Women's Basketball | 1/22/2026 11:48:00 AM

• THE MINNESOTA CROOKSTON women's basketball team is back in the fray of the NSIC North standings after a successful pair of games with Augustana and Wayne State. Last week was a little untraditional with the Wayne State game being postponed twice, and moved from Crookston to Wayne, but Minnesota Crookston improved to 5-13 (4-8 NSIC) with the victories. The Golden Eagles are tied with Bemidji State University in sixth in the NSIC North, but they are just one game back of Northern State University and Minot State University in a tie for fourth. The Golden Eagles are entering Friday averaging 68.7 points per game, and allowing 76.3 to their foes. They are shooting 40.6 percent from the field, and 35.3 percent from beyond the arc. The Golden Eagles hit at a 77.7 percent clip from the stripe. Minnesota Crookston is being outrebounded 40.3-32.9 by their foes. They are notching 11.3 assists to 14.4 turnovers per game, and forcing 14.6 turnovers per tilt.

• NUMBER 2 ON THE CHARTS. 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, set the Minnesota Crookston scoring record earlier this season. She is now moving up the charts in the NSIC record books. Miller moved her way to number two on the charts in the NSIC, surpassing Concordia-St. Paul's Anna Schmitt. Miller has 1,505 points in conference play. She needs 111 points to surpass UMD's Brooke Olson for the scoring record. Olson had 1,615 points in five seasons, including the COVID season. Miller needs to averaged 11.1 points per game or more in the final 10 games of the 2025-26 regular season. In addition, Miller became the first player in school history to surpass the 2,000 point milestone, accomplishing the mark against Augustana. She has 2,023 points in her career. Miller comes in averaging 19.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game. Her assist average is the highest she has ever had in her four years.

• NATTY BUCKETS. Natalie Mikrot, a 5-6 senior from Willow River, Minn., put together the best game of her career last Saturday against Augustana. Mikrot had 22 points on 7-of-11 from the field, and 6-of-9 from beyond the arc. Mikrot's previous career mark was 14 in 2023 against Nebraska Kearney. She played a major role in the win over the Vikings, the first for the program against Augie since 2015. Mikrot comes into the weekend averaging 3.5 points per game, and is shooting 51.9 percent from beyond the arc.

• WATCH OUT FOR WESTBY. Anna Westby, a freshman from Eveleth, Minn., has been a key player for the Golden Eagles, and has really come into her own this season. Westby is a factor both offensively and defensively. She comes in tallying 11.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game. Westby is shooting 44.5 percent from the field, and 42.4 percent from distance. Westby has 44 blocks this season, and has been a defensive nuisance. She is 37 blocks away from passing Nicole Hernandez's mark set last season. Westby will continue to be a major factor moving forward for Minnesota Crookston.

• FIRE AND RAYNA. Rayna Klejeski, a six-foot junior from Barnum, Minn., has been a key piece for the Golden Eagles in the post as she has made substantial improvement in her third season in the program. Klejeski enters the week averaging 11.2 points, and 5.8 boards per game. Klejeski leads the team with 33 offensive boards this season. She is shooting 49.6 percent from the field, and has taken advantage of her opportunities from beyond the arc connecting on 56.3 percent of her shots. Klejeski was huge in the win last Saturday over Augustana with a double-double of 17 points and 11 boards. She will look to continue to make her presence known in the paint this weekend.

• JENKINS JOTTINGS. Riley Jenkins, a 5-10 wing from Galesburg, Ill., was a All-NSIC Second Team selection last season, and continues to be an important player for the Golden Eagles during the 2025-26 season. Jenkins comes in notching 11.3 points and 4.5 boards per game. She is second on the team in assists with 43. Jenkins is shooting 40.8 percent from the field, and 35.3 percent from beyond the arc. Jenkins had a strong game in the win over Wayne State with 17 points and six boards on 5-of-9 from the field.

• EARNING HER STARTS. Sophomore guard Halle Winjum, a Crookston-native, is a player who gives high effort every time she is on the court and does a lot of the little things. Winjum comes in averaging 3.5 points, and 3.2 rebounds per game. Winjum is shooting 36.8 percent from the field, and 42.9 percent from beyond the arc. She has been a major defensive presence over the last three games, notching five steals against Concordia-St. Paul, six in the win over Augustana, and four in the win over Wayne State.

• ON THE ROAD. Minnesota Crookston is currently on a three-game road stand, opening the road stand with a win over Wayne State Wednesday. The win over the Wildcats was the first of the season on the road, as they sit 1-7 in road games this season. Minnesota Crookston will play at Sioux Falls, and Southwest Minnesota State this weekend. Last season, the Golden Eagles found success on the road with a 6-10 mark away from Lysaker Gymnasium.

• CONFERENCE PLAY. The Golden Eagles enter the weekend with a 4-8 NSIC mark. They are currently tied for sixth in the NSIC North with Bemidji State, but they are only a game behind Northern State and Minot State in a tie for fourth. In addition, they are just two games behind MSU Moorhead in third place in the NSIC North. Overall, the Golden Eagles are currently tied for 11th with Wayne State and Bemidji State. They have the tiebreaker over the Wildcats, but lost to Bemidji State earlier this season. Minnesota Crookston went 7-15 in conference play in 2024-25.

• AGAINST SIOUX FALLS. Minnesota Crookston has lost their last four games to Sioux Falls, including a 56-48 loss in Crookston in January 2024. The Golden Eagles picked up their last victory over the Cougars January 27, 2023 in Crookston with a 63-60 victory. Minnesota Crookston has never beaten Sioux Falls in Sioux Falls. The Cougars lead the all-time series 12-3.

• AGAINST SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE. The Mustangs lead the all-time series 22-13. Southwest Minnesota State has six-consecutive victories in the series. Minnesota Crookston last earned a win January 31, 2020 in Crookston with a 64-53 victory. The Golden Eagles last picked up a win in Marshall January 12, 2018 with a 65-61 win. Minnesota Crookston's best stretch of games with the Mustangs came from 2013-18 where they went 4-1 in five meetings. 


WAYNE STATE. Wayne State enters the weekend with an 8-8 (3-7 NSIC) mark. The Wildcats have won two of their last three games, including their last two over Northern State and Jamestown. Wayne State comes in with a 3-7 mark in conference play. The Wildcats are in their first year under Head Coach Brian Ortmeier, who comes over from Briar Cliff.  Wayne State plays nine plays most games, led their normal starters Kylah vanDonkersgoed, Rachel Dahlen, Tenleigh Smith, Kelsey Willems, and Meg Rietz. Wayne State comes in averaging 64.3 points per game, while allowing 62.7 to their foes. They are shooting 38.3 percent from the field, 27.6 percent from distance, and 68.8 percent from the line. Wayne State is even on the glass this season, 38.6-38.6. They are averaging 12.4 assists to 17.1 turnovers per game.

RACHEL! Senior Rachel Dahlen, a Devils Lake, N.D. native, has been a key player for the Wildcats. She comes in
averaging 11.6 points and a team-high 6.3 rebounds per game. Dahlen is shooting 44.8 percent from the field. She is much of a three-point threat, only hitting 2-of-11 attempts, and is hitting at a 72.0 percent clip from the line. Dahlen
averaged 11.5 points and 6.0 boards per game in wins over Northern State and Jamestown last weekend.

WATCH OUT FOR VANDONKERSGOED. Kylah vanDonkersgoed leads the way for Wayne State averaging 11.8 points per game. She also is notching 6.1 boards per tilt. VanDonkersgoed is shooting 39.9 percent from the field, and 23.9
percent from deep on 67 attempts. She is shooting 68.4 percent from the line, and gets to the line the most of the Wayne State players. VanDonkersgoed had an impressive game with 31 against Northern State on 12-of-17 from the field. She averaged 25.0 points per game in wins over Northern State and Jamestown.

MISS SMITH. Tenleigh Smith, a grad transfer from Idaho State, has made an immediate impact for Wayne State. She has been the starting point guard, leading the way with 50 assists for the Wildcats. Smith is shooting 32.8 percent from the field, and 31.0 percent from distance. She is a 73.9 percent shooter from the stripe. She has six double-digit scoring games. Smith had 18 points January 3 against Augustana. Last weekend, she was held to only 3.5 points per game, but averaged 5.0 boards per game.

AUGUSTANA. Augustana is coming into the weekend with a 6-10 (3-7 NSIC) mark. The Vikings are coming off a split last weekend with a win over Jamestown, and a loss to Northern State. Augie has been outscored by nearly six points per game this season allowing 74.8 to their foes, and scoring 68.8 points per game. They come in shooting 42.1 percent from the field, 34.7 percent from deep, and 66.0 percent from the line. Augustana struggles with ball control, turning it over 19.9 times per game, compared to 16.2 for their foes.

IT'S ALL ABOUT ISABELLA. Isabella Sanneh, a six-foot forward from Woodbury, Minn., leads the way averaging a double-double of 14.5 points and 10.1 boards per game. A sophomore, Sanneh is shooting 49.1 percent from the field, and 50.0 percent from beyond the arc on just 14 attempts. She struggles at the line, hitting 60.3 percent.

EDMONDS FROM THREE. Kristin Edmonds is the top deep threat for Augustana. She has shot 95 three-pointers to lead the Vikings. Edmonds is shooting 41.0 percent from the field, and 95.0 percent from three. All but 27 of her attempts from the field have been from three this season. She is averaging 9.0 points per game for the Vikings.

HARDY GIRL. Payton Hardy comes in notching 8.7 points and 6.1 boards per game. Hardy is shooting 39.1 percent from the field, and 31.1 percent from beyond the arc. She has been held in check in recent games, averaging just 4.7 points per game in the last three. Hardy had 10 points against Concordia-St. Paul, and 14 versus Hastings. 

MINNESOTA CROOKSTON GOLDEN EAGLES
Head Coach: Natalie Moynihan
Career Record: 23-51 (Third Season at Minnesota Crookston)

SIOUX FALLS COUGARS
Head Coach: Travis Traphagen
Career Record: 309-197 (18th Season at Sioux Falls)


SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA STATE MUSTANGS
Head Coach: Tom Webb
Career Record: 134-126 (10th Season at Southwest Minnesota State)

GAMEDAY

MINNESOTA CROOKSTON AT SIOUX FALLS
DATE: Friday, January 23
TIME: 5:30 p.m.
SITE: Sioux Falls, S.D.
ARENA: Stewart Center
LIVE STATS: https://usfcougars.com/sidearmstats/WBBall/summary
LIVE VIDEO:https://www.nsicnetwork.com/usfcougars/
TWITTER: @UMNCrookstonATH/@UMNCrookstonWBB

AUGUSTANA AT MINNESOTA CROOKSTON
DATE: Saturday, January 24
TIME: 5 p.m.
SITE: Marshall, Minn.
ARENA: R/A Facility
LIVE STATS: https://smsumustangs.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
LIVE VIDEO: https://nsicnetwork.com/smsumustangs/
TWITTER: @UMNCrookstonATH/@UMNCrookstonWBB

KEYS TO THE WEEKEND

- Can the Golden Eagles get crucial road victories?

- Will Emma Miller continue to make a major impact?

- Can the Golden Eagles knock down the three ball?

- Can Minnesota Crookston continue to force turnovers like they have in recent games?