(KWMN)- The Winona State Men’s and Women’s basketball teams both split their weekend series with Sioux Falls University and Southwest Minnesota State University.
Both teams honored their seniors on Saturday as the Women gave thanks to three seniors, Taylor Hustad, Emma Fee, and Emily Kiek. While the men had only one, Devin Whitelow.
The Women started off the weekend with a heartbreaking loss. Taylor Hustad drained the go-ahead bucket with 25 seconds left to put the Warriors up 52-51. To the despair of the Warrior faithful, the Cougars had the ball last, as Danielle Schaub hit the game-winning layup with merely a second to go, leaving the Warriors without enough seconds to get a good shot up, Cougars win 53-52. Fee led the way on Friday with 24 points on 10-14 shooting.
The following day, as all of the seniors were honored, the Warrior Women bounced back as they toppled the SMSU Mustangs in another close one, 55-52. Emily Kiek had an outstanding performance as she filled up the box score in almost every category, finishing the night with 16 points, six assists, four rebounds, three steals, and earned a whopping four charges on the defensive end. Hustad did a little of the same as she ended the win with 16 points as well and tacked on six boards.
The Women are in a prime position to lock up a conference tournament berth. One win in their final two matchups would solidify at the very least, a six seed. If all goes in the Warrior’s favor they could find themselves jumping to as great as the three seed.
The Men flip-flopped with the Women, beating Sioux Falls on Friday and falling to SMSU on Saturday. On Friday, the Warrior Men found themselves in a barn-burner. After being down five at the half, it took a buzzer-beating lay-in from senior guard Devin Whitelow to put the Warriors on top of the Cougars, 76-75. Alec Rosner helped Whitelow along the way with 25 points in the win. On Saturday, the Warriors struggled to stop the Mustang shooting, as the Mustangs shot 58% from the field en route to a 79-71 victory. Rosner dropped 23 points but couldn’t compete with SMSU’s Dunwa Omat and Kenny Byers, who combined for 43 points on 5-7 from behind the arc.
With the victory over Sioux Falls, the Warrior Men locked up a spot in the conference tournament, now it’s just a matter of what seed. At worst they would be looking at 6th and would face Moorehead, Northern or Minot, at best, they can find themselves in the 3rd spot in the division, facing the likes of Crookston, Saint Cloud, or UMary. Warrior Men won’t have to worry about any other matchups, all they need to focus on is getting two more wins.
Thursday Night:
Warrior Women vs. Concordia St. Paul: 5:30 p.m.
Warrior Men vs Concordia St. Paul: 7:30 p.m.
Saturday:
Warrior Women @ Mankato: 1:30 p.m.
Warrior Men @ Mankato: 3:30 p.m.
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