This past weekend Winona State University’s women’s basketball team made their way to Fayette, Iowa to take on Upper Iowa University in the final two games of the 2020-2021 season.
The Warriors showed up ready to play hard and they did just that, ending Friday’s game with a score of 77-61.
The game started off a little rocky, but the Warriors soon got themselves back on track.
The Warriors hooked the lead, but it was taken minutes later by the Peacocks.
However, with less than three minutes remaining in the first quarter, the Warriors were able to take back the lead and remain so for the remainder of the game.
Fourth-year forward Taylor Hustad led the team this night in points with a final total of 16, while teammates Allie Pickrain and Emily Kieck each brought in 11 points in the game.
As the season comes to an end, first-year guard Mattie Schimenz looks back on how the team has progressed this season and how it feels to have ended her first college season.
“The biggest improvement that I’ve seen with our team over the year is with our defense,” Schimenz said. “We run a unique defense that requires ball pressure and a lot of switching and it took some getting used to, but once we got the rotations down, we really started to cause [opposing] teams problems.”
Schimenz also said she felt she learned a lot from this season.
“It feels great to have a college season under my belt, even if it wasn’t what a typical season looks like. I learned a lot not only from my coaches but from the senior guards in my position. I am super thankful to have such great teammates and role models surrounding me,” Schimentz said.
Winona State also played against Upper Iowa University the following day, Sat., Feb. 20 and won, the Warriors coming home with a victorious weekend and a great end to the season.
The Saturday game in Iowa was also a game for the Warriors with an ending score of 92-80.
Schimenz said going into the Saturday game, the Warriors knew from the night before what they needed to do to win.
“Coming into Saturday’s games we were looking to shut down one of Upper Iowa’s plays that included a double drag screen,” Schimenz said. “It caused us problems during the second half of Friday’s game, so we focused on how we were going to guard that during shoot around Saturday morning.”
Like the night before, Hustad left it all on the court and led the team in points, ending the game with 21 points and hitting her season high.
Pickrain and Fee came in second and third in points that afternoon with 14 and 12 points.
Schimenz scored six of her eight points from the charity stripe in the outing.
Schimenz said she and the team are looking forward to competing in the post season as well.
“Now that our game schedule is complete, we will wrap up regular season with some team meetings. Post season is right around the corner, starting in two weeks,” Schimenz said.
The NSIC tournament will be held on Thursday, Feb. 25 through Sunday, Feb. 28 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.