CROOKSTON, Minn.– The University of Minnesota Crookston women's basketball team picked up the weekend sweep as they upended Minot State University 59-45. The Golden Eagles were again led by the play of Alexa Thielman (Jr., G, Buffalo, Minn./Health Science), who had 21 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. Thielman averaged 23.5 points per game over the weekend.

UMC improves to 5-7 (4-4 NSIC) with Saturday's win, while Minot State falls to 7-7 (2-6 NSIC) with the loss.

In addition to Thielman, Emily Gruber (Fr., F/C, Monticello, Minn./Undecided) stepped up in a big way with a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds. Katrina Moenkedick (Jr., F, Perham, Minn./Applied Studies) finished with 11 points, while Micaela Noga (Fr., G, Parkers Prairie, Minn./Health Management) had nine points.

The Golden Eagles were 20-of-50 from the field for 40 percent and 5-of-17 from beyond the arc for 35.7 percent. In addition, UMC was strong from the charity stripe, shooting 14-of-16 for 87.5 percent. UMC also out-rebounded a long Minot State team 37-36.

Minot State looked to Christina Boag, who had a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Katie Hardy added 12 points and Diondra Denton had nine points. Morgan Klose tallied seven assists on the game.

The Beavers were 20-of-58 for 34.5 percent and 2-of-13 for 15.4 percent from beyond the arc. They struggled immensely from the free-throw line where they were just 3-of-11 for 27.3 percent.

UMC got out to a 31-22 advantage at the half on the Beavers. The Golden Eagles were led by a 10-0 run consisting of five points from Thielman and five points from Gruber as UMC would go ahead 17-9 with 12:46 remaining in the half. The Golden Eagles would not look back from there as they held on for the 59-45 win.

The Golden Eagles also played great defense on the weekend, limiting their two opponents to a 49.5 point average.

Minnesota Crookston will look to continue their momentum as they head to St. Cloud State University Jan. 9 and University of Minnesota Duluth Jan. 10. The Golden Eagles lost to those two opponents at home by a combined nine points in early December.

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).