The University of Minnesota Duluth Women's basketball team started their season on the right foot with a 68-47 road win over the Winona State Warriors. The Bulldogs grabbed the lead :40 seconds into the game and would storm into the halftime break with a 37-29 lead. The tide wouldn't change in the second half, the Bulldogs led by as many as 28 points at the 6:32 mark of the 4th quarter en route to their first victory of the 2020-21 season. 

On the offensive side, Senior forward Sarah Grow followed by Junior forward Brooke Olson got the scoring started for the UMD. The Bulldogs shot 25-57 (43.9%) from the field and 8-23 (34.8%) from beyond the arc which helped power their offensive attack. Junior guard Maesyn Thiesen led UMD with 15 points, she also led UMD in minutes played 28, and assists 5. Olson contributed 14 points and six rebounds, Senior forward Sarah Grow tallied nine points and six rebounds, Senior guard Ann Simonet recorded nine points, three rebounds and two assists. The Bulldogs recorded 11 total assists on the afternoon and were stout in the paint recording 34 points from in tight. 

On the defensive side, the Bulldogs defense was stifling holding Winona State to a 16-63 (25.4%) mark from the field and a 4-20 (20%) mark from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs won the rebounding battle 41-37 including 32-23 on defensive rebounds. UMD recorded 5 blocks, Senior guard Payton Kahl led the way in that category with two blocks, Thiesen, Grow and Sophomore guard Taytum Rhoades all chipped in with one. Thiesen led the way in the steals category with two, Simonet, Olson and Freshman guard Ella Gilbertson recorded one. 

Here is what Head Coach Mandy Pearson had to say about her teams performance in game number one. "We played with intensity and I was very happy with the overall team effort. The players found a way to work together on both ends of the floor and really worked well together". 


The Bulldogs and Warriors do it all over again tomorrow January 3rd, at 2pm.