Women's Basketball | 11/18/2025 1:02:00 PM

• THE MINNESOTA CROOKSTON women's basketball team is set for their first home game Wednesday, November 19 at 4 p.m., against Black Hills State University. They will hit the road Tuesday, November 25 to face Minnesota State University Moorhead on the road to open conference play. The Golden Eagles come into the games with an 0-2 mark, after close losses to Nebraska Kearney and #7 Pittsburg State. Minnesota Crookston comes in averaging 70.0 points per game, while allowing 77.5 to their foes. They are shooting 42.3 percent from the field, and 36.2 percent from beyond the arc. Minnesota Crookston is being outrebounded 43.0 to 34.5 after week one. They are averaging 12.0 assists to 16.5 turnovers after week one.

• IT'S EMMA. Miller, the 5-1 senior from Albertville, Minn., has made a name for herself in the NSIC, regionally, and nationally. The two-time All-NSIC First Team selection, and All-Region honoree, is closing in on the Minnesota Crookston scoring record. She is 11 points away from breaking Jamie Zelinsky's scoring mark which has been intact since 2011. Miller currently has 1,714 career points. She is also moving up the charts all-time for NSIC scoring. Miller enters the season with 1,275 conference points, ranking 10th. She needs six points in conference play to surpass Zelinsky for ninth, and needs 341 points to break Brooke Olson's conference mark set for Minnesota Duluth from 2018-23 with 1,615 conference points. Miller is averaging 25.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 6.0 assists per game after the first two tilts. She is shooting 41.9 percent from the field, and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc.

• JENKINS JOTTINGS. Riley Jenkins, a 5-10 wing from Galesburg, Ill., enters the week with 12.5 points, and 3.5 boards per game. Jenkins was an All-NSIC Second Team selection in 2024-25 and is looking to build on the strong season. Jenkins comes in hitting at a 40.9 percent clip from the field, and a 37.5 percent mark from beyond the arc. She had 14 points on 5-of-11 from the field, including two triples against Pittsburg State. She will be a key component against Black Hills State, and on the road versus MSU Moorhead.

• FIRE AND RAYNA. Rayna Klejeski, a six-foot junior from Barnum, Minn., is coming off one of her strongest weekends of her career, as she got off to a very successful start to the 2025-26 season. Klejeski enters the weekend notching 11.5 points, and 7.5 boards per game. She is shooting 53.3 percent form the field, and an unblemished 3-of-3 from distance. Klejeski will be vital in the post this season. She scored a career-high 17 points against Pittsburg State, and added eight boards. She will be vital against Black Hills State, and MSU Moorhead.

• EAST AND WESTBY. Anna Westby, a freshman from Eveleth, Minn., started her career with a pair of starts for
Minnesota Crookston. The 5-11 forward enters the next two games notching 7.0 points, and four boards per game. She is shooting 33.3 percent from the field. Westby had 10 points, and five rebounds versus Pittsburg State and will look to build off the game heading into her home debut against Black Hills State.

• OFF THE BENCH. Two-sport athlete Emma Pierson, a freshman from Cherry Valley, Ill. who also competes for women's golf, had a strong game against the Gorillas. Pierson didn't play in the first game, but made her presence known versus Pittsburg State hitting 2-of-3 attempts from distance. Pierson enters the week notching 6.0 points per game, and will look to make her
presence known off the bench.

• LOCAL GIRL. Halle Winjum, a native of Crookston, is in her sophomore season for the Golden Eagles. Winjum, a 5-6 guard, averaged 4.0 points, and 4.5 boards per game in her first two games. Winjum comes in shooting an impressive 75.0 percent from the field, and 66.7 percent from distance as she makes her time worth it. She had eight points in 18 minutes against Pittsburg State last Saturday.

• TRANSFER BIGS. Tayden Hanks and Caleigh Adams join the Golden Eagles to help in the post for the 2025-26 season. Hanks, a 5-11 forward from Los Lunes, N.M., played for NJCAA Division II runner-up Pima Community College. Hanks averaged 1.7 points and 1.9 rebounds as a sophomore at Pima. The Golden Eagles also bring in six-foot San Francisco State University transfer Caleigh Adams, who played in six games last season notching 2.0 points and 1.2 rebounds per game. Both players will look to supplement the Golden Eagles at the four and five.

• FRESHMEN CLASS. The Golden Eagles bring in three freshmen for the 2025-26 campaign with Taylor Dirkes (G, Osakis, Minn.), Emma Pierson (G, Cherry Valley, Ill.), and Anna Westby (F, Eveleth, Minn.). Dirkes was the Prairie Conference MVP for Osakis H.S., last season, and will look to find her way into a role. Pierson averaged 22.4 points, and 7.4 rebounds per game and was an All-State Honorable Mention pick in Illinois as a senior. Westby, a 5-11 forward from Rock Ridge H.S., was an All-State Honorable Mention selection in Minnesota, scoring 1,000 points in her career. All three will look to make their mark on the Golden Eagle lineup.

• HOME DEBUT. The Golden Eagles are set to make their home debut Wednesday against Black Hills State.Minnesota Crookston won their home debut 69-63 against Bemidji State last season. Natalie Moynihan is 2-0 in her home debuts in her previous two seasons with the Golden Eagles. Minnesota Crookstin is 5-5 in their home debuts over the last 10 years.
Minnesota Crookston is 12-8 in their last 20 home debuts, and overall they are 15-11 in their home debuts since joining the NSIC in 1999.

• CONFERENCE DEBUT. Minnesota Crookston won their conference debut in 2024-25 with a 70-63 win in Minot over Minot State University. They will look to keep that streak alive as they enter conference play next week at MSU Moorhead. Minnesota Crookston is 11-15 in conference openers since joining the NSIC in 1999.

• AGAINST BLACK HILLS STATE. Minnesota Crookston is 0-1 all-time against the Yellow Jackets with their only meeting coming last November in Spearfish, S.D., with a 70-62 loss to Black Hills State.

• AGAINST THE DRAGONS. Minnesota Crookston is 9-38 all-time against the Dragons. They are 2-1 in their last three meetings with MSU Moorhead including a 64-63 win over the Dragons in Moorhead in 2024. They won in Crookston 72-67 December 14, 2023 but fell 75-52 in Moorhead November 30, 2024 during the 2023-24 season.

 BLACK HILLS STATE is returning seven players from last season. Only two of those players received significant minutes. Bradie Schlabs is one of those players, a 5ft 6 Sophomore Guard, the only returning starter on the team. In her freshman year last season, she played the most minutes out of anyone on the team, starting in every game for the Yellow Jackets. She had a .390 FG% with the most attempts on the team, she also shot .326 from the 3pt line. Although she struggled with free throws, only making .531%, which is the worst out of all players with significant minutes. She was second on the team in defensive rebounds, and more than double the number of assists as the second highest. Schlabs is in position to be the biggest threat on this offense going into the 2025-26 season.

WATCH OUT FOR AUDREY. Audrey Norville is the only other returning player with significant minutes. The 6ft Sophomore Guard played in every game last season and tallied 468 total minutes, which came in as 7 th on the team. Norville had the second most minutes last season out of any returning player, meaning she will most likely see an increase in minutes and
production. Last season she had a .274 FG%, and had 2.7 average rebounds. She
scored 1.7ppg while playing 16 minutes per game.

URICH OFF THE BENCH is a 5ft 8 R- Freshman, She played just 7 games last season but averaged 17 minutes in those games, which was 6 th on the team. Urich ended up redshirting but not before showing some real talent. With the time she was on the floor, she put up a .531 FG% and 6.1ppg. With these numbers in the time she played as a freshman last season, she is poised to have a massive increase in her role on the team and may end up being one of their most dangerous players.

OTHER CONTRIBUTORS. Emily Cooper and Sawyer Stoebner both saw a similar number of minutes last season at 151 for Cooper and 101 for Stoebner. With their time on the court, Stoebner was much more efficient, putting up a .538 FG% on 26 FGA, while Cooper recorded a .320 FG% on 50 FGA. Sawyer Stoebner struggled from the free throw line last season, going 3-13, but both of these players can be challenging for a starting spot going into the 2025-26 season.

MSU MOORHEAD. The Dragons enter their 26th season under Karla Nelson. The Dragons are 1-1 after a win over Emporia State and a loss to Missouri Western State. They play Central Missouri Tuesday prior to Minnesota Crookston's game next week. MSU Moorhead is averaging 59.5 points, and allowing 58.0 points per tilt. They are
shooting 38.0 percent from the field, and 24.4 percent from distance. The Dragons are outrebounding foes 36.5-33.0.

IMPACT FRESHMAN. Abby John, a 5-9 freshman from Pelican Rapids, jumped onto the scene for the Dragons last week. She leads the team with 11.5 points per game, and is shooting 61.5 percent from the field, and 50.0 percent from distance. John scored 20 points in her first game November 14 against Missouri Western.

STAT STUFFER. Sophomore guard Ashton Safranski does a little bit of everything for MSU Moorhead. She is tallying 11.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.0 assists after two games for the Dragons. She is tallying 37.5 percent from the field after two games. She will be a key player to watch.

KELLY OFF THE BENCH. Sophomore forward Caylin Kelly made a major impact off the bench last week notching 9.5 points, and 3.5 boards per game. She is shooting 63.6 percent from the field, and 60.0 percent from distance after her first two games.

MINNESOTA CROOKSTON GOLDEN EAGLES
Head Coach: Natalie Moynihan
Career Record: 18-40 (Third Season at Minnesota Crookston)

BLACK HILLS STATE YELLOW JACKETS
Interim Head Coach: Kelly Kruger
Career Record: 1-1 (First Season at Black Hills State)

MSU MOORHEAD DRAGONS
Head Coach: Karla Nelson
Career Record: 427-274 (26th Season at MSU Moorhead)

WEEKLY SNAPSHOT

MINNESOTA CROOKSTON
Projected Starters
Sr. PG 1 Emma Miller (5-1, Albertville, Minn.) 25.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 6.0 APG
R-Jr. SG 2 Hope Dudycha (5-5, Austin, Minn.) 4.0 PPG, 4.5 RPG
R-Jr. 3G 30 Riley Jenkins (5-10, Galesburg, Ill.) 12.5 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 1.5 APG
Fr. SF 12 Anna Westby (5-11, Eveleth, Minn.) 7.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG
Jr. PF 14 Rayna Klejeski (6-0, Barnum, Minn.) 11.5 PPG, 7.5 RPG
Top Bench Contributors
So. G 10 Halle Winjum (5-6, Crookston, Minn.) 4.0 PPG, 4.5 RPG
Jr. F 4 Tayden Hanks (5-11, Los Lunas, N.M.) 1.0 PPG, 1.5 RPG
Sr. G 11 Natalie Mikrot (5-6, Willow River, Minn.) 3.0 PPG, 1.5 RPG

BLACK HILLS STATE
Projected Starters
So. PG 10 Bradie Schlabs (5-6, Cheyenne, Wyo.) 14.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 4.5 APG
So. SG 22 Emily Cooper (5-7, Eau Claire, Wis.) 6.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG
Sr. 3G 11 Brinlee McRae (5-8, Sandy, Utah) 6.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG
So. SF 2 Addison Branscum (6-1, Loveland, Colo.) 16.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG
So. PF 3 Audrey Norville (6-0, Nennah, Wis.) 6.0 PPG, 7.5 RPG
Top Bench Contributors
R-Fr. G 20 Maureen Urich (5-8, Phoenix, Ariz.) 4.0 PPG, 0.5 RPG
So. G 24 Sawyer Stoebner (5-10, Mitchell, S.D.) 4.0 PPG, 4.5 RPG
Fr. F 23 Alli Glasscock (6-2, Miles City, Mont.) 3.5 PPG, 2.5 RPG
So. G 1 Tess Rule (5-7, Buffalo, Wyo.) 0.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG

MSU MOORHEAD
Projected Starters
So. PG 14 Ashton Safranski (5-7, Fargo, N.D.) 11.0 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 4.0 APG
Jr. SG 8 Karlee Fisher (5-8, Brooklyn Park, Minn.) 3.0 PPG, 1.5 RPG
Fr. 3G 10 Abby John (5-9, Pelican Rapids, Minn.) 11.5 PPG, 2.5 RPG
Jr. SF 23 Abby Berge (5-11, Sunburg, Minn.) 9.0 PPG, 7.5 RPG
Sr. PF 22 Terryn Johnson (6-2, Kindred, N.D.) 9.0 PPG, 9.0 RPG
Top Bench Contributors
So. G/F 35 Caylin Kelly (5-11, Clark, S.D.) 9.5 PPG, 3.5 RPG
Fr. G 32 Aubrey Morrison (5-6, Walker, Minn.) 2.0 PPG, 1.0 RPG

GAMEDAY

BLACK HILLS STATE AT MINNESOTA CROOKSTON
DATE: Wednesday, November 19
TIME: 4 p.m.
SITE: Crookston, Minn.
ARENA: Gary Senske Court at Lysaker Gymnasium
LIVE STATS: https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary
LIVE VIDEO: https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/
TWITTER: @UMNCrookstonATH/@UMNCrookstonWBB

MINNESOTA CROOKSTON AT MSU MOORHEAD
DATE: Tuesday, November 25
TIME: 5:30 p.m.
SITE: Moorhead, Minn.
ARENA: Nemzek Fieldhouse
LIVE STATS: https://www.msumdragons.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary
LIVE VIDEO: https://nsicnetwork.com/msumdragons/
TWITTER: @UMNCrookstonATH/@UMNCrookstonWBB

KEYS TO THE WEEK

- Can Emma Miller break the scoring record previously set by Jamie Zelinsky?

- Can the Golden Eagles be strong on the glass, both defensively and offensively?

- What newcomer can make a major impact this weekend?

- Can the Golden Eagles knock down the three ball?

- Can Minnesota Crookston pick up a home win?