in NSIC play this season. The Golden Eagles have actually had a better record away from home this season, as they are 6-6 on the road. Minnesota Crookston will look to even their fortunes at home this season with games against the Cougars and Mustangs this weekend. 

• HOME STRETCH. The Golden Eagles are in the home stretch of the season and they are chasing a spot in the NSIC Tournament. The top 12 teams in the NSIC make the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament, the top six from each division. Minnesota Crookston is currently fourth in the NSIC North. The Golden Eagles would currently be in line to host in the first round on Wednesday, February 22. Minnesota Crookston is currently one game ahead of Northern State University and two games ahead of Minnesota State University Moorhead. They are three games in front of Minot State University. The Golden Eagles play all three of those teams in the final eight games. 

SIOUX FALLS. The University of Sioux Falls Cougars enter the weekend with a 6-14 (3-11 NSIC) mark. They are currently tied for sixth in the NSIC South with Winona State University. The Cougars have a young squad for the 2022-23 season. They have struggled to put up points, as they are 16th in scoring in the NSIC with 57.4 points per game. USF is 11th in scoring defense, limiting teams to 65.9 points per tilt. The Cougars come into the weekend shooting 39.1 percent from the field, and 30.4 percent from beyond the arc. They are a 68.8 percent free throw shooting team. 

OLIVIA. Olivia Gamoke, a sophomore guard, comes in averaging 10.1 points per game to lead the Cougars. She is shooting 37.3 percent from beyond the arc. Gamoke scored 10 points against both the University of Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State University last weekend.  

"HONN"ING IN.  Brecli Honner comes in notching 9.8 points per game in 19 starts. Honner is shooting 49.1 percent from the field. She had a season-high 24 points December 9 versus Upper Iowa University.

"FANNIN" THE FLAMES.  Megan Fannin comes into Friday notching 8.7 points per tilt. She had a season-high 23 points December 9 against Upper Iowa University.

SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE. Southwest Minnesota State comes into the weekend with an 11-8 (8-6 NSIC) record. The Mustangs are currently in third place in the NSIC South. Southwest Minnesota State has lost their last three games. Their last win came with an 82-75 overtime win over Minnesota State University Moorhead January 13.

GUARD-ORIENTED. The Mustangs have a guard-oriented line-up as all five of their starters range from 5-6 to 5-9. They score 75.2 points per game and shoot 36.9 percent from beyond the arc. The Mustangs average 8.1 steals per game. 

BRI. Bri Stoltzman does a little bit of everything for the Mustangs. She leads the team with 13.5 points per game, 6.6 rebounds per tilt, and is second in assists with 47. Stoltzman shoots 51.6 percent from the field. She had a season-high 24 points versus UMary January 6.

ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL. Sam Wall is second on the team with 13.1 points per tilt. She is dangerous from beyond the arc, hitting at a 40.7 percent clip this season. Wall has four-consecutive double-digit scoring games coming into the weekend. 


WEEKLY SNAPSHOT

MINNESOTA CROOKSTON
Projected Starters
Fr. PG 1 Emma Miller (5-1, Albertville, Minn.) 18.6 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 3.1 APG
So. SG 5 Erika Lane (5-10, Breezy Point, Minn.) 6.3 PPG, 2.5 RPG
R-Jr. SF 21 Abigail Leach (6-0, Wyoming, Minn.) 2.5 PPG, 2.1 RPG
So. PF 20 Alex Page (6-0, Grand Forks, N.D.) 9.4 PPG, 3.6 RPG
R-Sr. C 23 Bren Fox (6-3, Norwood Young America, Minn.) 8.3 PPG, 9.1 RPG
Top Bench Players
Jr. F/C 4 Nicole Hernandez (6-2, Oak Creek, Wis.) 4.4 PPG, 5.3 RPG
Fr. G 3 Taryn Frazer (5-4, Cass Lake, Minn.) 6.0 PPG, 2.4 RPG
Fr. F/C 15 Janie Tormanen (6-0, Menahga, Minn.) 3.6 PPG, 2.7 RPG
Fr. G 11 Natalie Mikrot (5-6, Willow River, Minn.) 3.5 PPG, 0.8 RPG

SIOUX FALLS
Projected Starters
So. PG 3 Olivia Gamoke (5-6, Onalaska, Wis.) 10.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 2.6 APG
So. SG 12 Brecli Honner (5-9, Harrisburg, S.D.) 9.8 PPG, 3.8 RPG
R-So. 3G 22 Madison Wuebben (5-9, Yankton, S.D.) 7.2 PPG, 3.5 RPG
So. SF 4 Hayley Knoblock (6-0, Inwood, Iowa) 0.9 PPG, 1.4 RPG
Fr. PF 52 Tayah Leenderts (6-0, Rosemount, Minn.) 4.9 PPG, 1.1 RPG
Top Bench Players
R-So. G 23 Megan Fannin (5-8, Watertown, S.D.) 8.7 PPG, 1.5 RPG
Sr. G 5 Dallie Hoskinson (5-6, Hugoton, Kan.) 3.8 PPG, 2.8 RPG
Gr. G 32 Lauren Sanders (5-7, Omaha, Neb.) 3.8 PPG, 2.9 RPG
So. F 31 Lizzie Olson (6-0, Garretson, S.D.) 3.4 PPG, 2.2 RPG
 
SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE
Projected Starters
Sr. PG 11 Jenna Borchers (5-6, Grimes, Iowa) 11.8 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 2.6 APG
Jr. SG 14 Sam Wall (5-8, Delhi, Iowa) 13.1 PPG, 2.4 RPG
Jr. 3G 10 Madison Gehloff (5-9, Waseca, Minn.) 7.9 PPG, 5.1 RPG
So. 4G 2 Bri Stoltzman (5-8, Mankato, Minn.) 13.5 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 2.4 APG
So. 5G 4 Hannah Parsley (5-9, Flandreau, S.D.) 12.7 PPG, 5.4 RPG
Top Bench Players
So. G 21 Peyton Blandin (5-9, Farmington, Minn.) 8.1 PPG, 3.7 RPG
Fr. F 1 Maddie Thorfinnson (6-0, Glenwood, Iowa) 2.1 PPG, 0.9 RPG
So. F 13 Kenzie Jones (5-10, Willmar, Minn.) 3.1 PPG, 1.9 RPG

GAMEDAY

Sioux Falls @ Minnesota Crookston
DATE: Friday, January 27
TIME: 7:30 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

Southwest Minnesota State @ Minnesota Crookston
DATE: Saturday, January 28
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

KEYS TO THE WEEKEND

- Continue to play Defense, especially against the three

- Slow down the key players, SMSU's Bri Stoltzman and USF's Olivia Gamoke

- Continue to control the glass

- Bren Fox continues her roll of
double-doubles

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

- Continue to hit free throws

- Slow down Southwest Minnesota State offensively

- Test USF's offense