ST. CLOUD, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston women's basketball team fell 70-67 to St. Cloud State University Saturday afternoon at Halenbeck Hall in St. Cloud. The Golden Eagles went into the fourth quarter leading 55-49, but the Huskies would out-score the Golden Eagles 21-12 in the fourth quarter. The Golden Eagles would close to within 68-67 with 12 seconds left following an Alison Hughes (Fr., G, Janesville, Wis.) three, but Lexy Petermann would hit two foul shots with five seconds left to solidify the win.

The Golden Eagles fall to 4-3 (1-2 NSIC) with the loss, their second by a margin of six or less on the weekend. St. Cloud State improved to 3-3 (3-0 NSIC) with Saturday's victory.

Minnesota Crookston had a balanced scoring effort Saturday led by Hughes, who had 16 points and three assists, including going 3-of-6 from beyond the arc and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe. Alexa Thielman (Sr., G, Buffalo, Minn.) added 13 points, five rebounds and five assists and was 3-of-9 from beyond the arc and 4-of-4 from the free-throw line. Katrina Nordick (Sr., F, Perham, Minn.) had 13 points and five boards, while Micaela Noga (So., G, Parkers Prairie, Minn.) had 12 points and eight rebounds.

The Golden Eagles were 20-of-58 for 34.5 percent on the game and 8-of-23 for 34.8 percent from beyond the arc. They were 19-of-23 for 82.6 percent from the charity stripe.

St. Cloud State was led by a stand-out day by Petermann, who had 28 points and 20 boards for the Huskies. Kyli Van Keli added 11 points and five boards, while Karissa LeCaptain added nine points and 14 rebounds. The game was won on the boards where the Huskies overpowered the Golden Eagles 51-38, including 22 offensive rebounds.

St. Cloud State was 24-of-71 for 33.8 percent from the field on the game, while shooting 8-of-24 for 33.3 percent from behind the three-point line and 14-of-18 for 77.8 percent from the free-throw line.

The Golden Eagles would go into the break with a 30-27 lead on the Huskies led by 10 points from Hughes.

The Golden Eagles would be able to extend their lead in the third quarter to 54-49. UMC would quickly overcome the deficit to lead 60-57, ending the quarter on an 8-2 run.

The Huskies would come out of the quarter break strong and would take the lead with 4:16 remaining on a Petermann lay-up. St. Cloud State would extend their lead to 65-59 following a LeCaptain lay-up with 2:44 remaining.

UMC would have one charge left in them as Thielman would hit a three, followed by two Nordick free throws to cut the deficit to one (65-64) with 2:05 left in the game. Van Klei would hit 1-of-2 from the charity stripe to give the Huskies a 66-64 lead with 1:21 remaining. A pair of Betsy MacDonald free throws would make it 68-64 with 12 seconds left. However, Hughes would quickly respond with a three giving UMC one last chance.

Thielman would foul Petermann, but the St. Cloud State player would come through in the clutch and make both free throws as the Huskies would hang on for the 70-67 win.

The Golden Eagles will host Wayne State College (Neb.) Fri., Dec. 11 at 6 p.m.
For more information, visit the Golden Eagle Athletics website at www.goldeneaglesports.com.

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The University of Minnesota Crookston is a NCAA Division II university located in the Red River Valley of Northwest Minnesota. UMC sponsors 11 intercollegiate athletic teams with membership in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate conference (NSIC) and the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA). The NSIC is a 16-team conference with schools situated in Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska.