CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston women's basketball team fell 77-59 to No. 15/18 University of Sioux Falls Sat., Feb. 1 at Lysaker Gymnasium. The Golden Eagles held an 18-16 lead after a strong first quarter as they shot 57.1 percent from the field, but Sioux Falls was able to use a 24-12 tally in the second frame to pick up the victory.

Minnesota Crookston falls to 4-16 (3-13 NSIC) with Saturday's loss. Sioux Falls remains at the top of the NSIC South standings with a 20-3 (13-3 NSIC) mark. The Cougars have won the last seven games in the series.

Jessie Geer led Sioux Falls with 19 points and eight rebounds. Anna Goodhope had 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Kaely Hummel chipped in 16 points, while Mariah Szymanski had 13 points.

Mary Burke (R-Fr., F, Virginia, Minn.) paced Minnesota Crookston with 11 points. Mattea Vetsch (Fr., G, Devils Lake, N.D.) and Bren Fox (So., F/C, Norwood Young America, Minn.) both had nine points each. Julia Peplinski (So., F/C, Hustiford, Wis.) finished with eight rebounds and Ashley Freund (Jr., F, Jordan, Minn.) had five rebounds.

The Golden Eagles won the turnover battle 15-9 and had more points in the paint 32-26. Along with the Minnesota Crookston bench out-scoring USF 29-14. However, Sioux Falls shot a better percentage from the field (44.4 percent - 41.5 percent) and three-point line (34.4 percent - 16.7 percent). USF had more second-chance and fast-break points. Minnesota Crookston shot well from the free throw line, shooting 12-of-15 from the line (80.0 percent) compared to USF's (66.7 percent).

Abby Guidinger (Jr., G/F, Waukesha, Wis.) put Minnesota Crookston on the board first as she got the jumper to give the Golden Eagles a 2-0 lead. The Golden Eagles were able to push out to a 7-5 lead as Burke got on the scoreboard, scoring a three-pointer with 7:23 remaining in the first quarter.

Sioux Falls responded as Geer scored two baskets within 30 seconds to help the Cougars to a 6-0 run and an 11-7 lead. A Fox bucket and a Vetsch three-pointer changed the tide for the Golden Eagles, putting Minnesota Crookston on top 12-11. Kiara James responded on the other end by putting her shot in to give USF the 13-12 advantage.

However, Minnesota Crookston fought right back and got the lead on a Burke jumper 14-13 with 2:15 left in the quarter. Fox then stole the ball right back and put in a pair off a Freund assist to push the advantage to 16-13.

Sioux Falls responded with a James three-point play as they knotted the score up 16-16 with 28 seconds remaining in the first quarter. Fox put up the final shot of the first quarter and drained it to give Minnesota Crookston 18-16 going into the quarter break.

Peplinski made a bucket and drew a foul, sending her to the line for the three-point play. She converted it to extend a 5-0 run and give Minnesota Crookston a 21-16 advantage. Sioux Falls took over from there as they kicked it into gear guided by three-pointers from Goodhope and Geer as the 12-0 run gave USF a 28-21 lead with 5:46 left in the second quarter.

Fox responded by getting the offensive rebound and making her shot along with getting a foul by USF. She made her extra shot at the charity stripe to cut the deficit to 28-24. USF had the answer as Szymanski made a three-pointer and followed it up with a jumper seconds later to widen the gap to 33-24. The Golden Eagles were able to cut the lead to 35-28 as Guidinger popped in the jumper to help Minnesota Crookston out and cut it to seven with 2:42 left in the stanza.

Sioux Falls responded with a bucket from Goodhope and one from Geer to help USF pull away at 40-28. Alyssa Peterson (Fr., G, Menahga, Minn.) got to the stripe after getting fouled and made both shots, as Minnesota Crookston went into the locker room trailing 40-30.

The Golden Eagles got off to a strong start in the third quarter as Burke put in two, and Peplinski went 1-of-2 from the foul line, cutting the lead to 40-33 early on in the frame. Sioux Falls responded as Geer made her shot along with collecting a foul and making the shot from the line to push the lead back out to 43-33.

Minnesota Crookston responded with a run as Burke made a reverse lay-up followed by a contribution from Emma Carpenter (Fr., G, Eagan, Minn.) as the Golden Eagles trimmed the deficit to 43-39 with 6:37 left in the third quarter.

Sioux Falls countered as Szymanski made a three-pointer, along with a shot from Hummel to give USF a 49-39 advantage with 3:57 remaining in the frame. A Kylie Post (Fr., G, Corcoran, Minn.) bucket cut the deficit to 49-41. However, the Cougars responded as Szymanski hit another three-pointer, followed up by another shot as Sioux Falls ended the third quarter with a 54-41 advantage.

The Golden Eagles used buckets from Post and Vetsch, as they adjusted the score to 56-45 early with the Golden Eagles down 11 early in the fourth quarter. Sioux Falls responded with a Goodhope jumper and a trey from Hummel to widen the gap to 61-45. A Paige Cornale (So., G, Oak Creek, Wis.) drive trimmed the lead to 61-47. However, Sioux Falls would push the lead out to 23 and would not look back as they earned the 77-59 win over Minnesota Crookston.

The Golden Eagles hit the road Fri., Feb. 7 as they take on Minnesota State University in Mankato, Minn., at 5:30 p.m.