BISMARCK, N.D.– The University of Mary won an NSIC thriller against the University of Minnesota Crookston women's basketball team 74-73 as Lexie Schneider hit a basket with four seconds remaining to give the Marauders the win. The Golden Eagles led by four with 43 seconds left after scoring four points on a possession following buckets from Kylie Post (Sr., G, Corcoran, Minn.) and Bren Fox (R-Jr., F/C, Norwood Young America, Minn.). The Marauders would score the final five points of the game to capture the victory.
Minnesota Crookston fell to 1-12 (0-7 NSIC) with the loss. UMary moved to 8-7 (3-4 NSIC) with Saturday's win at McDowell Gymnasium in Bismarck, N.D.
The Golden Eagles were led by Emma Carpenter (Jr., G, Eagan, Minn.) with 16 points on 5-of-5 from the field. Mary Burke (Sr., F, Virginia, Minn.) added 14 points and five boards. Post finished with 13 points, nine rebounds, and four assists. Abi Fraaza (Fr., F, Birnamwood, Wis.) finished with 10 points. Fox came off the bench for eight points, while Alex Page (Fr., F, Grand Forks, N.D.) had seven points and six boards.
UMN Crookston shot 25-of-62 from the field for 40.3 percent. The Golden Eagles were 8-of-22 for 36.4 percent from beyond the arc. Minnesota Crookston struggled from the foul stripe, going 15-of-24 for 62.5 percent.
UMary narrowly captured the rebounding edge 40-38. Each team had 15 offensive boards. The Golden Eagles had 11 turnovers, while the Marauders had 11.
44 of UMary's points came in the paint. The Marauders looked to a double-double of 21 points and 15 boards from Schneider. Macy Williams added 15 points and four assists. Megan Voit finished with 12 points, while Ryleigh Wacha added 11 points and seven boards.
The Marauders shot 44.9 percent on 31-of-69 from the field. UMary went 5-of-18 from beyond the arc on 27.8 percent, while they were 7-of-9 from the stripe for 77.8 percent.
UMary jumped out to a 7-0 lead on a Megan Zander bucket. The Golden Eagles were able to clip the lead down to 9-6 after an old-fashioned three-point play from Carpenter with 6:17 remaining in the first quarter. The Golden Eagles cut the deficit to 13-11 using a Post bucket. UMN Crookston tilted the game in their favor with a Jes Mertens (So., G, Devils Lake, N.D.) trey with 2:32 remaining in the stanza to put the score at 14-13. The Golden Eagles went into the quarter break with a 21-16 advantage on the Marauders.
The Golden Eagles moved their lead to 25-20 on a Kylea Praska (Sr., G, Thief River Falls, Minn.) basket with 7:21 remaining in the second stanza. Minnesota Crookston widened their gap to 29-22 with a Carpenter hoop with 4:31 remaining after an Abigail Leach (Jr., G/F, Wyoming, Minn.) steal leading to an assist on the bucket. The Golden Eagles kept up the momentum as on the next possession as Carpenter drained a trey to extend the lead to 32-24. Minnesota Crookston's advantage widened to 11 (37-26) after a pair of Fraaza free throws. UMary brought the deficit within 39-31 using a Voit three-pointer with five seconds remaining in the second quarter. The Golden Eagles went into the break with a 39-31 advantage.
A Burke trey put UMN Crookston's advantage to 44-36 with 7:07 left in the third quarter. A pair of Burke free throws 34 seconds later extended the Golden Eagle lead to 46-36. The Golden Eagles extended their run to 8-0 with a Carpenter three-pointer to put the score at 49-36. UMary finally snapped the run with a Schneider jumper to pull within 49-38. UMN Crookston pushed their lead out to 51-38 with an Page hoop. The Marauders countered with a 13-2 run as an Ellie Hasz old-fashioned three-point play trimmed the deficit to 53-51, which would be the tally going into the quarter break.
A Williams jumper to open the fourth quarter knotted the game up 53-53. UMary took the lead 55-53 with a pair of Addison Rozell free throws with 9:02 remaining in the game as they built their run out to 17-2. The Golden Eagles snapped a nearly six minute scoreless streak with a Burke jumper to tie the game back up 55-55. UMN Crookston tilted the lead in their favor as Fox hit 1-of-2 from the stripe to take the advantage 56-55. UMary took the lead back 57-56 using a Ryleigh Wacha basket with 7:01 left in the tilt. The Marauders pushed their lead to 60-58 on a Hasz trey. Minnesota Crookston came right back with a Fraaza bucket to tie the game up 60-60 with 5:23 left in the game. Hasz took the lead back for the Marauders with a put-back off an offensive rebound. However, the Golden Eagles fired right back as Burke sank a triple to take the lead 63-62 with 4:36 left in the game. A free throw for Carly Kottsick tied the game back up 63-63 with 4:15 remaining in the tilt. With 3:52 left in the game, Post fed Fraaza for the trey to give the Golden Eagles the 66-63 lead. UMary tied the game back up 67-67 on a Williams jumper. Minnesota Crookston came right back as a Post bucket gave the Golden Eagles a 69-67 lead with 2:31 remaining. The Marauders were able to knot the score at 69-69 after a Schneider bucket with 1:55 on the clock. With just over a minute remaining Post drove to the hoop and was fouled. She missed the free throw but UMN Crookston got the offensive rebound and Fox nailed the jumper to give the Golden Eagles 73-69 lead with 43 ticks left on the clock. A Wacha triple brought the game within 73-72. Carpenter was fouled with 23 seconds remaining but she missed both at the stripe. On the following possession, Schneider hit a basket with four seconds remaining to give the Marauders a 74-73 lead. Mertens had a chance at the buzzer, but it would clank out as UMary won the thriller.
Minnesota Crookston will return to action in the New Year when they face Bemidji State University Sunday, January 2 at 4 p.m. in Bemidji, Minn.
