MARSHALL, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston women's basketball team fell 83-66 in the opening round of the 2023 NSIC Tournament. The Mustangs hit 15 three-pointers and outscored the Golden Eagles 31-15 in the first quarter to aid their victory Tuesday, February 21. UMN Crookston was barely edged 52-51 in the final three quarters of the game.

Minnesota Crookston ends their season with a 10-19 (9-13 NSIC) mark. The Golden Eagles reached 10 or more wins for the first time since the 2018-19 season. The Golden Eagles made the NSIC Tournament in a year where not every team makes it, for the fifth time in the Mike Roysland era, and eighth time in the NCAA Division II era. The Golden Eagle women's basketball team has had the most appearances of any sport at UMN Crookston during the NCAA Division II era.

The game was highlighted by Bren Fox (R-Sr., F/C, Norwood Young America, Minn.) breaking the school record for rebounds in a career. Fox broke it with six seconds remaining as she rebounded a Zoie Centers free throw. Fox ends her career with 776 rebounds, edging her former teammate Isieoma Odor by one rebound. Fox finished one point of her career high in points with 22. She had her 12^th double-double of the 2022-23 season.

Emma Miller (Fr., G, Albertville, Minn.) added 18 points on 6-of-22 from the field. Alex Page (So., F, Grand Forks, N.D.) notched seven points. Nicole Hernandez (Jr., F/C, Oak Creek, Wis.) and Taryn Frazer (Fr., G, Cass Lake, Minn.) came off the bench for seven.

The Golden Eagles shot 24-of-54 from the field for 44.4 percent. Minnesota Crookston was 5-of-14 from deep for 35.7 percent. They were 13-of-18 for 72.2 percent from the foul line. The Golden Eagles had 16 turnovers in the game. Both teams notched 32 rebounds.

The key for the Mustangs was their three-point shooting, as they went 15-of-37 for 40.5 percent. Southwest Minnesota State was 28-of-61 from the field for 45.9 percent. They were 12-of-15 from the line for 80 percent.

Jenna Borchers paced the Mustangs with 27 points, including seven three-pointers. Peyton Blandin came off the bench for 14, while Madison Gehloff had 11 points. Bri Stoltzmann led Southwest Minnesota State on the glass with seven.

The Mustangs jumped out to an early 11-4 lead following a Jenna Borchers triple.  Borchers hit three triples in the first 3:25 of the tilt. Borchers hit her fourth three-pointer of the game to extend the Southwest Minnesota State advantage to 14-4. A  Blandin trey widened the Mustang lead to 17-4 with under 4:30 left in the first half. Minnesota Crookston broke the run with a pair of Fox free throws to cut the deficit to 17-6. The Mustangs took the 26-11 lead after Audrey Swanson scored off a steal to make it 26-11. Miller responded with a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 26-14 with over a minute left in the first frame. Southwest Minnesota State countered with a Stoltzmann trey to extend their lead to 31-14. Miller 1-of-2 from the line to trim the deficit to 31-15 at the quarter break.

Sam Wall and Blandin hit three-pointers to open the second quarter to push the lead for the Mustangs to 37-15 with 9:02 remaining in the stanza. The Golden Eagles responded with an 11-2 run as a Miller triple cut the Mustang lead to 39-26. Wall halted Minnesota Crookston's run with a trey to push the lead to 42-26. The Golden Eagles trimmed the deficit to 44-30 as Miller found Hernandez on the fastbreak. The Mustangs came back with a Blandin old-fashioned three-point play to make it 47-30 with 1:15 remaining in the second stanza. The Mustangs went into the locker room with the 47-30 lead.

Southwest Minnesota State opened the third quarter on a 4-0 run as a pair of Stoltzmann free throws made it 51-30. The Golden Eagles pulled within 53-38 after back-to-back triples from Frazer and Hernandez. The Mustangs responded with Borchers' fifth trey of the game to push the lead to 56-38. The Golden Eagles cut the deficit to 59-43 as Frazer drove to the dish for a pair. UMN Crookston made it a 7-0 run as Frazer sank a pair at the stripe to bring the Golden Eagles within 59-50 with 2:02 left in the third. Southwest Minnesota State halted the run with a pair from Gehloff to push the lead back out to 61-50. The Golden Eagles responded with 1-of-2 from the line from Fox to cut the deficit to 61-51 with 35 seconds remaining in the stanza.

The Mustangs widened the gap to 63-51 as Stoltzmann hit two from the stripe. Fox responded on the opposite end with a touch off the glass to bring it back within 10. Borchers came back with her seventh triple of the game to push the Mustang lead to 66-53 with 8:23 left in the tilt. After a timeout, the Golden Eagles responded with a jumper from Miller to bring it down to 66-55. However, the Mustangs came back with a Blandin trey to extend the lead to 69-55. The Golden Eagles came back within 10 (69-59) as Miller drained a pair at the stripe with 6:38 left in the tilt. The Mustangs pushed the lead out to 71-59 after a Borchers bucket off the steal heading into the media timeout. The Golden Eagles pulled back within 73-63 on a Page drive and bucket. Sam Wall drained a three to give the Mustangs the 78-64 lead with over two minutes left in the tilt. The Golden Eagles fell 83-66, despite the strong effort in the second half.  

Fox and Veronica Schwartz (Sr., F, Parkers Prairie, Minn.) are the only Golden Eagles to play their final games. Both were integral parts of the program and leaders for Minnesota Crookston. In addition to Fox's rebounding mark, she set the school record for games played in a career. Fox finished her career with 901 career points.

The Golden Eagles have a strong core slated to return in 2023-24 as 10-of-15 players are either freshmen or sophomores. Southwest Minnesota State University continues their season Sunday, February 26 at the NSIC Tournament quarterfinals against St. Cloud State University in Sioux Falls, S.D.