Weekend Preview

As I write this post I am on the bus on our way to Saint Cloud, MN as the Warrior men and women have a big-time test tomorrow night whey they take on the Huskies of Saint Cloud State.

It will be a chance for revenge for the Warrior men because they fell to the Huskies three different times last season.  The Huskies were predicted to win the NSIC conference in the pre-season poll from the coach’s.  They will be a great team again this year led by high scoring Taylor Witt.  Winona State will have to play a great game against the Huskies on the road this weekend if they have a shot at winning.

Last years game in Saint Cloud was a fouled plagued game and the Warriors struggled.  Winona State will surely want to play their best games against the Huskies this season so they can revenge a season sweep.  I look forward to talking to you all and bringing the game to you live tomorrow night!

The women tip-off at 6 PM with the men following at 8 PM.  Listen to KQAL, 89.5 for the games, your official voice for Warrior athletics!

Injury Bug

The Warrior men lost Clayton Vette in the second exhibition game of the year in this young season.  A couple of weeks later on the practice before leaving for South Dakota in Hoopsfest, CJ Erickson twisted his ankle and did not play in either the Crookston or Mankato game.

The Warriors played great against UM-Crookston and didn’t need either former Division 1 players, but both Clayton and CJ would have maybe made the difference for the Warrior men against the Mavericks.

The Warrior men were in the game the entire way but Pre-season Conference Player of the Year, Travis Nelson, was tough to handle in the paint in the second half.  Lone senior David Johnson put up an eye-opening 31 points against Mankato but it wasn’t enough to defeat them.

The Warrior men will get one more shot at Mankato in January when they come to McCown Gym to face Winona State.  By this time, hopefully the Warriors are healthy!

Warrior Women Upset National Champions

The Winona State women played an unbelievable game this past weekend at the NSIC Holiday Hoopsfest in Sioux Falls, SD.  They beat Minnesota State University-Mankato by a final score of 60-59 in an incredible comeback.  The game-winning shot was rattled in from defensive specialist Bonnie Bjorke on the same exact baseline jumper play that the Warriors used to beat the Minnesota Golden-Gophers in exhibition play.

This dramatic win came one day following a disappointing loss for the Warrior women against the University of Minnesota-Crookston Golden Eagles.  It’s tough to judge how good this Warrior women’s team really is when they played two completely different basketball games and look extremely different in doing so.

The backcourt play of Dulas and Glander has been exceptional and was nothing short of that against Mankato.  The Mavericks won the national title game last year and were undefeated going into the game against the Warriors but a 14-point lead was not enough for Minnesota State.  The Warrior women stormed back and Bjorke sealed the deal with a base-line jumper.

This was the fourth dramatic finish for the Warrior women this year already counting two exhibition games.  The Warriors have been fortunate enough to finish ahead in all three close games with the exception of the overtime loss to Crookston at NSIC Hoopsfest.

Warrior Weekly

A new show is being broadcast via Youtube on the Winona State athletics website called “Warrior Weekly”.  The show follows suit with KQAL’s “Warrior Weekly Review” except there is video of some highlights and player/coach’s interviews.  I co-host the show with former Warrior basketball great and current assistant athletic director at Winona State, Travis Whipple.

Not only are their interviews with coach’s and players but Travis and myself offer insight on games, behind the scenes activities and provide analysis and breakdowns of the current in-season and out-of-season sporting events.

This show can be viewed on the Winona State Athletics Youtube page, or recent shows can be viewed at www.winonastatewarriors.com

Go Warriors!

Warrior Men 1-0

The Warrior men hosted UW-Stout this last night and beat the Blue-Devils 83-66.  The Warriors were only up at 3 points at halftime but extended that lead in the second half as they did played a lot better and got rolling on nearly all cylinders.

David Johnson had an outstanding performance as he had 21 points and shot 5 of 9 from beyond the 3 point arc.  CJ Erickson added 19 points and had a solid defensive effort as he collected a team high 7 rebounds.  Jon Walburg came off the bench and added 15 points in only 17 minutes.

The Warrior men as a team shot 50 percent from the field and 39 percent from the 3-point-line.  An important factor for Winona State this season will be rebounding the basketball and a point to take away from this game against Stout, was the fact that the Warriors out-rebounded the Warriors 35-32.

The Warrior men look ahead to this weekend as they will take on Clarke, IA at 7 PM on Friday as they play host to the Merchants Bank Tip-Off Classic.  The Warrior men will also play at McCown gymnasium Saturday night at 7 PM and will play either Cardinal Stritch and Palm Beach Atlantic.

Both of those games can be heard on your official voice for Warrior Basketball, 89.5 KQAL.  Myself and Travis Whipple will be on the call.

Go Warriors!

Warrior Women 1-0

The Warrior women’s basketball team had an impressive performance in the first official game of the ’09-’10 season.  Hosting cross-town rival, St. Mary’s University, the Warriors put the pedal to the metal early and never let up the entire game.

Senior Ana Wurtz led the way with 21 points and shot an astounding 80 percent from the field but did not miss from beyond the arc making all 5 attempts.  The team shot 49% from the floor and 46% from the 3-point-line.  Shooting the ball like this could make the Warrior women a very tough team to beat this season.

The story of the year so far is the fact that the fresh new faces on the team have been able to make an immediate impact for the Warriors.  Marieanna Dulas, as a true freshman, has been terrific and she added 13 points for the Warriors against St. Mary’s.

Bonnie Bjorke did not take a shot in this game but had an outstanding defensive performance recording 8 rebound, 4 blocks and 4 steals.  Bjorke is a shut down defender and will be instrumental in the Warrior’s success this season.

The Warrior women travel to St. Paul this weekend as they play in a tournament hosted by Concordia University.  Steve Carley and Matt Prink will be on the call at 12 noon on Friday and at 2 PM on Saturday.  I will be here calling the men’s games as they host the Merchants Bank Tip-Off Classic this weekend here at McCown Gymnasium.

Go Warriors!

High Expectations

The Warrior Women’s basketball team has high expectations after going 2-1 against 3 division 1 opponents in exhibition play.  Not only did they beat two division 1 teams, they do so on the road!  Beating the University of South Dakota is one thing, but going in to Williams Arena in the twin cities and beating the University of Minnesota is a very impressive feat.

All of this having been said, the NSIC conference is very good one for women’s basketball.  This conference is home to the defending division 2 national champion Mankato Mavericks.  The Mavericks will be a true test for the Warriors early in the season when they play each other on a neutral location for NSIC hoops fest in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Ana Wurtz and Michelle McDonald have been impressive for the Warriors early but really opening eyes have been the freshman for Winona State.  Dulas and Barber have been great players off the bench for Winona State in this exhibition season.

Great things are to come for Winona State basketball this year!

Go Warriors!

Down Goes Vette…

With Clayton Vette now out until January with an MCL tear, the Warrior Men’s big guys have to step up in the paint.  Winona State men struggled in the paint last year and the biggest problem was not being able to pull down boards.  This is going to be tough to improve on without Vette but it has to be done to compete in maybe the best division 2 conference in the nation.

CJ Erickson will have to step up big with Vette out and I think he is capable of putting up big-time numbers.  Erickson has already proved that he is the most versatile player on the team with his quick feet on defense, his long wing-span to block shots, and his determination on offense.

This will also put the focus back on Joel Armstrong, who, as a freshman had a pretty good season.  But with high expectations for Vette this year, Armstrong will now have to be a go-to-guy for Winona State in the paint for the first half of the season.

The Warriors tend to rely too much on their 3 point shooting and if they want to win a conference title this year, they will have to shoot the ball better and not live and die by that 3 point shot.

The Warriors play tonight in their last exhibition game against St. Thomas right here in Winona at McCown Gymnasium.  Tune in to your official voice for Warrior basketball, 89.5 KQAL at 7 PM for tipoff!

Go Warriors!

Football Season Over…

The Winona State Warrior football team had a great season.  In a very tough NSIC conference the Warriors still managed to make the last week of the season mean something against Duluth because of Winona State’s impressive win in Sioux Falls the week before.

With an incredible nucleus coming back next season, the Warriors should be a contender for a conference title run.  The conference will again be very good and Duluth will without question be at the top along with Mankato.  But with Dewberry and Simmons coming back, a solid defense, Winona State football should have a great season.

Greg Preston is graduating and he has tough shoes to fill.  The front-runner has to be Alex Nelson.  When he came into the games in mop-up duty, he did tremendous things.  I think Nelson can be a difference maker next year.  He may not be as mobile as Preston was, but Nelson surely is an accurate passer.

It was a pleasure covering Winona State football this year.  I really enjoyed the opportunity and had fun traveling with the team on the road.  The future is bright for Winona State football!

Win at the Barn

I had the pleasure to go to Williams Arena and call the first exhibition game for the Winona State women’s basketball team.  Exhibition games don’t seem like much, but when two teams from different divisions meet up and the underdog can win, it is always exciting.  That is exactly what the Warriors did, they won 64-62 as Natalie Gigler hit a baseline jumper with 1 second remaining.

The lady Warriors made the trip up to The Barn, home of the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers.  A division 1, Big Ten Conference basketball team.  This Gopher team was no slouch either.  In fact, they advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament last season and are picked to finish 3rd in the Big Ten this season as far as pre-season voting is concerned.

In front a very nice home crowd for the Gophers for an exhibition game, Winona State put on quite a show.  Led in scoring by Ana Wurtz who had a 14 point first half for a total of 20 points.  She shot an astounding 7 of 17 from the field and 6-12 from the 3 point line.

It may only be an exhibition game, but what a confidence booster for the Lady Warriors.