• THE MINNESOTA CROOKSTON women's basketball team heads into 2023 on a roll, as they have won four of their last five games. The Golden Eagles are currently in a tie for third place in the NSIC North with UMary with a 5-3 mark in conference play. Minnesota Crookston is off to their best start in conference play since the 2015-16 season. The Golden Eagles went 6-2 over their first eight games during the 2015-16 season. 

• AGAINST THE OPPOSITION. The Golden Eagles are looking to snap a 10-game skid against Winona State University. Minnesota Crookston's last win against the Warriors came February 19, 2011 with a 77-63 win in Crookston over the Warriors. Upper Iowa has the last win in the series against UMN Crookston with an 82-67 win January 18, 2020 in Fayette, Iowa. The Golden Eagles had previously won the last six games in the series. Minnesota Crookston's game against the Peacocks was canceled during the 2021-22 season and the two teams didn't meet during the adjusted schedule in 2020-21 due to COVID-19. 

·   MILLER TIME. Emma Miller has been a major impact for the Golden Eagles as a freshman. Miller leads UMN Crookston averaging 17.5 points per game. Miller had a school-record 37 points against Bemidji State December 17. Miller is shooting 43.1 percent from the field, and 36.7 percent from beyond the arc. She has scored in double figures in the last six games for the Golden Eagles. She has been the straw that stirs the drink for the Golden Eagles and will be crucial this weekend against Winona State and Upper Iowa.

·  DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE. Bren Fox has already secured five double-doubles during the 2022-23 season. Fox has been a rebounding machine for the Golden Eagles. She is averaging 12.8 rebounds per game in the last five tilts. Fox is averaging 10.5 points per game over the last four games. Fox has been a staple in the lineup for the Golden Eagles over her five seasons in the Maroon and Gold. She is a senior leader for the Golden Eagles. Fox has scored 703 points in her career, and has 621 career rebounds. She ranks fourth all-time in career rebounds, recently surpassing Emily Gruber. Fox needs 75 rebounds to surpass Laurie Tyson for third all-time in rebounds at Minnesota Crookston. She needs 78 boards to move past Katrina (Moenkedick) Nordick for second in the program's history. Isieoma Odor holds the record with 775 rebounds. Fox is 155 rebounds away from surpassing her former teammate for the mark. Fox would need to average 11.1 rebounds over the 14-game stretch of the regular season to move past Odor. 

·  TARYN IT UP. Freshman Taryn Frazer, a Cass Lake, Minn., native, has jumped right on to the scene for the Golden Eagles. Frazer was recently named the Bemidji Pioneer Sportsperson of the Year for what she did as both a player at Cass Lake-Bena H.S., and at the University of Minnesota Crookston. Frazer comes into the weekend notching 7.1 points per game. Frazer is 
coming off two-consecutive games of scoring 10 points. Frazer has four games where she has scored in double digits. She is averaging 7.5 points per game this season. Frazer is connecting on 31.4 percent of her shots from deep this season. She will be a crucial piece this weekend against Winona State and Upper Iowa. 

• 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 25.7 percent from beyond the arc this season. Teams are just averaging 5.4 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 last weekend. Minot State shot just 15.4 percent from beyond the arc, while UMary shot only 19.2 percent. Palm Beach Atlantic was the only team this season to shoot over 40.0 percent on more than 10 attempts from beyond the arc. 

• TURN THE PAGE. Minnesota Crookston sophomore Alex Page is having a solid sophomore season. She is coming off a great weekend for the Golden Eagles, as she averaged 11.0 points and 5.5 rebounds in wins over UMary and Minot State. Page is averaging 7.8 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. Page is shooting 44.7 percent from the field, and 29.0 percent from beyond the arc. 

• IMPACT TRANSFERS. Nicole Hernandez and Erika Lane have made an immediate impact after transferring over from Lindenwood University and the University of North Dakota respectively. Hernandez comes in averaging 5.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Hernandez had a big game against UMary, scoring nine points and securing six rebounds. Lane comes in
averaging 5.9 points per game, and is shooting 35.1 percent from beyond the arc. Lane scored 11 points versus UMary last Saturday.

• HITTING THE FREE ONES. Minnesota Crookston has made it count at the charity stripe this season. The Golden Eagles lead the conference with a 79.1 free throw percentage this season. They have made 144-of-182 shots this season. Erika Lane leads the team with a 90.0 percent free throw percentage. Emma Miller is shooting 83.3 percent from the stripe this season. Fox comes in shooting 87.0 percent, while Page is hitting at an 82.8 percent clip this season.

• ON THE ROAD. Minnesota Crookston  comes into the weekend with a 2-4 mark on the road this season. The Golden Eagles have conference victories on the road against Bemidji State University and Northern State University. 

WINONA STATE. Winona State comes into the weekend with an 8-6 (2-6 NSIC) record. The Warriors have lost three-consecutive games. Their last win came against the University of Sioux Falls December 10. Winona State is 
averaging 64.1 points per game, while allowing 60.8 points per game to their opponents. The Warriors are shooting 44.4 percent from the field, and 35.3 percent from beyond the arc. Winona State is outrebounding teams 33.6-28.0 this season.

ALEX AT THE LEAD. Alex Dornfeld, a 5-11 junior forward, leads the way for the Warriors this season. Dornfeld is averaging 12.6 points and 9.1 rebounds this season. Dornfeld leads the NSIC in rebounding this season, she is slightly ahead of UMN Crookston senior Bren Fox on the rebounding charts. Dornfeld has scored in double-figures nine times this season. She has four double-doubles this season. 

RILEY FROM DEEP.  Caitlin Riley is the biggest three-point threat for the Warriors this season. She is shooting at a 47.4 percent clip during the 2022-23 slate. Riley is averaging 11.1 points per game for Winona State. She has tallied 
double-figure scoring eight times this season.

LAUREN FECH.  Lauren Fech has been a staple in the NSIC since the 2017-18 season. She has played at both MSU Moorhead and Winona State. Fech is averaging 8.9 points and 5.0 rebounds per tilt. Fech has scored in double-figures six times this season.

CARPENTER CONNECTION. Minnesota Crookston reunites with Emma Carpenter on Friday night. Carpenter played the first three years of her collegiate career at Minnesota Crookston before transferring to Winona State. Carpenter averaged 7.2 points and 2.0 rebounds per game last season for the Golden Eagles. This season she is coming off the bench for 4.3 points and 1.3 rebounds per game for the Warriors. 

UPPER IOWA. The Peacocks come into the weekend with a 5-8 (1-7 NSIC) mark. Their lone win in NSIC play came last weekend against Winona State with a 70-63 victory. The Peacocks are in their first season under Head Coach Justin Maass. Upper Iowa is averaging 66.7 points per game, while allowing 74.1 points to their opponents. Upper Iowa is shooting 39.6 percent from the field, and 32.0 percent from beyond the arc.

BALL HAACK. Lydia Haack leads the Peacocks, averaging 16.2 points per game. She is also averaging 5.3 rebounds per game. Haack has scored in double figures in nine games this season. Haack is shooting 46.2 percent from the field, and 28.6 percent from beyond the arc. She is an 81.8 percent free throw shooter. 

TORNSTROM OFF THE BENCH. Katie Tornstrom has been Upper Iowa's second-leading scorer, but she has come off the bench in all but one of the games this season. Tornstrom is averaging 14.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. She has been on-fire from deep this season, hitting at a 40.0 percent clip. Tornstrom is coming off scoring 30 points against Winona State last weekend. She was named NSIC South Player of the Week for her performance. 

MIA FROM MINNESOTA. Mia Huberty, an Elk River-native, comes in notching 10.2 points per game this season. She has three games in which she scored in double-figures. Huberty has played in just six games, with five starts, but has played in the last five games for the Peacocks. 

MINNESOTA CROOKSTON
Projected Starters
Fr. G 1 Emma Miller (5-1, Albertville, Minn.) 17.5 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 3.1 APG
So. F 20 Alex Page (6-0, Grand Forks, N.D.) 7.8 PPG, 3.9 RPG
Fr. G 3 Taryn Frazer (5-4, Cass Lake, Minn.) 7.5 PPG, 2.6 RPG
Jr. F/C 4 Nicole Hernandez (6-2, Oak Creek, Minn.) 5.1 PPG, 5.6 RPG
R-Sr. C 23 Bren Fox (6-3, Norwood Young America, Minn.) 7.3 PPG, 8.9 RPG
Top Bench Players
So. G 5 Erika Lane (5-10, Breezy Point, Minn.) 5.9 PPG, 2.1 RPG
Fr. F/C 15 Janie Tormanen (6-0, Menahga, Minn.) 4.1 PPG, 2.6 RPG
Fr. G 11 Natalie Mikrot (5-6, Willow River, Minn.) 3.3 PPG, 0.9 RPG
R-Jr. F 21 Abigail Leach (6-0, Wyoming, Minn.) 2.5 PPG, 1.7 RPG

WINONA STATE
Projected Starters
So. PG 5 Mattie Schimenz (5-7, Milwaukee, Wis.) 8.5 PPG, 1.4 RPG
Jr. SG 0 Caitlin Riley (5-7, Cedar Rapids, Iowa) 11.1 PPG, 3.1 RPG
R-Sr. 3G 1 Lauren Fech (5-8, Wausau, Wis.) 8.9 PPG, 5.0 RPG
Jr. SF 10 Alex Dornfeld (5-11, Markesan, Wis.) 12.6 PPG, 9.1 RPG
Jr. PF 15 Ava Sergio (6-1, Geneva, Ill.) 5.6 PPG, 3.4 RPG
Top Bench Players
Jr. G 2 Emma Carpenter (5-9, Eagan, Minn.) 4.3 PPG, 1.3 RPG
So. G 20 Kaitlyn Schrimpf (5-9, Oregon, Wis.) 4.1 PPG, 1.8 RPG
So. G 3 Lindsey Hahn (5-8, Western Springs, Ill.) 3.7 PPG, 2.0 RPG
So. F 30 Vanessa Alexander (5-11, St. Michael, Minn.) 1.8 PPG, 3.1 RPG

 
UPPER IOWA
Projected Starters
Jr. PG 3 Lydia Haack (5-3, Elk River, Minn.) 16.2 PPG, 5.3 RPG
Jr. SG 4 Callista Rochon-Baker (5-8, Oshkosh, Wis.) 7.8 PPG, 1.9 RPG
So. 3G 13 Mia Huberty (5-9, Elk River, Minn.) 10.2 PPG, 3.3 RPG
So. SF 44 Helen Staley (6-0, Rosemount, Minn.) 6.5 PPG, 5.8 RPG
Sr. PF 15 Lexie Lodermeier (6-3, Goodhue, Minn.) 3.0 PPG, 3.9 RPG
Top Bench Players
Sr. G 1 Katie Tornstrom (5-10, Caledonia, Minn.) 14.3 PPG, 4.8 RPG
Sr. G 11 Brooke Evenson (6-0, Baldwin, Wis.) 5.0 PPG, 3.8 RPG
Jr. C 42 Cassidy Pagel (6-1, Sumner, Iowa) 3.9 PPG, 3.1 RPG
Sr. G 30 Emma Anderson (5-7, Big Lake, Minn.) 3.2 PPG, 1.4 RPG
Jr. G 22 Alaina Brenning (5-8, Rogers, Minn.) 2.7 PPG, 1.6 RPG

GAMEDAY

Minnesota Crookston @ Winona State
DATE: Friday, January 6
TIME: 5:30 p.m.
SITE: Winona, Minn.
ARENA: McCown Gymnasium
Watch Live: https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/
Live Stats: https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary
TWITTER: @UMNCrookstonATH/@UMNCrookstonWBB

Minnesota Crookston @ Upper Iowa
DATE: Saturday, January 7
TIME: 3:30 p.m.
SITE: Fayette, Iowa
ARENA: Dorman Gymnasium
Watch Live: https://nsicnetwork.com/winonastatewarriors/
Live Stats: https://winonastatewarriors.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary
TWITTER: @UMNCrookstonATH/@UMNCrookstonWBB