As the basketball season winds down for Winona State University, postseason play draws even closer. The Northern Intercollegiate Sun Conference (NSIC) prepares for its annual tournament action, but the Warriors still look to punch their ticket into the postseason for a chance at a NSIC championship. The University of Mary Marauders and the Minot State Beavers traveled to McCown Gymnasium for the final set of home games for the women’s team. Winona State would also honor five players for senior recognition night. 

UMary Recap: 

The University of Mary Marauders headed to McCown with a record of 13-9 with a conference record of 10-8. UMary’s Bergan Kinnebrew leads the team in scoring with fourteen points per game. UMary sat at the sixth seed for the NSIC tournament with a chance to jump into the top four. 

The opening mark also set up an opening for Ryleigh Wacha, hitting a pair of shots to set up a quick 8-2 run. Vivica Bretton maintained a lifeline for the Warriors, scoring three buckets to keep the game within eight points of one another. Lindsay Hahn hit a duo of big-time threes to cut the lead and end the quarter. 

Winona State, down 18-14 to begin the interval, needed some quality plays to keep up with the Marauders. Bretton hit a paint jumper to make it a one-point deficit after the mid-quarter media. Kinnebrew hit a pair of free throws to give UMary a 35-30 lead. Mattie Schimenz came down the court and scored a last second jumper to close the half. This was her second first half closing shot for the Warriors, the other being when she hit a half-court buzzer beater to close it out.  

UMary tried to take advantage of the slow third quarter. Emily Jaenke made a crucial three to extend the UMary lead to sixteen with just two minutes left. The Warriors made only three shots to head up to this point in time. Olivia Gamoke hit a big three to cut the lead to thirteen before the final ten. 

Winona State needed to make a run to get back into the game. Olivia Gamoke responded with back-to-back triples to lower the deficit to single digits as well as another three to get within four points. Ryleigh Wacha finished off the Warriors with pair of clutch shots to win the game for the Marauders at 70-61.  

Minot State Recap: 

The Minot State visited Winona with the hope of completing the season sweep as well as reassuring their place in the NSIC tournament. The Beavers opened the day with a 8-18 overall record and 7-12 in the conference play. With a victory against Winona State, they stabilized their position in the postseason. 

Senior night headlined the second night of the weekend series for Winona State. The seniors honored included: Olivia Gamoke, Mattie Schimenz, Lindsay Hahn, Stephanie Dasbach, Naomi Brenig.  

The Warriors were in their bag in the opening period. Olivia Gamoke started in the first five minutes of the game. She hit a pair of threes to give Winona State a 15-11 lead heading into the media timeout. Minot stormed back thanks to Emily Mogen, who shot sixty-six percent from the field. Minot took the first quarter with a 23-22 lead. 

Oliva Gamoke caught fire throughout the first half, as she would go on to start the game with four straight three pointers to fall in a row to accompany her fourteen points in the second quarter. The Warriors shot fifty-seven percent from three before the mid-way point in the quarter. Avery Moeller hit a pair of triples in her first couple minutes of the game to jump ahead 36-25. The Warriors finished off the second half ahead 38-33 after a strong showcase of 8 shots from beyond the arc. 

Winona State kept the three-party going with a Sadie Jarmolowicz triple to give the team a double-digit lead early in the third. A Hailey Markworth and-one opportunity gave the Warriors a comfortable position in the mid-way point in the quarter. Vivica Bretton hit a jumper to close out the quarter to give the Warriors a score of 61 compared to Minot State’s 52. 

 The Olivia Gamoke shows had an encore performance with another trey ball to reach twenty points on the day. Vivica Bretton hit a long hook to beat the shot clock after the clock struck five. Lindsey Hahn continued the success from beyond the arc with lead extending shot. The Warriors defeated Minot State 82-70.  

With this win, Winona State enters back into the NSIC Tournament seeding as the final qualifying spot. Vivica Bretton had a career day with twenty-two points, eight rebounds and five assists. Winona State will travel to Moorhead and St. Cloud to close out the regular season with postseason still very possible