The UMD women's basketball team soared through tonight's conference home-opener against Minnesota Crookston, taking it 83-58. With the win, the Bulldogs improve to 5-2 on the season and 2-0 early in NSIC play.

After trailing 5-2 early in the first quarter, a Brooke Olson layup gave UMD its first lead of the night at 7-5, and it never looked back. A 13-0 run that was fueled by the Bulldog defense was the story of the quarter. Throughout that stretch, four different UMD players contributed to the scoring column. At the end of the first frame, UMD had outscored Crookston 23-10 on a stout 9-16 shooting while holding the Golden Eagles to just 4-18 from the field.

The second quarter was much of the same- defense, defense, defense. The Bulldogs had another big run, too, this time 13-5. UMD also held Crookston scoreless during a four-and-a-half-minute stretch in the period. Lexi Karge and Taya Hakamaki played well off the bench in the second frame, producing on both ends. The Bulldogs outscored the Golden Eagles 20-6 in the quarter, giving them a lead of 43-16 to start half number two.

Olson led the Bulldogs at the half with 15 points on 6-9 shooting to go along with 4 rebounds. Hakamaki poured in seven points off the bench and also contributed two assists and three steals. Karge chipped in six points and four rebounds to pair with both a steal and a block. Madelyn Granica led the rebounding efforts for UMD with six, and Taytum Rhoades led the way with three first-half blocks. 

Coming out of the locker room, the Bulldogs found themselves on the wrong side of a run. The Golden Eagles made some adjustments at halftime, starting the first seven minutes of the frame on a 21-15 run. Back-to-back Ella Gilbertson baskets, assisted both times by Rhoades, helped to stifle the Golden Eagles and left UMD up 65-37 with a minute and a half left in the third quarter. After the highest-scoring period of the game (each team closing with 26 points a pop) the score was 69-42.

By the start of the fourth quarter, UMD had secured a firm lead and was able to keep riding strong bench play to the finish line. Hakamaki, Karge and Gilbertson produced until the final buzzer. Ani Tschida scored five in the fourth frame, including a three-pointer. Myra Moorjani finished with a pair of steals and rebounds off the bench. The Bulldogs eventually took the contest 83-58.

UMD was led in this one by Olson, who tallied 21 points, six rebounds and two blocks. Karge had 14 points off the bench along with four rebounds. Maesyn Thiesen and Gilbertson each scored 10. Thiesen also led UMD in rebounding with eight boards. Hakamaki finished with nine points and a team-high four steals.

Crookston's leading scorers were Alex Page and Taryn Frazer, who each contributed 12 points. Nicole Hernandez and Page led the rebounding efforts for the Golden Eagles with five apiece. 

POST-GAME WITH PEARSON

UMD's bench was huge tonight, scoring 38 combined points, producing on the other end and generally providing a big spark for the Bulldogs. This didn't go unnoticed by UMD head coach Mandy Pearson.

"Our bench was incredible tonight and definitely came out ready to play," Pearson said. "They had great energy and determination on both ends of the floor."

While the bench was rolling, so too was a key Bulldog starter in Olson. That's become something of a habit for the graduate forward.

So much of one, in fact, that with her 21-point outing on Thursday, Olson broke the 1,800 career points plateau. That's a figure only three other Bulldogs have ever reached for the program. 

Pearson's well aware of how special of a talent Olson is- and she didn't wait until career-point 1,800 to let her know.

 "Brooke has been so much fun to coach," Pearson said. "I told her the other day that it's just an absolute blast to watch her play. She's incredibly talented and a great teammate."

Still, even on a night like this where everything seems to be clicking, there's always a teachable moment to be found somewhere. And for a team like these Bulldogs, for a coach like Pearson, a big win won't overshadow it. 

Thursday's point of emphasis came in the third quarter, where the Golden Eagles managed to find some life on the offensive side of the court. Pearson preached a need to be able to roll with the changes that a team presents, to be able to counter-punch a counter-punch. None of this is to say that the Bulldogs' defensive effort was poor- this is just something that could only prove to make this already talented group even more of a threat.

"Our defense was great most of the game," Pearson said. "We had a little bit of a letdown when Crookston made an adjustment. I didn't think we adjusted with them well enough, and it allowed 26 points in the third quarter. It's a great lesson for us in teaching us that when a team makes an adjustment, we need to adjust and find the same intensity we had in the first half."