Box Score FARGO, N.D. - A five-minute cold streak in the second half would guide North Dakota State University past the University of Minnesota Crookston women's basketball team 64-59 Wed., Oct. 30 at the Bison Sports Arena in Fargo, N.D. in an exhibition contest. The Golden Eagles would lead 30-26 at the half but their offensive woes in the second half would keep them from the exhibition upset. Wednesday was the first contest of the 2013-14 campaign for either teams. UMC is 0-1 in the exhibition season heading into a Saturday showdown with University of North Dakota.

Minnesota Crookston was led by the hot shooting of Alexa Thielman (So., G, Buffalo, Minn./Health Sciences) who had 20 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the field including connecting on 3-of-4 from behind the three-point line. Thielman also had six boards on the game. Katrina Moenkedick (So., F, Perham, Minn./Early Childhood Education) added 13 points while Kenzie Church (Jr., F, Fairmont, N.D./Management) returned from an injury last season to have seven points in just five minutes. Ebony Livingston (Jr., G, Minneapolis, Minn./Sports and Rec Management) added six points.

UMC's lone newcomer, Selina Barnes (Fr., G, Colorado Springs, Colo./Health Sciences) had five points, three assists and grabbed six boards on the game after earning the start at point guard. The Golden Eagles finished the game shooting 19-of-53 for 35.8 percent and were 5-of-19 for 26.3 percent from beyond the arc. In addition, UMC could not get going on the boards as they were doubled in rebounds by NDSU 49-24.

North Dakota State hit 19-of-50 for 38.0 percent for the game. Holly Johnson led the way with a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds while Liz Keena added 12 points. Hannah Breske would finish with nine points and Emily Spier had eight points.

The Golden Eagles shot 37.0 percent in the first half, going 10-of-27 from the field and were 3-of-8 from three-point range for 37.5 percent. Thielman guided the Golden Eagles in the first half with eight points. She was only 2-of-7 from the field with both of those field goals coming from beyond the arc in the first half. Moenkedick added six points for the Golden Eagles while Livingston chipped in four.

The Golden Eagles were paced on the boards by the shortest person on their roster, as Barnes grabbed five boards in the first half and also dished out three assists.

North Dakota State shot 10-of-26 in the first half for 38.5 percent but were 0-for-4 from trey. Johnson led the way with six points and four rebounds while Kahla Becken and Breske each added five points.

It would be a struggle for both offenses in the early going as the University of Minnesota Crookston would get out to a 6-0 lead early led by baskets from Barnes, Moenkedick and Cienna Walker (So., G, Ajax, Ontario/Marketing). NDSU would respond with a couple of baskets to cut the lead to 8-4 with 11:29 remaining in the first half. A three by Becken would cut into UMC advantage even further to make it 8-7 early in the first. The Golden Eagles would counter though as Livingston connected from three from the wing to extend their lead to 11-7.

North Dakota State would cut the lead down to one point at 15-14 after a Johnson jumper and would tie things up at 16-16 following a Spier put-back and would again have a tie at 18-18 following another Spier basket.

A Jacy Christenson (Sr., G, Shoreview, Minn./Natural Resources) jumper and a Walker free throw would put the Golden Eagles back on top 21-18 at the 4:38 mark. A Church steal on the other end and a Thielman trey would continue the UMC 6-0 run to get the Golden Eagles out to a 24-18 lead.

The Bison would again respond to cut the advantage down to 24-22 following a steal and a lay-up from Becken.

North Dakota State would again cut the advantage to one at 27-26 following a Johnson basket but a crucial Thielman trey would give the Golden Eagles a 30-26 advantage heading into the break.

The Bison would cut into UMC's half-time lead early on in the second half, making it 34-33 with just under 17 minutes left following a Breske jumper but the Golden Eagles. North Dakota State would take their first lead of the game 37-36 at the 15:30 mark in the second half following a pair of Brooke Lemar free throws. A Keena drive in and lay-up would put NDSU ahead 39-36 with 13:54 remaining in the second half.

The Golden Eagles would knot things up by the sharp-shooting of Thielman at 39-39. The Bison would take over from there for the next several minutes, getting out to a 55-43 advantage led by five points from Marena Whittle as the Golden Eagles would struggle to connect on anything from the field, scoring just two points in five minutes as the Bison would take control of things.

A three-pointer from Church would begin to get the Golden Eagles back into the fray with seven minutes remaining in the second half as she cut the NDSU lead to 55-46. A Thielman converted an old fashioned three-point play would cut into the lead further with 3:55 remaining to make it NDSU 57, UMC 51. Thielman would continue the run for the Golden Eagles as she connected on a trey with 2:47 left to cut the Bison advantage to 57-54. A made free-throw by Johnson would put the Bison ahead 58-54 but Moenkedick would strike back on the other end with a lay-up to make it 58-56 with 2:26 left.

A Keena lay-up with just over two minutes left would put NDSU up 60-56 over the Golden Eagles. A Pair of free throws from Becken would give the Bison a 62-56 lead with 1:30 left in the game.

Moenkedick connected on one-of-two from the charity stripe with 1:14 remaining for the Golden Eagles to make it NDSU 62, UMC 57. A jumper from Breske late would look to seal the deal with a minute remaining to make it NDSU 64, UMC 57.  UMC would get one more basket as the final would be NDSU 64, UMC 59.

The Golden Eagles will continue their exhibition season Sat., Nov. 2 at 2 p.m. at the Betty Engelstad Center in Grand Forks, N.D.

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).