Samantha Schierman / Winonan

After traveling to Puerto Rico and bringing home two victories, the Winona State University women’s basketball team is in the midst of a winning streak.

Ana Wurtz, assistant coach for the team, said, “The team didn’t start off at their highest level, which can be a good thing because that means there is room for improvement.”

The team travelled on Friday, Nov. 18 for two away games in Quincy, Ill. Friday’s game was against Maryville University with a final score of 61-59. Senior Tara Roelofs made the final free throw to take the lead. Overall, she led the team with 23 points.

The following day, Winona State played Quincy University in Illinois, bringing home another victory 70-66. Roelofs and senior Jenny Tuttle were selected to the All-Tournament team. Roelofs averaged 22 points followed by Tuttle with a 10-point average.

“Road games are challenging so to win by two and four points was good to know the team can win against those tough games,” Roelofs said.

Both Tuttle and Roelofs were honored to receive their awards but stated how, without the whole team’s effort, it would have not been possible.

After traveling home and having a few days of rest, the team played against Concordia University Wisconsin on Tuesday, Nov. 22 at home. They won 68-40 with Roelofs scoring 15 points.

“Overall, we are becoming more cohesive as a group,” Roelofs said. “We are starting to work really well together and I am happy with how we have competed this season so far.”

Saturday, Nov. 26 they won against Upper Iowa University in Winona 78-61. Tuttle scored the first basket of the game from behind the arc. Roelofs led the team with 16 points, followed by Tuttle, junior Hannah McGlone, and senior  Kayla Timmerman with 14 points each. This is a season high for McGlone.

Wurtz said that she is pleased with the team’s performance these past couple of weeks. The team has been on the road a lot lately from Puerto Rico to Illinois. While road games can be tough, Wurtz thinks that the road time “helped bond players and foster a great team chemistry.”

The Warriors pride themselves on their team effort.

Tuttle said, “The team has not reached their full potential yet, which makes this season so exciting.”

The team’s philosophy for this year is to have strength in numbers.

Wurtz said, “This team is so unique because of the variety of players. Every single night a new player is stepping up.”

While the team is doing well, they know that they can improve during each game. Wurtz said that every game they have improved by focusing on the little details. Illinois was tough for the team, but Wurtz thinks it gave them a lot of work on.

“The team has a couple things to they need to improve on, and they are such eat things to fix that once they do, they will be an even better team,” Tuttle said.

The team’s next games are home Friday, Dec. 2 and Saturday, Dec. 3. The team will continue to play games over winter break, both home and away.

-By Samantha Schierman