Winona State University scored a pair of conference wins this weekend. They won against both the University of Mary and Minot State University. This is their first full week victory at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) after a new starting five.
Winona State had three seniors in their starting lineup before, and they graduated. On top of that, their best player transferred. This year, they are starting with two freshmen and three sophomores.
“We are a young team. We look really promising. We just have to build up the chemistry like we had last year,” said Winona State player, Tyler Mason.
The game against the University of Mary started with both teams defending and not scoring a point in the first minutes. The University of Mary scored the first point, but Winona State overtook them and gained a six-point lead.
The Warriors kept their lead throughout the first half of the game. At 23-15, they had an eight-point lead. After that, the University of Mary tightened their defense. The first half ended with a tally of 43-42. The Warriors held the lead by a single point.
Winona State started dominating at the beginning of the second half. They took an early 7 points lead. This fast-paced attack made Mary change their plans as well. The Marauders started going through the bench rotation to find a spark.
The fast-paced scoring was stopped. The lead was still there for a long time. The Warriors offense stagnated at the halfway point of the second period. With less than six minutes in the game, both teams sat with 70 points and had to push for a strong finish.
A couple of substitutions were made by both teams. This change of strategy helped Winona State score an eight-point run and take the lead once again 78-70.
Even after having this score difference, there was last-minute drama in this match. Mary nearly covered the lead. They were trying to attack by going to the free throw line.
The Warriors held firm, earning their second straight victory in conference play. The final score was 84-80 in the Warrior’s favor.
The second game was most intense for the Warriors this week. They were facing Minot State University, who was also fighting for resume strengthening in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).
Winona State player Aidan Bardic said, “We’re tied with them or one game behind them in conference. It’s really close, so it’s a huge game for us.”
The Warriors made a strong start to begin the first half. They started the match with a quick five-to-zero run, with a triple from second-year forward Ryan Heise.
Minot State recovered and made the game tied 7-7 six minutes in. The first half was going back and forth, and after that.
The first half ended with 26-21 in favor of the Beavers. In the second half, the Warriors bounced back. They tied the score at 28 points.
In the last 10 minutes, the Warriors had their most successful time of the match. They scored 26 points in the last 10 minutes. This big point hunt secured their victory.
The Warriors closed out the Beavers 67-62. Tyler scored 22 points in this match. He had 8 free throws and all of them were successful.
The Warrior head coach, Todd Eisner, was happy with the win, but he was concerned with the consistent performance. He said, “We have not defended at a level to give you a chance to win consistently.”
The Warriors stand in twelfth position in the league now. They have matches against Wayne State College and Augustana University at their home ground on Feb. 5 and 7.
