CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles battled the Concordia University-St. Paul Golden Bears Friday night at Lysaker Gymnasium in a game with playoff implications. UMC lived on the free throw line en route to a 73-61 victory as the Golden Eagles improved to 4-1 in the New Year and 7-8 (6-5 NSIC) overall. UMC currently sits in a three-way tie for second in the NSIC North with St. Cloud State University and Minnesota State University Moorhead.

Concordia-St. Paul drops to 8-8 (4-6 NSIC) with Friday night's loss.

The Golden Eagles dominated on the boards, highlighted by three players in double figure. Emily Gruber (Fr., F/C, Monticello, Minn./Undecided), Ebony Livingston (Sr., G/F, Minneapolis, Minn./Sports and Rec Management), and Katrina Moenkedick (Jr., F, Perham, Minn./Applied Studies) all exceeded the 10 rebound threshold with 16, 11, and 12, respectively.

Moenkedick led the way with 16 points for the Golden Eagles as she secured a double-double. Gruber also finished with a double-double with 12 points and 16 rebounds, while Livingston fell a point short of a third player with a double-double, which is almost unheard of, as she had nine points and 11 boards. Six players had nine or more points for the Golden Eagles.

Concordia -St. Paulwas led by senior guard Ameshia Kearney. She had 16 points, five rebounds, and 3 steals. The Golden Bears struggled from the field shooting just 33 percent.

Ameshia Kearney started the scoring on the evening with a layup for the Golden Bears on their second possession.

The Golden Eagles followed that up with an eight point run to establish an early 8-2 lead that would last through the first media timeout where they led 12-10.

Concordia regained the lead for the first time after an Amanda Barton 3-pointer with 13:06 left in the first half.

The lead did not last long for the Golden Bears. Just before the second media timeout Maria Loughlin (Jr., G, Rogers, Minn./Health Management) threaded a pass on the break to Moenkedick to extend the Golden Eagle lead to six.

Gruber scored her 10th point of the game with 8:49 remaining in the half. Christine Thorn (Jr., G, St. Michael, Minn./Elementary Education) provided a spark off the bench and added to Gruber's early contributions by hitting 2 threes for the Golden Eagles.

Gruber notched her third double-double of the season with 3:20 to go in the first half. The Golden Eagles went into the break with a 39-28 lead.

Gruber was the dominating force for the Golden Eagles throughout the first half with her double-double. Moenkedick contributed across the board for the Golden Eagles with eight points, five rebounds, and four assists. The Golden Eagle ball movement was impressive with a 10:3 assist to turnover ratio in the first half.

Kearney led the way for the Golden Bears with 10 points and three assists. Concordia was only able to get one second chance point despite having a size advantage.

Concordia came out of the break with a full-court press and a spark of energy pulling within four at the first media timeout, 44-40.

Ameshia Kearney drilled a 3 for the Golden Bears to make the score 46-43 with 11:48 left in the game. A Caitlyn Russell layup gave Concordia the lead for the first time since the 13:06 mark in the first half.

Livingston brought the Golden Eagles back ahead after a jab step and hard drive to the backet. Alexa Thielman (Jr., G, Buffalo, Minn./Health Science) silenced the Concordia bench after making a three in the face of her defender to put UMC up 56-52.

Moenkedick sealed a double-double with 4:48 left in the game and the Golden Eagles leading 61-54.

The Golden Eagles kept Concordia at distance for the remainder of the game with a final score of 73-61.

The Golden Eagles take on Minnesota State University, Mankato tomorrow evening at Lysaker Gymnasium. Tip-off for the NSIC conference matchup is set for 4 PM. Minnesota State sits in second place in the NSIC.

For more information, visit the Golden Eagle Athletics website 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).