MANKATO, Minn. – Minnesota State University used 20 points from Kristi Fett and a full-court press that forced 21 turnovers as the University of Minnesota Crookston women's basketball team fell 87-54 at Taylor Center in Mankato, Minn.  Minnesota Crookston had the score within one point in the second quarter, but they went on an 11-minute scoring slump late in the second stanza and early in the third, and they were unable to rebound.

The Golden Eagles return 13-of-16 players from a very young squad that looked to freshmen and sophomores for the majority of the team's scoring on the 2019-20 season. Minnesota Crookston ends the 2019-20 season with a 5-22 (4-19 NSIC) mark. Minnesota State moved to 17-10 (14-9 NSIC) with the victory. The Mavericks moved on to the NSIC/Sanford Health quarterfinals where they will play University of Mary on Sun., March 1 at 2:30 p.m.

The Golden Eagles were led by 10 points from Mattea Vetsch (Fr., G, Devils Lake, N.D.) on 3-of-11 from the field. Mary Burke (R-Fr., F, Virginia, Minn.) added nine points, while Alyssa Peterson (Fr., G, Menahga, Minn.) finished with nine points. Kylie Post (So., G, Corcoran, Minn.) had six points, eight rebounds, and five assists. Bren Fox (So., F/C, Norwood Young America, Minn.) finished with six points and nine rebounds.

Minnesota Crookston shot 19-of-62 from the field for 30.6 percent. The Golden Eagles were 9-of-26 from the stripe for 34.6 percent. They were 7-of-14 from the stripe for 50.0 percent.

Minnesota State was led by the post play of Fett with 20 points and seven boards on 9-of-11 from the field. Joey Batt came off the bench for 11 points. Kiristin Klitzke added 12 points, while Taylor Drost added 10 points and eight boards.

The Mavericks shot 30-of-75 from the field for 40.0 percent. Minnesota State was 4-of-19 from three-point land for 21.1 percent. The Mavericks gained the rebounding edge 58-34 with 22 offensive rebounds.

The Mavericks got on the scoreboard first with a Drost bucket to make it 2-0. Minnesota State increased their lead to 4-0 with a basket from Fett. The Golden Eagles got on the scoreboard as Burke drained a trey off a Post pass to trim the deficit to 4-3. Minnesota Crookston got a pair at the line from Post. The sophomore hit 1-of-2 to tie the game up 4-4 with under seven minutes left in the first quarter. The Mavericks found Fett in the post as she put Minnesota State back up 6-4. A Golden Eagle turnover led to another Fett bucket as they moved their advantage to 8-4.

Minnesota State moved their run to 6-0 as Klitzke hit a pair from the stripe to push the advantage to 10-4. Minnesota Crookston snapped the run as Paige Cornale (So., G, Oak Creek, Wis.) fed Fox in the post for a pair to trim the deficit to 10-6. Fett came right back with her eighth point of the game to push the gap to 12-6.

A pair of Riley Menster free throws extended the lead for the Mavericks to 14-6 with 3:58 left in the first quarter. Minnesota Crookston halted the run as Burke sank the triple to cut the lead to 14-9 with 2:30 remaining in the quarter. Fett got to the line on the next possession for the Mavericks and hit both to widen the gap to 16-9. Minnesota State utilized another 4-0 run with a Mikayla Nachazel jumper as they pushed the lead to 18-9.

Minnesota Crookston halted the run as Burke found Vetsch on the wing from a three-pointer to bring the Golden Eagles back within 18-12. Vetsch made it five straight as she drained a pair from the line to make it a 5-0 run to cut the deficit to 18-14 with a minute remaining in the stanza. Joey Batt got to the hoop to stop the run and push the lead to 20-14.

The Golden Eagles opened up the stanza on a strong note as Vetsch sank a triple to pull within 20-17. Minnesota Crookston would be able to cut the deficit to 22-21 with a Fox jumper with 7:36 remaining in the second quarter. The Golden Eagles would remain within one point at 24-23 following a Peterson jumper with 6:03 left in the stanza.

The Mavericks would be able to extend their lead to 28-23 on a Fett bucket with 5:14 remaining in the quarter. Minnesota Crookston responded with a Fox jumper to pull within 28-25. The Golden Eagles would remain within three at 31-28 following a Carpenter triple with 4:16 left in the second quarter.

Minnesota State closed the last four minutes on an 11-0 run as they went into the break with a 42-28 lead as the Golden Eagles struggled with the Maverick press, committing 11 first-half turnovers.

The Mavericks got on the scoreboard first in the third quarter as Drost drained a pair from the stripe to push the lead out to 44-28. Drost and Fett gave Minnesota State at 17-0 run and widened the gap to 48-28.

Minnesota Crookston snapped the run as Peplinski hit 1-of-2 from the line to trim the deficit to 48-29. A Stuttley basket pushed the lead to 52-29 with 7:30 remaining in the third quarter. A pair of Klitzke free throws widened the lead to 54-29. A Shumski old-fashioned three-point play gave the Mavericks a 57-29 lead with 3:19 left in the third quarter. A Nachazel jumper pushed Minnesota State's lead to 59-29.

The Golden Eagles ended a 12-minute streak without a field goal with a Peterson jumper as Minnesota Crookston trimmed the deficit to 59-31. Post got to the stripe for a pair and hit 1-of-2 to bring the Maverick lead down to 59-32 with 1:57 left in the third quarter. Post got a transition bucket to push the run to 5-0 and trim the deficit down to 59-34.

Minnesota State got two from the stripe from Menster to extend the advantage to 61-34 with 1:23 remaining in the third quarter. Menster made it five in a row with a three-pointer to extend the lead to 64-34.

Peplinski hit 1-of-2 from the stripe to cut the deficit to 64-35 late in the third quarter. Stuttley went 1-of-2 from the stripe for the Mavericks to give Minnesota State a 65-35 going into the quarter intermission.

Burke got the first three points for the fourth quarter for either team as her triple cut the lead to 65-38. An Emmaline Polson bucket pushed the Maverick lead back out to 67-38. Batt then hit a three to widen the gap to 70-38 for Minnesota State.

The Mavericks would be able to extend their lead to 36 at 76-40 with a pair of Drost free throws. The Golden Eagles pulled within 78-43 on a Peterson triple. Minnesota Crookston would come within 83-50 as Veronica Schwartz (Fr., G/F, Parkers Prairie, Minn.) hit a trey. A Boettcher basket widened the gap to 85-50 with a minute left in the game. Amber Schoenicke (Sr., F/C, Marshall, Wis.) hit 1-of-2 from the line for her final points as a Golden Eagle to pull within 85-51. Kylea Praska (So., G, Thief River Falls, Minn.) dialed in from long distance to trim the deficit to 85-54, but the Mavericks would answer with a hoop on the other end to push the lead to 87-54.

The game was the final one for Golden Eagle seniors Schoenicke, Stephanie McWilliams (Sr., G, Grand Forks, N.D.), and Paige Weakley (Sr., G/F, Kearney, Mo.), who helped the team to the NSIC/Sanford Health quarterfinals during their freshman season. All three seniors will be missed. The Golden Eagles return a strong core of young players as they look to head into 2020-21 strong.