ABERDEEN, S.D. – The University of Minnesota Crookston women's basketball team had an 18-point lead in the first quarter diminished as Northern State University utilized a 21-10 fourth quarter to win 74-64 at Wachs Arena in Aberdeen, S.D. The Golden Eagles found their shooting touch hitting 14 three-pointers including eight in the first quarter, but were unable to close out the game as Northern State was big on the glass out-rebounding Minnesota Crookston 35-24.

Northern State moved to 6-3 (2-1 NSIC) with the win. Minnesota Crookston falls to 1-6 (0-3 NSIC) with Saturday's loss.

The Golden Eagles were led by a career-night from Mattea Vetsch (Fr., G, Devils Lake, N.D>) with 17 points, including going 5-of-7 from behind the three-point line. Kylie Post (So., G, Corcoran, Minn.) came off the bench for eight points and three assists. Abby Guidinger (Jr., G/F, Waukesha, Wis.) chipped in eight points. Paige Cornale (So., G/F, Oak Creek, Wis.) added seven points, five rebounds, and four assists, while Bren Fox (So., F/C, Norwood Young America, Minn.) added seven points and five boards.

Minnesota Crookston shot 18-of-50 from the field for 36.0 percent. The Golden Eagles found their touch going 14-of-30 from beyond the arc for 46.7 percent. They were also strong on their free throws, going 14-of-16 for 87.5 percent.

Minnesota Crookston had 12 turnovers on the game to 15 assists.

Northern State looked to 16 points from Lexi Wadsworth on 4-of-6 from the field. Jessi Marti added 15 points and six rebounds. Shariah Smith chipped in 11 points and seven assists, while Joie Spier came off the bench for 13 points and eight boards.

The Wolves were 26-of-56 from the field, including shooting 15-of-29 for 51.7 percent from the field in the second half. Northern State was 8-of-17 for 47.1 percent from behind the three-point line.

The Golden Eagles started out the game with strong defense as they kept the Wolves off the scoreboard in the first three minutes of the game.
Minnesota Crookston was the first on the scoreboard as Paige Weakley (Sr., G/F, Kearney, Mo.) sank a trey from the wing. After another big defensive stop, Cornale drained a triple from the other wing as the Golden Eagles took the 6-0 advantage.

Minnesota Crookston pushed their run to 9-0 as Vetsch sank a trey. Northern State finally got on the scoreboard three minutes in as Smith sank a jumper to cut the deficit to 9-2.

The Wolves sliced the deficit to 9-4 with a Brianna Kusler fast-break lay-in. Minnesota Crookston ended a three-minute scoring drought as Guidinger sank a trey from the wing to push the advantage to 12-4. Northern State countered with a jumper from Alayna Johnson, but the Golden Eagles came right back with their fifth three-pointer of the first seven minutes, this time from Alyssa Peterson (Fr., G, Menahga, Minn.) to widen the gap to 15-6. A Vetsch triple made it six triples in the first eight minutes to extend the advantage to 18-6 on the road.

Sara Tvedt ended the 6-0 run with a bucket for the Wolves as they trimmed the lead to 18-8. The Golden Eagles scored their first points not from beyond the arc at the 1:17 mark of the first period with a pair of free throws from Cornale to extend the lead to 20-8. After a defensive stop, Vetsch hit her third 3-pointer of the first quarter to push the advantage to 23-8. After another strong defensive possession, Vetsch hit her fourth three-pointer of the period to widen the gap to 26-8.

The Golden Eagles connected on eight three-pointers in the first quarter, going 8-of-12 from beyond the arc for 66.7 percent. Minnesota Crookston did not shoot a two-point field goal in the first 10 minutes of the tilt.

Northern State obtained the first points of the second quarter as Johnson hit a pair from the foul line to slice the lead to 26-10. Minnesota Crookston matched the Wolves on the other end as Cornale sank a pair from the charity stripe to extend the gap to 28-10.

The Wolves used a jumper from Johnson and a pair of free throws from Wadsworth to cut the deficit to 28-14 with 8:44 remaining in the second quarter. Minnesota Crookston got their first two-point field goal with 8:25 left in the second stanza as Guidinger got to the hoop for two to widen the gap to 30-14.

Northern State trimmed the lead to 30-18 on a Wadsworth lay-in off the Marti assist as they pushed their run to 8-2. The Wolves extended their run to 12-2 using a pair of free throws and a lay-up from Smith to cut the deficit to 30-22.

Minnesota Crookston halted the run with a basket from Bren Fox, extending their lead to 32-22. The Golden Eagles widened the gap to 34-22 utilizing a pair of free throws from Vetsch.

Northern State stopped the 4-0 run for the Golden Eagles with a Spier triple to bring the score within 34-25. Minnesota Crookston had the answer as Guidinger hit the first triple for the Golden Eagles in the second quarter, and their ninth of the game, to extend the lead to 37-25.

Northern State responded with a pair of Kusler free throws and a Marti three-pointer as they pulled within 37-30 with 1:59 remaining in the second stanza. Minnesota Crookston responded as Post got the steal and got to the line with the blocking foul. Post hit a pair from the stripe to push the advantage to 39-30 with 20.5 seconds left in the quarter. Smith hit a trey off a steal as time expired in the half to trim the lead to 39-33 going into the half.

The Golden Eagles were 11-of-24 for 45.8 percent from the field, going 9-of-18 from behind the three-point line for 50.0 percent. Minnesota Crookston was 8-of-8 from the charity stripe.

Vetsch led the Golden Eagles with 14 points, including going 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. Guidinger came off the bench for eight points, while Cornale chipped in seven points. Vetsch also led the squad with five rebounds in the opening half.

Northern State went 11-of-27 from the field for 40.7 percent and were 3-of-7 from behind the three-point line for 42.9 percent. The Wolves looked to Smith with nine points. Johnson added six, while Marti added five points.

The Wolves won the rebounding edge 17-13 with seven offensive boards.

Northern State got the first basket of the third quarter as Marti drained a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 39-36. The Wolves moved their early run to 5-0 as Wadsworth sank a pair from the foul line to trim the lead to 39-38.

The Wolves continued a 9-0 run in the second stanza as Spier scored back-to-back baskets to give Northern State their first lead of the night at 42-39. Minnesota Crookston stopped the run with a Fox basket to pull the Golden Eagles back within 42-41.

The Wolves countered with a Wadsworth trey to push the gap back out to four points at 45-41. Minnesota Crookston responded with a Fox triple to trim the deficit to 45-44. Smith countered on the other end for the Wolves with a bucket to give Northern State the 47-44 lead. The teams would trade baskets until Mary Burke drained a triple to tie the game up 49-49 with 3:34 remaining in the third stanza.

The Golden Eagles took the lead back 51-49 extending their run to 5-0 using a pair of free throws from Weakley. Northern State countered with a Spier bucket to knot the game back up at 51-51. The Wolves reclaimed the lead 53-51 utilizing a pair of Wadsworth three-pointers but Minnesota Crookston finished the quarter on a great note with a Burke triple to go into the break ahead 54-53.

The Golden Eagles made it a 6-0 run at the start of the fourth quarter as Vetsch sank her fifth triple of the game to put Minnesota Crookston ahead 57-53. The Golden Eagles continued to hold the lead 58-56 after Post hit 1-of-2 from the stripe.

Northern State responded with back-to-back buckets from Marti to go ahead 60-58 with 5:59 remaining in the game. Kusler sank a triple as the clock was about to expire to push the advantage to 63-58. The Wolves pushed the run to 8-0 as Wadsworth sank a transition trey to go up 66-58. A Wadsworth bucket in the post moved the lead to 68-58.

Peterson halted the run with a triple to bring Minnesota Crookston back within 68-61. However, Spier got a quick bucket on the other end to push the lead to 70-61. The Golden Eagles used three points from Post to cut the deficit to 70-64 with 1:21 left in the game. Northern State looked to put away Minnesota Crookston with a Spier bucket to push the lead to 72-64 with 1:06 left in Saturday's tilt.

Northern State would hang on down the stretch for the 74-64 win over Minnesota Crookston.

The Golden Eagles return home to face Augustana University Fri., Dec. 13 at 5:30 p.m., at Lysaker Gymnasium.