Crookston, Minn-… The Golden Eagles fought hard but ultimately fell to Minot State by a score of 78-77 Fri., Feb 15 at Lysaker Gymnasium. The Golden Eagles led all the way up until half way through the fourth quarter.

The Golden Eagles played well and used the three ball to keep the lead for majority of the game. Caitlin Michaelis (Sr., G, Marshfield, Wis.), led scoring for both teams with 29 points on 7-of-10 shooting from behind the three point line. Tonight it seemed like she just could not miss as she seemed to be constantly extending the Golden eagles lead. Julia Peplinski (Fr., F/C, Hustisford, Wis.), was big coming off the bench and scoring 14 points for the Golden Eagles. Peplinski provided a big spark for the Golden Eagles late in the game. She was 5-of-5 from the free throw line and added four rebounds.
Kylie Post (Fr., G, Corcaran, Minn.) also played well as she tallied 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting. Bren Fox (Fr., C, Norwood Young America, Minn.) contributed nine points along with 19 rebounds on the night. Those rebounds led to second chance points for the Golden Eagles.

Minnesota Crookston falls to 10-15 (5-14 NSIC) on the season with tonight's loss. The Golden Eagles continue their skid as they have lost seven straight games in a row. Minot State improves to 12-13 (7-12 NSIC) with the win over the Golden eagles.

The Golden Eagles shot 26-out-of-74 for 35.1 percent from the field. Minnesota Crookston shot an impressive 12-out-of-26 from beyond the arc for 46.2 percent. The Golden Eagles also shot 13-out-of-16 from the free throw line for the 81.3 percent.

The Beavers had four players in double digits. Minot State was led by Mariah Payne who had 21 points and seven assists on the night. Madison Wald contributed 20 points for the beavers on 7-of-14 shooting from the field. Kari Clements tallied 16 points along with three rebounds. Haley Hildenbrand scored 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting and added five rebounds.
Minot State shot 30-out-of-63 from the field for 47.6 percent on the night. The Beavers shot 9-out-of-21 for 42.9 percent from beyond the arch. Minot State was 9-out-of-13 for 69.2 percent from the free throw line.

Minnesota Crookston won the tipoff and made their presence felt with a three pointer from Paige Weakley. Caitlin Michaelis then added another three pointer. The Golden Eagles jumped out to a 9-0 lead before Madison Wald answered with a three of her own. With a little under five minutes played in the first quarter Minnesota Crookston led 12-5. At the end of the first quarter Minnesota Crookston led Minot State 12-9.

Caitlin Michaelis knocked down a three pointer to put the first points on the board for the second quarter. Minot State took a 20-19 lead for their first lead of the night but Isieoma Odor put the Golden Eagles back in front with an old fashion three point play. After the first media timeout of the second quarter Minnesota Crookston and Minot State were tied 22-22.
Mariah Payne scored on a fast break to put the Beavers up 24-22 but Caitlin Michaelis answered with a three pointer to give the Golden eagles a 25-24 lead. A Caitlin Michaelis three pointer with a few seconds remaining put the Golden Eagles up 28-26 at half time.

In the third quarter the Golden Eagles continued to strike first and set the tone with a strong layup from Isieoma Odor (R-Sr., F/C, Bloomington, Minn.). Both teams displayed strong defensive efforts and after the first media timeout the Golden Eagles led the Beavers 33-30. The Golden Eagles continued to look to Caitlin Michaelis for points and she did not seem to miss. At the end of the third quarter Minnesota Crookston led Minot State 38-34.

In the fourth quarter Madison Wald opened up the scoring with a three pointer but Paige Weakley (jr., G/F, Kearney, Mo.) responded with a three pointer of her own to make the score 41-37. Kylie Post added another three pointer extending the Golden Eagles lead to 44-39. Minot State regained the lead on a Haley Hildernbrand jump shot making the score 45-44.
Julia Peplinski tied the score at 47-47 with a three pointer. Kylie Post gave Minnesota Crookston a 50-47 lead on an old fashion three point play. Madison Wald responded with a three pointer for the Beavers which tied the game at 50-50. A Kylie Post layup gave the Golden Eagles a 52-50 lead with a little over two minutes to play. Bren Fox made a strong layup and extended the Golden Eagles lead to 54-51. On defense Bren Fox had a huge block that helped put the game out of reach for Minot State.

A last second three pointer from Minot State's Kari Clements tied the game at 58-58. The Golden Eagles had possession of the ball with four seconds left but missed the buzzer beater which ultimately sent the game into overtime.

Julia Peplinski scored the first points of overtime but the Beavers answered with a layup of their own to keep things tied 60-60. Julia Peplinski provided the needed spark off the bench as she made a clutch old fashion three point play to give Minnesota Crookston a 63-62 lead. Julia Peplinski added two more free throws to extend the Golden Eagles lead to 65-62.
Mariah Payne of Minot State made a contested three pointer to cut the Golden Eagles lead to 67-66. Mariah Payne then made a layup and gave Minot State a 68-67 lead with 25 seconds remaining. Caitlin Michaelis answered with a huge three pointer but the Beavers came down and tied the game again to send to double overtime. At the end of the first overtime Minnesota Crookston and Minot State were tied 70-70.

Kari Clements scored the first six points of the second overtime to make the score 76-70. Bren Fox responded by converting an old fashion three points play. Julia Peplinski got fouled and drained both free throws to make the score 76-75 Minot State. Minnesota Crookston gained possession with 30 seconds left and Isieoma Odor found Julia Peplinkski for a layup to put the Golden Eagles up 77-76 with 14 seconds left. Whitney Molina made a layup with three seconds left but Minnesota Crookston could not get a good shot off. The Golden Eagles fought hard but fell to Minot State by a score of 78-77.
Be sure to come out to Lysaker Gymnasium Sat., Feb. 16 at 3:30 pm as we honor our three seniors and take on UMary.