CROOKSTON, Minn. – Abby Guidinger hit a pull-up jumper with 12 seconds remaining to lift the University of Minnesota Crookston women's basketball team to a 66-65 win over Wayne State College (Neb.). The Golden Eagles scored the final four points of the game to overcome a 65-62 deficit with under two minutes remaining as they earned the victory.

Minnesota Crookston moved to 2-7 (1-4 NSIC) with Saturday's win. They take down Wayne State, who moves to 7-3 (3-2 NSIC) with the loss. The Golden Eagles pick up their first win over the Wildcats since an 80-64 win over the Wildcats on Dec. 11, 2015.

Minnesota Crookston was guided by the performance of Abby Guidinger (Jr., G/F, Waukesha, Wis.), who notched 20 points and two assists. Guidinger added two assists, as she was a big facilitator of the offense on Saturday. Guidinger had her second-best scoring performance of her career, falling short of her 22 points scored against UMary in 2018 as a freshman.

Paige Weakley (Sr., G/F, Kearney, Mo.) chipped in nine points, while Bren Fox (So., F/C, Norwood Young America, Minn.) added a near double-double of nine points and eight rebounds. Mary Burke (R-Fr., F, Virginia, Minn.) finished with nine points. Kylie Post (So., G, Corcoran, Minn.) added eight points and four boards. Post added three assists on the night.

Minnesota Crookston shot 28-of-70 from the field for 40.0 percent. The Golden Eagles found their shot from deep, as they were 6-of-17 for 35.3 percent from beyond the arc. Minnesota Crookston was 4-of-7 from the foul line for 57.1 percent.

Wayne State was propelled by the play of Erin Norling with 30 points and eight rebounds. Halley Busse added 13 points. Brittany Bongartz chipped in eight points. Autumn Mlinar led the team with seven rebounds, while Haley Vesey added six rebounds.

The Wildcats struggled with turnovers as they had 20 on the night. Wayne State finished the night 23-of-59 for 39.0 percent. The Wildcats were 7-of-21 for 33.3 percent. Wayne State went 12-of-20 for 60.0 percent from the charity stripe.

The Golden Eagles took advantage of turnovers as they had 26 points off 20 turnovers for the Wildcats.

Minnesota Crookston started the game with a 4-0 run with points scored by Post and Fox. Wayne State responded with a 10-0 run as they took the 10-4 lead.
 
Burke put up a trey to end Wayne State's run and pull Minnesota Crookston back within 10-7.  A Norling bucket pushed the Wildcats back out to a 12-7 advantage.
 
Gudinger and Burke put in back-to-back buckets to trim the deficit to 12-11 with 2:51 remaining in the stanza.
 
Wayne State responded with a three-pointer from Hammer to catapult them back out to a 15-11 lead. Guidinger hit a jumper to pull Minnesota Crookston back within 15-13. However, the Wildcats responded as Norling scored four points to lead Wayne State on a 7-0 run to put Wayne State ahead 22-13.
 
The Golden Eagles closed out the first half on a 4-0 run with baskets from Guidinger and Emma Carpenter (Fr., G, Eagan, Minn.) as they went into the quarter break trailing 22-17.
 
 
 Minnesota Crookston built their run out to 8-0 early in the second quarter ending with a basket from Guidinger. The Golden Eagle run came to a halt as Paige Cornale (So., G, Oak Creek, Wis.) earned her first foul of the game to send Norling to the stripe, where she completed an old-fashioned three-point play. The play staved off Minnesota Crookston's charge as the Wildcats went up 25-21.
 
Minnesota Crookston trimmed the deficit to 25-24 as Weakley drilled a three off a Fox assist with 6:11 remaining in the second quarter. Wayne State used a Busse bucket to push out to a 27-24 lead.
 
However, Minnesota Crookston had a response as Fox completed an old-fashioned three-point play to knot the game up at 27-27. Once again the run was ended by a Golden Eagle foul, sending Norling to line where she hit 1-of-2 to put the Wildcats up 28-27.
 
Alyssa Peterson (Fr., G, Menahga, Minn.) then put Minnesota Crookston up with two minutes left as she sank a three-pointer to make it 30-28. Wayne State responded with the next three points ending with a Kylie Hammer bucket to go ahead 31-30.
 
However, Guidinger scored five of the last seven points in the stanza as Minnesota Crookston went into the locker room with the 35-33 advantage.
 
Bren Fox got the Golden Eagles started in the third quarter with two points starting their 4-0 run to widen the gap to 39-33. Wayne State ended their run and started one of their own as an 11-0 run culminating with a pair of Haley Vesey free throws gave the Wildcats the 44-39 lead.
 
Cornale snapped Wayne State's run with a bucket to cut the deficit to 44-41. However, Busse responded with a three-pointer to extend the Wildcat lead to 47-41.
 
The Golden Eagles had the answer as a Burke jumper cut the lead to 47-43. Wayne State responded with another Busse triple to push out to 50-43 lead.
 
Minnesota Crookston countered with a 6-0 run as a Post bucket off the steal to pull the Golden Eagles within 50-49. The Wildcats used a Norling bucket to go into the final stanza with the 52-49 advantage.
 
Weakley started off the third quarter with a three-pointer, followed by two from Fox to give the Golden Eagles the 54-52 lead. Minnesota Crookston moved their run to 8-0 following a Weakley old-fashioned three-point play as they went ahead 57-52.
 
Norling ended Minnesota Crookston's run with a three-pointer, her 25^th point of the game, to cut the deficit to 57-55.Minnesota Crookston answered as Guidinger scored the next five points to widen the gap to 62-55 with 4:11 remaining in the game.
 
Wayne State did not give in as they responded with a 9-0 run lifted by five points from Norling as they took the 64-62 lead. A Bongartz free throw pushed the lead out to 65-62. Julia Peplinski (So., F/C, Hustisford, Wis.) came away with a crucial play as she got the steal at the top of the three-point arc and drove down the floor, getting fouled and hitting both free throws from the stripe and trimming the deficit to 65-64.
 
After a defensive stop, the Golden Eagles called the timeout to get a game play together. Guidinger was able to find her shot on a pull-up jumper in the lane to put Minnesota Crookston ahead 66-65 with 12 seconds left in the game.
 
Minnesota Crookston got the ball back after a Norling turnover, as they were forced to foul. They sent Mattea Vetsch (Fr., G, Devils Lake, N.D.) to the free throw line where the newcomer missed both shots. However, Wayne State would not get off another chance with one second remaining as Minnesota Crookston would hang with a final score of 66-65.
 
The Golden Eagles wrap up their 2020 slate as they take on Bemidji State University Sat., Dec. 21 at 2 p.m. in Bemidji, Minn.