Women's Basketball | 12/10/2024 1:52:00 PM

• THE MINNESOTA CROOKSTON women's basketball team wraps up the 2024 calendar year by hosting the 
University of Mary, Saturday, December 14 at 2 p.m., at Gary Senske Court at Lysaker Gymnasium. The Golden Eagles had a strong weekend at home last weekend, with an overtime win over Bemidji State University, and a game that came down to the wire with St. Cloud State University. Minnesota Crookston comes into the weekend with a 4-5 (2-1 NSIC) mark. They have 
continued their best start in NSIC play since the 2018-19 season. The Golden Eagles come in averaging 71.3 points per game, while allowing 75.3 to their foes. The Golden Eagles are shooting 41.5 percent from the field, and 30.5 percent from beyond the arc. They come into Saturday hitting at a 78.9 percent clip from the line. Minnesota Crookston is being edged on the glass 40.6-35.6. They are averaging 14.3 turnovers per game, while their opponents are turning it over 14.9 times per game. 

• SERIES HISTORY.  UMary leads the series 23-10. The Marauders have captured the last two wins in the series. 
Minnesota Crookston's last win at home came with a 78-64 decision over UMary December 31, 2022 in Crookston. UMary has the edge 4-1 in the last five meetings. Minnesota Crookston's best stretch in the series was a five-game winning streak from January 2, 2015 to January 20, 2017. 

• BLOCK PARTY.  Nicole Hernandez (R-Sr., F/C, Oak Creek, Wis.) comes into the weekend ranked second in the nation in blocks with 29. She is currently tied with Alisha Little of Colorado State-Pueblo, and trails Shaw's Mahogany Collins by two blocks. Hernandez is also second with an average of 3.22 blocks per game. The Golden Eagles are tied for 10th nationally with 5.0 blocks per game. Hernandez currently ranks third all-time with 114 career blocks. She needs nine blocks to surpass Jessica Forsline for second, and needs 45 blocks to move past Isieoma Odor for the school record. 

• MISS T.  Minnesota Crookston guard Taryn Frazer, a junior from Cass Lake, Minn., comes into the weekend averaging 6.6 points, and 2.0 rebounds per game. Frazer comes in shooting 46.7 percent from beyond the arc. She is 14-of-30 on the season. Frazer has been an important bench player, averaging 14.8 minutes per game in eight games played. She is coming off eight points in 10 minutes against St. Cloud State. Her best game came with 18 points against Michigan Tech, as she hit 6-of-10 from beyond the arc. Frazer added 11 points in the second game of the season against Pittsburg State. 

• STAT STUFFER. 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 had an outstanding weekend as she was a stat stuffer, excelling in multiple categories. Jenkins 
averaged 17.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 3.0 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game. She shot 12-of-24 for 50.0 percent from the field, and went 4-of-10 for 40.0 percent from beyond the arc. Jenkins is averaging 12.7 points, and 7.0 rebounds per game this season. She is shooting 48.8 percent from the field. 

• 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 the weekend with 1,211 career points. Miller currently ranks seventh all-time in scoring at Minnesota Crookston. She needs 33 points to surpass Kari Score for sixth all-time in scoring. Miller is 514 points away from surpassing Jamie Zelinsky as the program's all-time leading scorer. She is having her best season from a scoring standpoint, notching 22.4 points per tilt. If she is to continue on her average of 22.8 points per game, she would score 433 more points in the regular seaason, which would put her just 81 points shy of Zelinsky. Miller is also notching 5.4 boards per tilt, and 2.8 assists per game. Miller has 848 career points in NSIC play. She is 113 points from breaking into the top 37 all-time in scoring in the 
conference. Brooke Olson of Minnesota Duluth has the all-time conference scoring record with 1,615 points in conference play. Zelinsky ranks seventh all-time in conference scoring with 1,280 career points. Katrina (Moenkedick) Nordick is eighth, Isieoma Odor is 12th, and Alexa Thielman is 15th. 

• 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 comes in averaging 7.6 points, and 2.3 rebounds per game. She is shooting 37.7 percent from the field, and 35.5 percent from beyond the arc. Dudycha is also an 78.6 percent shooter from the foul line. Dudycha averaged 11.5 points per game last weekend against Bemidji State, and St. Cloud State. Dudycha hit 6-of-13 from beyond the arc for 46.2 percent. She went 4-of-7 Saturday against the Huskies. 

• "THIEL"ING IT. Willow Thiel (Fr., F, Perham, Minn.) has made an instant impact as a freshman for the Golden Eagles. Thiel is averaging 8.8 points, and 5.4 rebounds for Minnesota Crookston. She comes in shooting 41.4 percent from the field. Thiel leads the team with 13 offensive boards this season. She had a season-high 21 points and 10 rebounds in a win over Michigan Tech November 16. Thiel tallied 16 points in a win over South Dakota Mines, and 14 points against Pittsburg State. She had six boards last Friday against Bemidji State in the overtime victory. 

UMARY. UMary comes into the weekend with a 3-3 (0-2 NSIC). The Marauders lost 65-43 in their last game with 
Minnesota State University Moorhead. They previously had back-to-back wins with Saint Leo University, and University of Tampa. UMary is being outscored 67.0-65.3 this season. They come into the weekend shooting 36.1 percent from the field, 35.8 percent from beyond the arc, and 75.8 percent from the foul line. UMary is being slightly edged on the glass, 36.8-35.2. UMary comes in averaging 15.8 turnovers per game, compared to 15.7 for their foes. UMary shoots a lot of three pointers, as they come in averaging 8.8 threes per game, almost doubling their foes. They have 148 three-point shots entering the weekend. 

B IS FOR BERGAN. Bergan Kinnebrew leads the way for UMary. She comes in averaging 16.0 points, and 4.8 rebounds per game. Kinnebrew is a 39.0 percent shooter from the field, and she is hitting at a 28.6 percent clip from distance. Kinnebrew has a knack for getting to the charity stripe, as she has been to the line 32 times this season. Kinnebrew is 30-of-32 for 93.8 percent from the stripe this season. She has scored in double figures in all six games this season. Kinnebrew's season-high 24 points came against Northern State November 21. 

JAENKE, JAENKE, LET'S PARTY. Emily Jaenke has been a three-point specialist off the bench for UMary this season. Jaenke comes in having a three-point party, hitting at a 53.3 percent clip with 30 attempts this season. Jaenke is averaging 16.2 minutes per game, and has only taken five shots away from the three-point line this season. She is hitting at a 54.3 percent clip from the field this season.

WACHA DOING. Ryleigh Wacha has been a key player on the glass for UMary, averaging 5.3 rebounds per game. She also comes in notching 6.3 points per tilt. Wacha has also been crucial from beyond the arc, shooting at a 57.1 percent clip with 14 attempts. Wacha had a season-high 14 points versus Saint Leo November 29. She was 4-of-4 from beyond the arc in the game. 

INTERRANTE FACTS. Ava Interrante has been a key transfer from Valparaiso. She comes into the weekend averaging 6.5 points, and 4.3 rebounds per game. She also leads the team with 19 assists. Interrante has scored in double figures in three games this season. She had 10 against both Tampa, and Northeastern State, and 13 versus Northern State.

WEEKLY SNAPSHOT

MINNESOTA CROOKSTON
Projected Starters
Jr. PG 1 Emma Miller (5-1, Albertville, Minn.) 22.4 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 2.8 APG
R-So. SG 2 Hope Dudycha (5-5, Austin, Minn.) 7.6 PPG, 2.3 RPG
R-So. 3G 30 Riley Jenkins (5-10, Galesburg, Ill.) 12.7 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 2.9 APG
Fr. SF 21 Willow Thiel (5-11, Perham, Minn.) 8.8 PPG, 5.4 RPG
R-Sr. C 4 Nicole Hernandez (6-2, Oak Creek, Wis.) 4.9 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 3.2 BPG
Bench
Jr. G 3 Taryn Frazer (5-4, Cass Lake, Minn.) 6.6 PPG, 2.0 RPG
So. F 14 Rayna Klejeski (6-0, Barnum, Minn.) 4.3 PPG, 1.6 RPG

UMARY
Projected Starters
Gr. PG 3 Ava Interrante (5-9, McHenry, Ill.) 6.5 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 3.2 APG
Fr. G 1 Eden Fridley (5-10, Bismarck, N.D.) 4.5 PPG, 1.7 RPG
Sr. G 14 Ryleigh Wacha (5-10, Fargo, N.D.) 6.3 PPG, 5.3 RPG
So. G 13 Bergan Kinnebrew (5-11, Bismarck, N.D.) 16.0 PPG, 4.8 RPG
Sr. F 33 Addison Rozell (6-2, Redfield, S.D.) 6.8 PPG, 5.0 RPG
Bench
So. G 23 Emily Jaenke (5-10, Appleton, Wis.) 9.2 PPG, 1.2 RPG
So. C 5 Allison Undlin (6-3, Mohall, N.D.) 6.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG
So. G 11 Chloe Pfau (5-11, West Fargo, N.D.) 5.0 PPG, 1.8 RPG
Sr. C 12 Moriku Hakim (6-0, Fargo, N.D.) 5.8 PPG, 5.2 RPG
So. G 21 Anna Lenzen (5-10, Chaska, Minn.) 3.0 PPG, 2.2 RPG

GAMEDAY

UMARY AT MINNESOTA CROOKSTON
DATE: Saturday, December 14
TIME: 2 p.m. C.T.
SITE: Crookston, Minn.
ARENA: Gary Senske Court and Lysaker Gymnasium
LIVE STATS: https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary
LIVE VIDEO: https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/
X: @UMNCrookstonATH/@UMNCrookstonWBB

KEYS TO THE WEEKEND

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

Can Emma Dudycha have a strong Saturday from beyond the arc?

Will Nicole Hernandez continue to be a force defensively?

Can Riley Jenkins be a stat stuffer like she was last weekend?

What other players can make crucial plays Saturday?