The last time Winona State University women’s basketball team hosted a set of games was Jan. 10, where they picked up wins against University of Minnesota Crookston and Minnesota State University-Moorhead. That highlights the opening weekend of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference North and South division crossover. This weekend concluded the showcase with matchups against the University of Mary Marauders and Minot State University Beavers traveling to McCown Gymnasium for crucial games in the conference race. It started with the Warriors hosting the Marauders on Jan. 30.
A game separated the Warriors and the Marauders, as UMary had a one-game lead in the conference standings. An important fact is the NSIC tournament gives the top four teams in the conference standings a bye to the Sanford Pentagon. The winner of this contest will be on the inside track towards that goal. Winona State faced the top scorer in the NSIC, Bergan Kinnebrew, who averaged 22 points per game. But Kinnebrew’s teammates played a major role in the outcome of the game.
Alayna Suprenand, third-year wing for the Warriors, discussed the team’s defensive identity.
“I believe our coaches prepare us and hold us accountable with certain defensive standards that are the best in the league. It’s cool to mentally be able to be one step ahead of opponents and be able to take away their strengths”
The Warriors started the quarter with 16-15 lead over the Marauders. Forward Vivica Bretton created great looks, with seven points in the opening period. Allison Undlin kept the Marauders within striking distance with eight points of her own. Winona State went cold in the second period, with only eight points in ten minutes. Kinnebrew scored two layups in the beginning of the quarter to assist in the scoring department for Mary, who led 31-24 by halfway point.
Winona State continued to fight with a valiant third quarter. While they trailed by as much as seven, Lydia Lakenen scored in the paint with three minutes remaining to bring the contest within one. The Marauders pushed the lead back up to five to close the third quarter. The Warriors came out swinging in the final ten, as Hailey Markworth hit a quick three to bring it back to two. It was punch-counterpunch for the next four minutes. Mary went on a six-to-zero run in 90 seconds to help bring the game out of reach. The Warriors dropped their first contest of the weekend to the Marauders 66-58.
Bria Stenstrom, second-year guard, mentioned the importance of every matchup to close out the regular season.
“Even though the tournament is only a month away, we as a team are still focusing on finishing one game at a time. It’s important that we finish out the back half of the season strong, so that we can go into the tournament with momentum.”
Minot State traveled to Winona the next day. Looking to avenge their first loss of the weekend, the Warriors looked to start the game off strong on offense. Hailey Markworth emphasized this hot start with 10 points in the first quarter. She assisted the team to a 20-18 lead after the first ten. Markworth and Bretton scored 17 of Winona State’s 20 second-quarter points, dominating on the attack. Which helped the Warriors balloon their lead up to 9 at the half.
The Beavers found themselves behind early, but they continued to scrape until the end. Taryn Hamling scraped together 9 points to balance the attack for Minot. As the Warriors still held the lead by 4 by the end of the third, they needed to race towards the final tick. Megan Schuman, who finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds, helped secure the 74-64 victory over the Beavers. She was second in scoring behind Markworth, who had 27 points, three three-pointers and 10 rebounds. Warriors now sit sixth in the NSIC with a 13-9 overall and 10-6 conference record. Their next contest will be at McCown Gymnasium against Wayne State College on Feb. 4.
