(Fargo, N.D.)- The University of Minnesota, Crookston Women's Basketball team traveled to North Dakota State University on Tuesday, November 2 to play the Bison in an exhibition match-up. The Golden Eagles trailed by as many as six before storming back to tie the game 26-26. NDSU responded with a 9-0 run and went into the half up 38-33. In the second half, the size of the NDSU center, 6-5, Janae Burich wore down the Golden Eagle defense as she tallied 15 of her game-high 23 points in the final 20 minutes of play. Her post play down low helped contribute to the Bison scoring 42 points in the paint to UMC's 18 and taking the 89-65 exhibition victory.

Bri Zabel (F, 6-0, Sr., Northfield, Minn.) played a solid 32 minutes for the Golden Eagles, leading all players in minutes played. She earned the only double-double of the game and scored a team-high 20 points, going 4-7 from beyond the arc, 8-10 from the free-throw line and played strong on the glass grabbing 14 rebounds. Jamie Zelinsky (G, 5-11, SR, Brooklyn Park, Minn.) followed Zabel with 12 points and three steals in 29 minutes of play.

NDSU was led by Burich's 23 points, five assists and four blocked shots. She was 9-13 from the field and 5-5 from the free-throw line. She was followed by Abby Plucker, Katie Birkel and Miki Stephenson who tallied 12 points each.

Minnesota, Crookston returns to the court on Friday, November 5 when they travel to UND to play the Sioux in another exhibition game. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. UMC closes out the exhibition season on Sunday, November 7 as the Golden Eagles travel to the University of Minnesota to take on Coach Roysland's daughter Kelly who is an assistant with the Gophers. Game time for the final exhibition game is scheduled for 2 p.m.

For more information, visit the Golden Eagle Athletics website at: www.goldeneaglesports.com.   

The University of Minnesota, Crookston is an NCAA Division II Institution and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Golden Eagle Equestrian team is a member of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA).

Photo: Bri Zabel


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