CROOKSTON, Minn. - The University of Minnesota Crookston women's basketball team suffered an overtime loss in their final home game Sat., Feb. 18 against the University of Mary. The Golden Eagles held the lead for the majority of the game before U-Mary was able to capture it with under a minute left. U-Mary was able to outscore UMC in overtime leading them an 87-81 win.

The Marauders improve to 15-15 (9-12 NSIC). The Golden Eagles fall to 7-19 (7-15 NSIC). Minnesota Crookston will travel to Concordia University-St. Paul for the first round of the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament. UMC is the sixth seed in the NSIC North, while Concordia-St. Paul is the three seed in the NSIC South.

The Golden Eagles were led by Isieoma Odor (R-So., F/C, Bloomington, Minn) who picked up a double-double of 20 points and 13 rebounds, going 9-for-14 from the field. Alison Hughes (So., G, Janesville, Wis.) and Caitlin Michaelis (So., G, Marshfield, Wis.) both had 16 points on the game. Hughes also had four rebounds and a steal. Micaela Noga (Jr., G, Parkers Prairie, Minn.) picked up 14 points and four assists. The Golden Eagles had 34 rebounds compared to U-Mary's 43 and eight second chance points.

Minnesota Crookston shot 29-of-65 from the field for 44.6 percent. They were 8-of-21 from the field for 38.1 percent for beyond the arc. The Golden Eagles were 15-of-17 for 88.2 percent.
Lauren Rotunda's 30 points led the Marauders. She went 11-for-13 from the field and 8-for-11 from the free throw line.  Gabbie Bohl and Dani Williams both hit double digits picking up 27 and 11 points respectively. The Marauders had 18 second-chance points.

The Golden Eagles pulled ahead of the Marauders by six in the early going as Michaelis and Hughes hit back-to-back threes. Odor's layup extended the Golden Eagles lead to 12-4 before back-to-back layups by Cassie Askvig brought the Marauders back within four. Hughes and Emily Gruber (Jr., F, Monticello, Minn.) added to the Golden Eagles total picking up a jumper and layup respectively. Bohl and Noga would then exchange free throws leading UMC to take an 18-12 lead into the second quarter.

Michaelis' layup was quickly followed by a three from Hughes, increasing the Golden Eagles lead to 23-14. Rotunda looked to stop the Golden Eagles with a jumper, but Michaelis picked up a three to extend the Golden Eagles lead to 26-16. A jumper by Askvig, back-to-back layups from Rotunda and a layup by Bohl put the Marauders on an 8-0 run and allowed them to pull within two before Gruber was able to stop them with a layup. Noga's three-pointer brought the score to 31-26. Bohl quickly responded with a layup and the and-one to bring the Marauders back within two. Michaelis picked up another three to extend the Golden Eagles lead to 34-29. After a couple of free throws from both teams, Williams was able to pick up a jumper, allowing U-Mary to pull within three, but it was not enough, as the Golden Eagles took a 36-33 lead into the half.

Rotunda picked up a layup and the and-one to bring the Marauders back within two, but Odor was able to respond with a layup to push UMC's lead back to five. Weir also had a layup and the and-one to bring the score to 42-41 in favor of UMC. Odor helped extend UMC's lead as she picked up a layup and was able to capitalize on the three-point-play. Michaelis added another three to her total right after being brought into the game starting a 9-0 run for the Golden Eagles. The run included a free throw from Odor, a jumper by Noga, and a three by Stephanie McWilliams (Fr., G, Grand Forks, N.D.). Rotunda's three point play and a three by Williams cut the Golden Eagles lead to 54-49. The Golden Eagles ended up taking a 56-51 lead at the end of the third quarter.

A jumper by Bohl brought the Marauders within one early in the fourth quarter. Odor and Rotunda exchanged layups, bringing the score to 60-59 in favor of the Golden Eagles. Odorthen picked up four layups in under four minutes leading the Golden Eagles to a three point lead before Bohl's layup brought the Marauders back within one. A jumper by Williams tied the game for the first time since four minutes into the first quarter. Williams hit another jumper to give the Marauders their first lead of the game at 73-71 with nine seconds left. Down two, Noga would come through with a layup in the final seconds to tie the game up at 73 as the Marauders and Golden Eagles would head to overtime.  

The Marauders went on a 6-0 run to start overtime as Hannah Larson picked up two jumpers and a layup. Odor stopped Larson's run with a layup of her own bringing the Golden Eagles within four. Weir was able to respond with a layup extending U-Mary's lead to 81-75 with just over a minute left. Noga went 2-for-2 from the charity stripe, Bohl went 1-for-2 and Michaelis went 2-for-2 for their respective teams to bring the score to 82-79 in favor of U-Mary. Rotunda followed it up with two free throws of her own. Noga's layup pulled the Golden Eagles within three, but it would not be enough, as U-Mary went on to win it 87-81.

The Golden Eagles will take on Concordia-St. Paul at 7 p.m. Wed., Feb. 22 at the Gangelhoff Center in St. Paul, Minn.