Box Score CROOKSTON, Minn- The University of Minnesota, Crookston Golden Eagle woman's basketball team celebrated senior night as they recognized the three seniors Laurie Tyson, Carli Bunning , and Brittani Wiese.  The Golden Eagles 8-18 (5-17 NSIC) took a loss for their final regular season matchup to the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference opponent University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs 78-64. UMD improves to 14-12 on the year (11-11 NSIC). 
 
The first half showcased the seniors in action for UMC as Laurie Tyson (Sr. G., Rosemount, Minn) and Brittani Wiese (Sr. G., Albertville, Minn) started out strong with jumpers for the first points of the game.   Tyson and Wiese kept it going for the Eagles as they used the aggressive defense from the Bulldogs, which put UMC on the line in bonus with eight minutes left in the first half.  Senior Carli Bunning (Sr. F., Boone, IA) showed her aggressive rebounding skills as it brought her to the line, going 50%, 2-for-4, for free throws.  The seniors were not the only ones who stepped up in the game as freshman Alexa Thielman (Fr. G., Buffalo, Minn.) came off the bench and scored seven.  With turnovers from UMC it gave the bulldogs a chance to tie up the game at 16 from Courtney Doucette who shot from the arc.  They later returned to lead for the first time in the first half with three minutes left, making the score 29-28.  Jaya Perkins (R-Fr. G., Lakeville, Minn.) brought the game to a tie 30 a piece, but the Golden Eagles ended the first half down by one. (34-35). 
 
Wiese started off the second half just as strong as she hit a jumper for the Golden Eagles.  She followed up by taking the first five shots of the second half, with two of them going in. Thielman came off the bench and scored four with the Bulldogs leading by seven with 13 minutes to go in the second half. 
 
Strong starts to both half's for the Eagles seem to wear on them as the Bulldogs increased their intensity later in the game.  Leadership from Kaiya Syguilla kept the Bulldogs on a hot streak, but as the Eagles were down by 12, UMC had opportunities to score in which Wiese took at full advantage.  It did not stop the Bulldogs from scoring, but Ebony Livingston (So. G., Minneapoils, Minn.) went to the line multiple times and shot 3-for-4 in the second half to keep the deficit from getting higher. The Golden Eagles went 66% on the line as a whole for a team in the second half but gave the Bulldogs the same advantage as they fouled later in the game.  The Bulldogs were led by Abbie Whitney who went 7-for-10, and Hannah Rutten who was 5-for-8.   With less than a minute of play, Kaiya Sygulla fouled out of the game, which ended in a Bulldog victory of 78-64. 
We would like to thank our seniors Laurie Tyson, Carli Bunning, and Brittani Wiese for the hard work and dedication they have given to the Golden Eagle Basketball program.  They are back in action against Concordia University to start playoffs for the NSIC/Sanford Health tournament on February 27 in St. Paul, Minn. at 7 p.m.   
 
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).
                                       
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