HONOLULU, Hawai'i – The University of Minnesota Crookston women's basketball team, held off a late charge from Chaminade University to pick up the 68-65 win at The Shark Tank in Honolulu, Hawai'i. The Golden Eagles shot 42.3 percent from the field and controlled the glass 45-32 to upend the Silverswords in the Malika Sports Tours Oahu Classic.

Minnesota Crookston moves to 1-3 with their first win of the 2019-20 slate. Chaminade falls to 0-3 with the loss. The Golden Eagles go 1-1 on their trip to Hawai'i matching their mark that they posted in the state during their 2014 trip.

The Golden Eagles were led by Kylie Post (So., G, Corcoran, Minn.) with 14 points and four assists. Bren Fox (So., F/C, Norwood Young America, Minn.) chipped in a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Julia Peplinski (So., F/C, Hustisford, Wis.) came off the bench for 11 points and eight boards, including five offensive rebounds. Mattea Vetsch (Fr., G, Devils Lake, N.D.) chipped in eight points, while Mary Burke (R-Fr., F, Virginia, Minn.) added seven points.

Minnesota Crookston shot 22-of-52 from the field for 42.5 percent. They were 6-of-16 from beyond the arc for 37.5 percent, and 18-of-35 from the foul line for 51.5 percent. The Golden Eagles had 45 rebounds, including 14 offensive boards which proved crucial late for Minnesota Crookston.

The Golden Eagles continued to struggle with turnovers as they had 21 on the night to 12 for Chaminade.

The Silverswords shot 24-of-62 from the field for 38.7 percent. They were just 2-of-10 from behind the three-point line for 20 percent. Chaminade was 15-of-23 from the foul line for 65.2 percent. The Silverswords were guided by 17 points off the bench from Ellyonna Bankofier. Destiny Castro added 16 points, while Kali Benavente chipped in 12 points and six assists.

Despite the late charge for the Silverswords, Minnesota Crookston led all but 2:43 of Saturday night's game in the Aloha State.

Minnesota Crookston got out to an early 4-2 lead after a three-pointer from Vetsch and a free throw from Weakley. The Silverswords knotted the game up 4-4 with a Cheyenne Ardona jumper with 7:14 left in the first quarter.

Minnesota Crookston and Chaminade would trade baskets on the next couple of possessions before the Silverswords moved into an 11-7 lead following an Ardona basket and two Castro free throws.

The Golden Eagles cut the deficit to 15-14 with three-straight points from Post with two minutes remaining in the first quarter. After a defensive stop, Minnesota Crookston took the advantage back 17-15 as Paige Weakley (Sr., G/F, Kearney, Mo.) sank a triple with 1:22 left in the quarter off a Post assist. The Golden Eagles built their run out to 9-0 as Kylea Praska (So., G, Thief River Falls, Minn.) drilled a three-pointer to push the lead to 20-15.

Benavente stopped the run for Chaminade with a jumper on the other end with 31 seconds left in the first stanza to cut the lead to 20-17. Peplinski was able to hit two free throws near the end of the quarter to push the advantage to 22-17 going into the break.

The Golden Eagles extended their lead to 24-17 as Mary Burke found Fox in the post for two early in the second quarter. Chaminade answered with a Castro basket, but Minnesota Crookston quickly went back up seven at 26-19 as Post got to the bucket for two.

Minnesota Crookston pushed their run to 4-0 as Abby Guidinger (Jr., G/F, Waukesha, Wis.) found Fox at the hoop for an easy lay-in to push the advantage to 28-19 with 6:43 left in the second stanza. Chaminade was able to cut the deficit to 28-23 following a pair of Castro free throws and a Breann Nueku basket with 5:59 left in the quarter.

Minnesota Crookston quickly fought off the charge from the SIlverswords as Post got to the basket for two to extend the lead to 30-23. Neither team would score for the next two minutes until Chaminade got a basket from Benavente with 2:52 left in the quarter to pull within 30-25.

The Silverswords continued to make up ground as Michaella Dean got to the hoop for two to pull within 30-27. Chaminade built their run out to 6-0 as Benavente score with 2:08 left in the quarter to cut the deficit to 30-29.

Minnesota Crookston scored their first points in nearly four minutes as Post hit 1-of-2 from the charity stripe to push the lead to 31-29. Neither team would score over the final 1:55 of the second quarter as the Golden Eagles went into the locker room up 31-29.

Minnesota Crookston was 11-of-25 in the first half for 44.0 percent. The Golden Eagles were 3-of-9 from beyond the arc for 33.3 percent, but were just 6-of-16 from the charity stripe for 37.5 percent.

Minnesota Crookston had the early rebounding edge 22-21 over Chaminade.

The Golden Eagles committed 11 turnovers to just six for the Silverswords in the opening 20 minutes of the tilt.

Minnesota Crookston was led by eight points and three assists from Post. Peplinski added six points. Fox chipped in four points and six rebounds.

Chaminade shot 11-of-35 for 31.4 percent from the field in the first half. The Silverswords were 0-of-3 from beyond the arc, and 7-of-10 from the foul.

Chaminade was led by 11 points from Castro, while Benavente and Ardona each added six points.

The Silverswords knotted up the game 31-31 early in the third quarter with an Ardona lay-in off a Benavente assist. The Golden Eagles responded with their first points of the third quarter as Post got to the basket for two to give Minnesota Crookston the lead back at 33-31.

The Golden Eagles extended their lead to 36-31 as Alyssa Peterson (Fr., G, Menahga, Minn.) rolled in a triple from the left wing. Chaminade stopped the 5-0 run for Minnesota Crookston with a Bankofier bucket with 6:37 remaining in the third quarter to pull within 36-33.

Minnesota Crookston used a three-pointer from Vetsch to widen the gap to 41-35 mid-way through the third frame. Chaminade used a 4-0 run with back-to-back baskets from Benavente to cut the deficit to 41-39 with 3:12 remaining in the third quarter.

Minnesota Crookston snapped the streak for the Silverswords as Paige Cornale (So., G, Oak Creek, Wis.) made her way to the bucket for a pair to extend the lead back out to 43-39. The Golden Eagles made it a 4-0 run of their own as Post scored her 14^th point of the game to extend the lead to 45-39. Minnesota Crookston moved the run to 5-0 as Peplinski hit 1-of-2 from the foul line with 1:32 left in the third quarter to push the advantage out to 46-39.

Chaminade got back on the scoreboard as Ardona connected on 1-of-2 from the charity stripe to pull within 46-40. The Golden Eagles responded as Fox hit 3-of-4 from the charity stripe on consecutive trips to give Minnesota Crookston a 49-40 lead. Castro connected on 1-of-2 from the foul line to trim the lead to 49-41 heading into the quarter break.

The Golden Eagles obtained their first points of the fourth quarter as Peplinski got a bucket to push the lead to 51-41. Minnesota Crookston added to their lead with a Cornale fast-break hoop after a defensive stop to widen the gap to 53-41 with 8:47 remaining in the game.

Chaminade stopped the quick 4-0 run with a trey from Bankofier to cut the lead to 53-44. The Silverswords moved their rally to 7-0 with baskets from Arianna Blowe and Bankofier to trim the advantage to 53-48 with 7:37 left in the game. Chaminade built their run out to 9-0 as Dean got to the bucket for two to cut the lead to 53-50.

Minnesota Crookston halted the run with a Burke triple to move the lead out to 56-50. Blowe scored on the opposite end for the SIlverswords to trim the deficit to 56-52. Chaminade would remain down four after the two teams traded baskets on their next possession.

The Silverswords pulled to within one point at 58-57 with 5:06 remaining as Bankofier drained a trey. The Golden Eagles had four shots at staving off Chaminade on their next trip down the floor led by two offensive rebounds from Fox and one from Burke. Burke took advantage of the second chance, scoring her seventh point of the game to extend the lead out to 60-57 with 4:26 left in the game.

Minnesota Crookston pushed their lead out to 62-57 as Fox got the offensive rebound and a put-back. Chaminade pulled back to within 62-60 after Bankofier was fouled on a three-pointer and sank all three free throws.

Minnesota Crookston took advantage of the offensive boards again on the other end as Peplinski got the second chance and was fouled. The Golden Eagle sophomore hit 1-of-2 from the foul line to give Minnesota Crookston a 63-60 advantage with 2:52 left in the tilt.

Chaminade closed the gap to two points at 63-61 as Dean connected on 1-of-2 from the charity stripe the next trip down the floor. The Golden Eagles utilized the offensive rebound to their advantage again as Peplinski got the offensive board and went to the stripe where she hit 1-of-2 to extend the lead to 64-61 with 1:28 remaining in the game.

Chaminade pulled to within one point at 64-63 as Castro scored with 41 seconds left. The Golden Eagles were fouled with 21 seconds remaining, sending Fox to the line where she drilled both shots to secure a double-double on the game and give Minnesota Crookston a 66-63 advantage.

The Silverswords had an opportunity to tie the game on a Bankofier three-pointer, but Chaminade missed and quickly fouled sending Vetsch to the line. The Golden Eagle freshman sank both free throws to give Minnesota Crookston the 68-63 lead.

A foul for the Golden Eagles sent Bankofier to the line where she hit a pair to cut the lead to 68-65. Castro had a last second heave for Chaminade, but Minnesota Crookston hung on for the 68-65 win.

The Golden Eagles open NSIC play Sat., Nov. 30 at 2 p.m., against Bemidji State University at Lysaker Gymnasium in Crookston, Minn.