CROOKSTON, Minn. - The University of Minnesota Crookston women's basketball team used a pair of runs in the first of second half to catapult them to a 79-71 win over Minnesota State University Moorhead. The win solidified home court for the Golden Eagles in the first round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament. It will be the first time any UMC athletics team has hosted a home playoff game since joining the NSIC.

The Golden Eagles move to 13-13 (12-10 NSIC) tying their wins record during the Mike Roysland era, achieved during the 2010-11 season. MSU Moorhead drops to 15-11 (14-8 NSIC). UMC will be the No. 3 seed in the NSIC North for the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament. They will take on No. 6 seed Concordia University, St. Paul at 6 p.m. Wed., Feb. 25 at Lysaker Gymnasium.

After falling behind by 12 with 5:09 left in the first, the Golden Eagles would catch fire as they went on a 16-0 run to end the half, turning the tides of the game. UMC would hit four three-pointers during the stretch with two big treys from senior Kenzie Church (Sr., F, Fairmount, N.D./Management), a three from Katrina Moenkedick (Jr., F, Perham, Minn./Applied Studies) and one from Christine Thorn (Jr., G, St. Michael, Minn./Elementary Education.

The Golden Eagles would go into the break with the 37-31 lead. UMC would use a 17-4 run mid-way through the second half to extend their advantage to 61-42 led by seven points from Emily Gruber (Fr., F/C, Monticello, Minn.). MSU Moorhead would be able to close to within five points (71-66) with free throws from Morgan Banasik with 2:42 remaining. But one of the nation's best free-throw shooters, Ebony Livingston (Sr., G/F, Minneapolis, Minn./Sports and Rec Management) would come through in the clutch, hitting 4-of-4 as the Golden Eagles picked up the 79-71 win.

Minnesota Crookston had four players score in double-figures on the game. Alexa Thielman (Jr., G, Buffalo, Minn./Health Science) had 17 points on 6-of-17 shooting from the field and 3-of-8 from beyond the arc. Thielman needs just seven points to become the 10th player in program history to secure 1,000 points.

Livingston would add 16 points on Senior Nigh, including going 12-of-12 from the charity stripe. Gruber came off the bench for 14 points and six rebounds, while Moenkedick added 10 points and 10 rebounds.

The Golden Eagle senior class came through in a big way on the evening as they tallied 32 points on the night. In addition to Livingston, Church added six points, while Ashley Martell (Sr., G, Somerset, Wis./Health Science) tallied eight points and four rebounds.

Minnesota Crookston shot 24-of-62 for 38.7 percent on the game and connected on 10-of-26 for 38.5 percent from beyond the arc. In addition, they were clutch from the charity stripe, connecting on 21-of-24 for 87.5 percent.

The Golden Eagle second-half starters came through in a big way. Thielman, Livingston, Moenkedick, Gruber and Micaela Noga (Fr., G, Parkers Prairie, Minn./Health Management) played over 19 minutes of consecutive basketball for UMC.

MSU Moorhead was led on the game by Heather Strese, who had 18 points and nine rebounds on 5-of-9 shooting from the field. Natalie Van Wyhe added 16 points, while Meghan Roehrich added nine points.

MSU Moorhead shot 23-of-56 for 41.1 percent from the field and were 10-of-23 for 43.5 percent from beyond the arc.

The Golden Eagles got some help in securing the No. 3 seed, along with their hard-fought effort. Minot State University came through in a big way taking down University of Minnesota Duluth, who was one place behind the Golden Eagles. In addition, University of Mary picked up a double-overtime victory over St. Cloud State, which was also instrumental in helping UMC secure the No. 3 seed behind Northern State (No. 1) and MSU Moorhead (No. 2).

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).