CROOKSTON, Minn. – A night after Minot State University shot the lights out, the Beavers couldn't buy a bucket.

MSU was held to just 32.7 percent from the field and hit just 2 of 13 on 3-pointers to fall 59-45 at Minnesota Crookston in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference women's basketball Saturday at Lysaker Gymnasium.

The Beavers (7-7 overall, 2-6 NSIC) went from a conference season-high 81 points Friday to a season-low in the loss.

"We had a good effort on defense tonight and held a good offensive team to just 51 points," said MSU head coach Sheila Green Gerding. "However, we didn't finish shots or hit free throws and that doesn't lead to good results. Anytime you can go on the road and get a split you should feel fairly good about it – this is a tough league."

It was a slow start, but Minot State looked to be heating up as the Beavers took a 9-7 lead on a 3-pointer by Christina Boag (Sr., F, Tamworth, Australia) five minutes in. But the Beavers scored just one point and did not hit a field goal over the next six minutes until a Morgan Klose (Sr., G, Fairview, N.D.) 3-pointer at the 8:51 mark.

At that point, UMC led 19-13 and never trailed again.

MSU cut the lead to one possession in the second half on a jumper by Alex Haley (So., G, Libertyville, Ill.), trailing just 40-37 with 11:48 to play in the game.

But the Beavers again went cold, getting outscored 11-0 over the next six minutes capped by a three-point play by Alexa Thielman to give UMC (5-7, 4-4) a 51-37 lead with just 5:38 to play.

Minot State did a decent job on defense, holding UMC to 40 percent shooting overall and just 9 for 24 shooting in the second half. But the Golden Eagles hit 14 of 16 free throws and outscored the Beavers 15-6 on 3s.

Alexa Thielman paced all scorers with 21 points to lead UMC. Emily Gruber added 12 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double and Katrina Moenkedick scored 11 points in the win for the Golden Eagles.

Boag netted a double-double for MSU, scoring 13 points and pulling down 11 rebounds to go with two steals. Katie Hardy (Sr., F, Fairview, N.D.) finished with 12 points and four rebounds, while Diondra Denton (So., G, Great Falls, Mont.) finished with nine points and four rebounds in the loss.

MSU returns home with its first games of the New Year at the MSU Dome, taking on No. 7 Northern State and Minnesota State University Moorhead Friday at Saturday.