MINOT, N.D. – Minot State University continued to battle throughout Saturday's home game against Minnesota Crookston, but a 22-16 run in the third quarter proved to be too much to overcome as the Golden Eagles earned a 69-57 win over the Beavers in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference women's basketball at the Minot State Dome.

MSU (3-17 overall, 1-13 NSIC) trailed by just five at halftime, 34-29 on a 3-pointer by Gabby Wilkinson just inside the second quarter buzzer, but UMC (6-12, 6-8) controlled the third quarter.

UMC shot 50 percent in the quarter and knocked down six free throws to begin to pull away. Minot State made a couple runs at UMC in the fourth, but only hit 5 of 13 field goals in the final quarter to come up short.

"I thought our overall effort was great, we played with a lot of heart," said MSU head coach Sheila Green Gerding. "We took pretty good care of the basketball and had good shot selection overall. Our defense was decent, but late you could see some fatigue set in, but we battled on the boards and played hard."

MSU was again shorthanded and again guards Madison Wald and Kari Clements were forced to play all 40 minutes. Both responded. Wald finished with 19 points, five rebounds and three assists to lead the Beavers, while Clements chipped in with 10 points, six rebounds and three assists.

"Kari and I knew were would have to play the whole game both nights and we are a little tired, but I thought we handled it," Wald said. "Having only freshman in the post, we knew we would have to pull our weight a little more this weekend. Nobody likes to lose, but I think it will really put a fire in us over these last couple of games and into next season and help us work that much harder in the off season."

The Beavers were solid early in the game on defense, holding UMC to just five first quarter field goals and 10 in the first half. UMC's top scorer Alison Hughes finished with just two points at halftime, but Micaela Noga picked up the slack to score 20 of her game-high 23 in the first.

"They are tough to guard," Green Gerding said. "Noga took advantage of some transition in the first half and Hughes is a really good guard and I thought we did a good job of taking the ball out of her hands in the first half. She (Hughes) got away a little on us in the second half."

Hughes scored 16 in the second half to finish with 18 overall. Emily Gruber added 15 points and seven rebounds in the win for UMC.

Along with Wald and Clements, Haley Hildenbrand and Wilkinson scored nine apiece. Wilkinson also finished with six rebounds.

"This was good for Gabby, Haley and Reina (Strand) to get some minutes and learn what they have to do to succeed at this level," said Green Gerding.

Minot State will get back on the road for two more NSIC games – the final road games against NSIC South Division opponents – traveling to No. 17 Winona State and Upper Iowa next weekend.

About Minot State
Minot State University is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) and NCAA Division II offering 14 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletics programs. The NSIC is a premier NCAA DII, 16-member conference featuring teams in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa. The Beavers are the only public NCAA Division II institution in the state of North Dakota.