Story by UMC Athletics
The University of Minnesota Crookston women’s basketball team went 5-of-6 at the charity stripe in the final minute of Friday night’s game to earn a 66-63 win over Northern State University. The game was the home opener for the Golden Eagles at Gary Senske Court at Lysaker Gymnasium.
The Golden Eagles got out to a 7-2 run out of the gate following a Post basket. Northern State closed down the stretch of the first quarter as they pulled within 11-10 on a Filippi bucket with seconds remaining in the stanza.
Minnesota Crookston moved out to a 24-20 lead with a Post bucket with 4:26 remaining. Northern State countered with a 9-0 run to push the lead to 29-24 following a Wadsworth score. Minnesota Crookston ended the second quarter on a 4-0 run to pull within 29-28 following an Eden Golliher (Fr., F, Iron River, Mich.) score late in the half.
Northern State opened the third quarter on a 5-0 run to extend the lead to 34-28 following a Wadsworth trey. The Wolves would extend their lead to 10 after an Alayna Johnson scored mid-way through the stanza. UMC responded with an 8-0 run as an Alyssa Peterson (So., G, Menahga) trey cut the lead to 40-38 with 2:39 left in the third quarter. The Wolves went into the quarter break up 44-41.
Minnesota Crookston remained in striking distance through the first five minutes of the final quarter before taking a 54-53 lead on a Mertens bucket. Free throws from Carpenter and a trey from Burke widened the gap to 58-54 with 3:45 left in the game.
Northern State knotted the game at 61-61 after two free throws from Fillipi. UMC responded with four-straight free throws from Mertens and Carpenter to all but seal the win with a four-point lead. Minnesota Crookston would edge Northern State 66-63.
The Golden Eagles move to 1-4 with Friday’s victory, while Northern State falls to 1-2 and the teams will play at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
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