Box Score CROOKSTON, Minn. - The University of Minnesota, Crookston women's basketball team hosted the Wayne State College (Neb.) Wildcats at Lysaker Gymnasium in a nail-biting NSIC conference match-up.  A second half rally fell just short as UMC (5-8, 2-7 NSIC) fell to the 22nd-ranked Wildcats 59-57 as Wayne State's Jordan Spencer hit a shot with 2.5 seconds remaining in the game to give the Wildcats the narrow victory. The back and forth game saw eight ties as neither team held a lead of more than 11 at any point. Wayne State improves to 9-3 (5-3 NSIC) with the win.
 
The Golden Eagles benefited from a strong freshmen presence, with 37 of the team's 57 points being scored by freshmen. Katrina Moenkedick (Fr., F, Perham, Minn.) led the team in scoring with 20 points on 8-17 shooting. Fellow freshman Erika McRoberts (Fr., F/C, Byron, Minn.) added six points and seven rebounds, with four of them being offensive rebounds.  Alexa Thielman  (Fr., G, Buffalo, Minn.) contributed 11 points while making  two three-pointers. The Golden Eagles shot 34.3% (23-67) from the field while also shooting 22.7% from beyond the arc (5-22).
 
The Wildcats were led by Jordan Spencer who tallied 27 points and also made the go-ahead basket for Wayne State with 2.5 seconds left. Ashton Yossi added 16 points for the Wildcats. The Wildcats shot 23-of-56 for 41.1 percent on the night and were 5-of-16 for 31.3 percent from beyond the arc.
 
Wayne State out-rebounded UMC 43-39, while the Golden Eagles were led by Laurie Tyson (Sr., C, Rosemount, Minn.) who tallied nine, the most for either team.
 
Both teams started off the night with strong defense, as the first field goal was not scored until 4:31 into the first half.  Brittani Wiese (Sr., G, Albertville, Minn.) sunk a jumper from the free-throw line for the Golden Eagles to tie the score at three. The contest was close from the beginning featuring four ties in the first half despite UMC not gaining a lead in the half. The scoring for UMC in the first half was led by a group of freshmen, as Thielman (6), Moenkedick (5), and McRoberts (4) accounted for 15 of the team's  23 points. McRoberts also had five rebounds in the opening half. The Wildcats ended the half on a 9-2 run to go in to halftime with a 30-23 lead.
 
The second half started off again with back-and-forth action, bringing Wayne State to a 36-35 lead with 17:46 left in the game. Moenkedick came back with two quick baskets and was followed by a McRoberts layup to cut the score to 36-31 with 15:29 remaining.
 
After a short rally by the Wildcats, the score stood at 41-31 with 13:44 remaining. The Golden Eagles would mount a comeback over the next four and a half minutes, starting with a three-pointer from Moenkedick, who tallied 15 of her 20 points in the second half. After a lay-up from Carli Bunning (Sr., F., Boone, Iowa) and a three-point make by Ashley Martell (So., G., Somerset, Wisc.). Moenkedick sank a jumper to tie the game at 41. With 9:00 left to play in the game Moenkedick stole a pass for a breakaway layup, giving the Golden Eagles their first lead of the night at 43-41.
 
The Golden Eagles held their largest lead of five points after a three-point make by Thielman with 7:03 left and also after a three-pointer from Wiese with 3:43 remaining. Wayne would fight back with a three point play by Spencer with 2:59 remaining. After a lay-up from Moenkedick, Yossi and Spencer both put in layups to tie the game with 1:46 remaining in the game, the eighth tie of the night. The only points scored after the tie were scored on a Spencer jumper with 2.5 remaining. Martell fired up a last second three-pointer for the Golden Eagles which barely bounced off the rim to give the Wildcats the victory.
 
UMC is in action again tomorrow as they host No. 13 Augustana College at Lysaker Gymnasium. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m., followed by the UMC men's game at 6 p.m. With the severe weather in the area be sure to watch goldeneaglesports.com for updates in case of delays or cancellations.
 
For more information, visit the Golden Eagle Athletics Web site at www.goldeneaglesports.com.

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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).