ABERDEEN, S.D. – The University of Minnesota Crookston women's basketball team put up a fight but Northern State University out-scored the Golden Eagles 24-13 in the fourth quarter to win 71-60. The Golden Eagles struggled shooting the ball on the night, especially from three, hitting just 8-of-36 for 22.2 percent.

Minnesota Crookston drops to 17-8 (14-7 NSIC), but still continue a historic run as they wrap up the regular-season Sat., Feb. 20 at Minnesota State University Moorhead. The Golden Eagles will then host their second-ever home playoff game as the No. 3 seed in the NSIC North, where they will take on No. 6 seed in the NSIC South, Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Northern State improved to 20-6 (16-5 NSIC) with the win. They are still tied in the top spot in the NSIC North with MSU Moorhead.

Minnesota Crookston would look to a banner night from Alexa Thielman (Sr., G, Buffalo, Minn./Health Science), who put up 25 points on 8-of-15 from the field and 4-of-10 from beyond the arc.

Katrina Nordick (Sr., F, Perham, Minn./Applied Studies) added 12 points and three boards. Nordick is two shy of setting the record for career rebounds and surpassing former teammate Laurie Tyson. Nordick is also just three points from becoming the third player in school history to score 1,500 or more points, joining Jamie Zelinsky and Karna Plaine.

Alison Hughes (Fr., G, Janesville, Wis./Early Childhood Education) added 14 points, including going 4-of-10 from beyond the arc. Micaela Noga (So., G, Parkers Prairie, Minn./Health Management) was big on the boards with 12 on the night.

UMC finished the game going 20-of-60 for 33.3 percent from the field.

Northern State was led by a big game from senior Devon Brecke, who had 27 points. Lauren Deadrick had a big second half and finished with 16, while Jill Conrad had 14 and Alexis Tappe came off the bench for 10.

The Wolves were 29-of-60 for 48.3 percent from the field.

The Golden Eagles would take a 5-4 lead at the 4:10 mark of the first quarter on a Hughes three. However, Northern State would quickly take the lead back on a Miranda Ristau lay-up. The Wolves would extend their lead to 11-7 on a Brecke jumper with just under three minutes left in the first frame.

The Wolves would go into the quarter break up 11-9 led by nine points from Brecke.

UMC would be able to cut the lead to 12-11 on a Thielman jumper early in the second quarter. The Wolves would strike on the next possession as Brecke hit an old-fashioned three-point play to extend the Northern State lead to 15-11. UMC would get UMC back within one at 15-14 after hitting a jumper and 1-of-2 from the charity stripe.

Northern State would again fight off the charge as Conrad hit a clutch three to extend the Northern State lead to 18-14.

The Golden Eagles would make a charge at the Wolves again as Hughes hit the trey to cut the lead to 18-17 with 4:30 left in the first half. However, Brecke would hit her 14^th point of the first half to make it 20-17. UMC would respond as Nordick got into the passing lane and stole the ball and took it to the hoop to cut the lead to 20-19, but Brecke would hit another big shot for Northern State to make it 22-19 with 3:30 remaining in the half. A Deadrick lay-up would extend the lead for the Wolves to 24-19.

UMC would cut the lead to 24-21 on a pair of Thielman free throws. Conrad would respond with a pair of free throws of her own to extend the Northern State lead to 26-21 with 2:40 remaining in the first. After a steal on the defensive end, Nordick would find Emily Gruber (So., F/C, Monticello, Minn./Communication) for the lay-up to cut the Wolves' lead to 26-23 with 1:30 remaining.

The Wolves would go into the break up 28-25 over the Golden Eagles.

UMC would be led by seven points from Thielman in the first half. Nordick and Hughes each added six. The Golden Eagles were 9-of-31 from the field for 29.0 percent. They struggled from beyond the arc, hitting just 2-of-21 for 9.5 percent from beyond the arc, uncharacteristic of the No. 2 three point shooting team in the nation.

The Golden Eagles would hold Northern State to 11-of-30 for 36.7 percent from the field and just 1-of-4 from beyond the arc. The Wolves were led by 16 first-half points from Brecke. Conrad added five.

The Wolves would take an early 32-25 lead in the second half with consecutive buckets from Lauren Deadrick. After a Nordick lay-up, Northern State would extend their lead to 34-27 once again on a Deadrick bucket. The Golden Eagles would be able to cut the lead back down to 34-31 led by four points from Thielman. A Bethany Crosswait bucket would get the lead out to 36-31, but Thielman would come back with a big three to cut the lead to 36-34.

A Tappe basket for Northern State, followed by a Deadrick put-back would extend the Wolves' lead to 40-35 in the third quarter. Deadrick would hit 1-of-2 from the charity stripe to extend the lead to 41-35 with 2:48 left in the third frame. A Tappe jumper would extend the advantage to eight.

The Golden Eagles would get the deficit back to five as Hughes nailed a three. Nordick would hit a pair of shots from the charity stripe to get the Northern State lead down to 45-42 with a minute left in the third quarter. An over the back call on the other end for the Wolves would send Micaela Noga to the charity stripe, where UMC's best free-throw shooter hit both to cut the Northern State lead to 45-44 with 35 seconds left in the third. However, Conrad would come back with a big bucket for Northern State to make it 47-44. Thielman would drill a three in the final seconds of the third to knot it up at 47-47 going into the quarter break.

The Wolves would open the fourth with an old-fashioned three-point play from Brecke to make it 50-47 early on. Brecke would get another bucket to extend the Northern State lead back out to 52-47, but Thielman would come up big once again as she got the lucky bounce to cut the lead back to 52-50 with 7:30 remaining in the game. Deadrick would continue her big second half with a basket to extend the Northern State lead to 54-50. She would hit a pair of free throws to put the Wolves up 56-50 with 5:40 remaining.

But the Golden Eagles would not go away, as Hughes hit a big three to get UMC back within three at 56-53. The Wolves would fight back and go up 62-53 on a Brecke bucket with 3:20 remaining. Down 11, Thielman would come up with a big three to cut it to 64-56 with just over two minutes left. However, Conrad would drill a three to all but seal the game for Northern State as they would win 71-60 and take the season series over the Golden Eagles.

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.
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