Women's Basketball | 11/25/2024 3:42:00 PM

• THE MINNESOTA CROOKSTON women's basketball team comes into NSIC play with a 2-4 (0-0 NSIC) mark. The Golden Eagles have played a competitive schedule with elite NCAA Division II programs. Minnesota Crookston is coming off a split last week with a 74-55 win over South Dakota Mines, and a 70-62 loss at Black Hills State University. The Golden Eagles have gone 2-1 in their last three games. Minnesota Crookston's defense has been much improved in their last three games, limiting teams to an average of 64.3 points. In their first three games, their opponents averaged 92.3 points per tilt. The Golden Eagles come into Tuesday notching 71.2 points per game, and allowing 78.3. Minnesota Crookston is shooting 41.6 percent from the field, 30.8 percent from beyond the arc, and 84.1 percent from the stripe. They are averaging 34.8 rebounds per game, whille allowing 41.2 to their foes. Minnesota Crookston comes in notching 11.3 assists, to 14.2 turnovers. They are averaging 4.7 blocks per game. 

• SERIES HISTORY.  Minnesota Crookston has an 11-10 mark in the series with the Beavers. Minnesota Crookston won the last time out November 21, 2023 in Crookston, 67-54. The Golden Eagles have won three of the last four contests between the two schools. Minot State's best winning streak was four-straight from 2020-21. The Golden Eagles had a four-game winning streak from 2016-17. Minnesota Crookston opened conference play with last year's 67-54 victory over the Beavers.

• BLOCK PARTY.  The Golden Eagles are currently tied for 26th in the nation with 4.7 blocks per game. They are 
guided by the nation's block leader, Nicole Hernandez (R-Sr., F/C, Oak Creek, Wis.), who leads the nation with 20, and 3.33 blocks per game. Hernandez has had three or more blocks in four games this season including seven November 21 against Black Hills State. The seven blocks was one shy of Jessica Forsline's school record of eight in a game.

• MISS T.  Minnesota Crookston guard Taryn Frazer, a junior from Cass Lake, Minn., has been a sharpshooter for the Golden Eagles. Frazer comes into the week hitting at a 48.0 percent clip on 25 attempts this season. She is averaging 7.2 points per game off the bench for Minnesota Crookston, including 18 points against Michigan Tech November 16. Frazer was kept at bay last week in the Black Hills, but has proven herself a dangerous shooter, with her six three-pointers against Michigan Tech. 

• ROUND BALL RILEY. Riley Jenkins (R-So., G/F, Galesburg, Ill.) has been coming into her own on the court for the Golden Eagles. Jenkins first arrived in 2023-24, recovering from an injury and has continued to improve and become a bigger piece for the Golden Eagles. Jenkins is averaging 10.7 points, and 5.7 boards per game for Minnesota Crookston. She comes in shooting 46.9 percent from the field, and 92.9 percent from the charity stripe. She is coming off 12 points against Black Hills State, and 16 points in the win over South Dakota Mines. Jenkins has had five games where she has tallied double-figure scoring this season. In addition, she is coming off seven boards versus South Dakota Mines, and four assists. 

• LOCAL FLAVOR. The Golden Eagles have strong connections to the local area in their incoming class. Minnesota Crookston has Crookston-native Halle Winjum (Fr., G) on the roster. In addition, Brynlea Mahlen (Fr., G, Fosston, Minn.), comes down the road from 45 minutes away in Fosston. She has deep connections to the program as her father Nate Mahlen was a long-time women's basketball assistant coach and is currently an Assistant Athletic Director for the Golden Eagles. Willow Thiel (Fr., F, Perham, Minn.) is from the region in Perham, but her mother Lacey Thiel is originally from Crookston.

• MILLER TIME. Minnesota Crookston junior guard Emma Miller had a strong first two seasons for Minnesota 
Crookston. Miller is a two-time All-NSIC selection, earning All-NSIC First Team as a freshman, and All-NSIC Second Team as a sophomore. She is the first player since Katrina Nordick and Alexa Thielman in 2014-15 and 2015-16 to earn back-to-back All-NSIC accolades. She became the 13th player to score 1,000 points in Minnesota Crookston history. Miller is in the Top 10 all-time for scoring for the Golden Eagles. She comes into Tuesday with 1,137 career points, which currently sits eighth all-time. She most 
recently surpassed Micaela Noga. Miller needs 68 points to move past Brittani Wiese for seventh all-time. She is 588 career points from breaking Jamie Zelinsky's Minnesota Crookston school record. Miller has been named to the NSIC's Shining 5 to weeks in a row. She is currently eighth in the nation in scoring with 21.8 points per game. Miller averaged a double-double of 23.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists last weekend. 

• A LITTLE HOPE. Redshirt sophomore guard Hope Dudycha, a native of Austin, Minn., had a good first year on the court for the Golden Eagles, and will be looked to have even more of an impact in 2024-25. Dudycha is coming off her best game of the season, as she tallied 16 points on 7-of-11 from the field in the win over South Dakota Mines. She has two games with 
double-figure scoring this season, notching 11 points versus Pittsburg State. Dudycha is averaging 6.7 points per game, and is shooting 38.5 percent from beyond the arc. She will continue to be a major factor throughout the season for the Golden Eagles.

• "THIEL"ING IT. Willow Thiel (Fr., F, Perham, Minn.) is coming off her best weekend as a Golden Eagle early in her career for the Golden Eagles. Thiel is the team's second-leading scorer through six games. She is notching 11.0 points, and 6.7 rebounds per game. Thiel comes in shooting 46.5 percent from the field. She is coming off 16 points, and nine boards in the win over the Hardrockers. Her best performance came with 21 points on 7-of-13 from the field in the win over Michigan Tech. She has three double-figure scoring games this season. Thiel's best performance on the glass, was 10 boards against Michigan Tech. 

• RAVING ABOUT RAYNA. Minnesota Crookston sophomore Rayna Klejeski comes in notching 5.0 points per game for Minnesota Crookston. Klejeski, a native of Barnum, Minn., is shooting an impressive 54.5 percent from the field. Her best game came with 13 points against Northern Michigan. She had seven points last Thursday versus Black Hills State. 

MINOT STATE. The Beavers enter NSIC play with a 1-6 mark. Minot State University is in their first season under Head Coach Ryan Clark, who comes over after two seasons as the head women's basketball coach at Lake Region State 
College. Minot State is coming off three losses last week. They fell 81-64 to the University of Jamestown, 79-63 to 
Mayville State University, and 65-51 to Montana State University Billings. The Beavers are scoring 61.3 points per game, while allowing 73.7 to their foes. Minot State comes in shooting 40.3 percent from the field, 29.5 percent from beyond the arc, and 75.0 percent from the stripe. They are being outrebounded 38.6-30.9. Minot State is averaging 12.7 assists to 19.6 turnovers per game. 

GIVE ME SOME MOGEN. Emma Mogen is a key player for the Beavers, averaging 9.1 points, and 4.3 rebounds per game. Mogen comes in shooting 37.1 percent from the field, and 32.0 percent from three-point range. Her season-high 18 points came in the first game of the season against Union University (Tenn.). Mogen had nine points in Minot State's last game out against Montana State Billings. Her younger sister Jessica Mogen has been a key player off the bench for the Beavers. She has played in all seven games, averaging 4.4 points, and 2.6 boards per game. 

LED BY DOBBINS. Lara Dobbins, a freshman from New South Wales, Australia, has guided the Beavers this season. She comes in averaging a team-high 9.9 points per game, to go with 3.3 rebounds per tilt. Dobbins is shooting an impressive 45.9 percent from the field, and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc. She has four double-figure scoring games, including 17 points against Mayville State on November 21. She shot 3-of-7 from beyond the arc in the game with the Comets. Dobbins looks to be a major factor Tuesday.

AGUILAR FOR THREE. Sophomore Minot-native Maya Aguilar has been a major factor from distance for the Beavers this season. She comes in shooting 37.9 percent from beyond the arc on a team-high 29 attempts. Aguilar is averaging 7.6 points, and 2.1 boards per game coming into Tuesday. She has three double-figure scoring games this season, including 15 points against Texas A&M International. 

GUSTAVVSON ON THE DISH. Sydney Gustavvson, a 5-7 senior guard from Mandan, N.D., makes the Minot State offense go this season. She comes in with team-high 24 assists for 3.4 assists per game. Gustavvson averaged 5.33 assists per game through the first three games of the season. Offensively, her best game came with 17 points against Jamestown November 19. She is averaging 6.0 points, and 3.0 rebounds per game to go with her assists. 

GAMEDAY

MINNESOTA CROOKSTON AT MINOT STATE
DATE: Tuesday, November 25
TIME: 5:30 p.m. C.T.
SITE: Minot, N.D.
ARENA: Minot State Dome
LIVE STATS: hhttps://msubeavers.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary
LIVE VIDEO: https://nsicnetwork.com/msubeavers/
X: @UMNCrookstonATH/@UMNCrookstonWBB


WEEKLY SNAPSHOT

MINNESOTA CROOKSTON
Projected Starters
Jr. PG 1 Emma Miller (5-1, Albertville, Minn.) 21.8 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 2.8 APG
R-So. SG 2 Hope Dudycha (5-5, Austin, Minn.) 6.7 PPG, 2.3 RPG
R-So. 3G 30 Riley Jenkins (5-10, Galesburg, Ill.) 10.7 PPG, 5.7 RPG
Fr. SF 21 Willow Thiel (5-11, Perham, Minn.) 11.0 PPG, 6.7 RPG
R-Sr. C 4 Nicole Hernandez (6-2, Oak Creek, Wis.) 4.7 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 3.3 BPG
Bench
Jr. G 3 Taryn Frazer (5-4, Cass Lake, Minn.) 7.2 PPG, 2.3 RPG
So. F 14 Rayna Klejeski (6-0, Barnum, Minn.) 5.0 PPG, 1.5 RPG


MINOT STATE
Projected Starters
Sr. PG 21 Sydney Gustavson (5-7, Mandan, N.D.) 6.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 3.4 APG
Sr. SG 5 Emma Mogen (5-8, Watford City, N.D.) 9.1 PPG, 4.3 RPG
So. 3G 24 Maya Aguilar (5-9, Minot, N.D.) 7.6 PPG, 2.1 RPG
Fr. SF 20 Lara Dobbins (5-11, New South Wales, Australia) 9.9 PPG, 3.3 RPG
Jr. PF 22 Lorelei McIver (6-0, Glenburn, N.D.) 7.1 PPG, 5.0 RPG
Bench
R-Jr. F 23 Taylor Goss (5-10, Pekin, Ill.) 6.0 PPG, 1.5 RPG
Fr. G 3 Jessica Mogen (5-9, Watford City, N.D.) 4.4 PPG, 2.6 RPG
Jr. G 10 Jaime Skeggs (5-10, Mandurah, Western Australia) 4.4 PPG, 2.3 RPG
Sr. G 0 Cassidy King (5-6, Chico, Calif.) 1.9 PPG, 1.1 RPG

KEYS TO THE WEEKEND

Will Emma Miller have a major impact for the Golden Eagles?

Can Willow Thiel continue to be a major force for the Golden Eagles?

Can Nicole Hernandez be a defensive 
menace for Minnesota Crookston?

Can the Golden Eagles open NSIC play 1-0 for the second-straight season?

Who will knock down key three-pointers Tuesday?

Can the Golden Eagles play strong defense against the Beavers?