Crookston, Minn. --- The Minnesota State women's basketball team season came to an end Wednesday night as it fell to Minnesota Crookston, 83-72, in first round action of the NSIC/Sanford Health Basketball Tournament.

UMC led for more than 36 minutes of game action in the game and outscored MSU in points off turnovers 31-7 as the Mavericks turned the ball over 22 times in the loss.

In the first half UMC led for over 16 minutes of game action against MSU, as the Golden Eagles led over the Mavericks, 40-35, at halftime. MSU largest lead in the first half came early on in the game as it took a 4-0 lead over UMC. 

In the first quarter the Golden Eagles took their first lead of the game at the 6:37 mark in the first quarter, 12-11, as UMC was in the midst of 7-0 run. At the end of one quarter the Golden Eagles led over the Mavericks 23-16.

In quarter number two UMC built its largest lead of the half at nine, 31-22, at the 6:36 mark. However, MSU kept the score close as it trimmed UMC's lead to two, 33-31, late in the half. 

The Mavericks shot better from the field in the first half than the Golden Eagles as they connected on 54% of their shots while UMC nailed 43% of its shots. Turnovers hurt the Mavericks in the half as they coughed the ball up 15 times. UMC capitalized on MSU's turnovers as it scored 23 points off turnovers in the half.

Sophomore forward Claire Ziegler [Mankato, Minn.] led MSU at the break with 12 points and five rebounds, while junior Britney Scherber [Bloomington, Minn.] added seven points of her own.

To begin the third quarter UMC scored the first five points to give the Golden Eagles their first double-digit lead of the game, 45-35, at the 8:54 mark. MSU again kept the score close throughout the rest of the quarter, as it cut the score down to four a couple of times but was never able to get any closer to the lead. After the third quarter, MSU was still down 60-54 to UMC.

Early in the fourth quarter UMC led 63-54 with 9:50 left to play before MSU went on a 8-0 the next two minutes of game action to cut its deficit to one, 63-62, with 7:50 left on the clock. MSU was still trailing by one, 65-64, at the 7:12 mark to UMC but that was closest the Mavericks ever got back to the lead for the rest of the game.

Three minutes later MSU was still just down three, 69-66, with 4:24 left to play, before UMC closed the door on the Mavericks. The Golden Eagles went on a 10-0 run in the final minutes to give them a 79-68 lead with 34 seconds on the clock.

The Mavericks finished the game shooting 53% from the field, but struggled from three-point range as they finished 4-of-20 from deep. The Golden Eagles shot 41% from the field in the game but made 10 three-pointers. On the boards MSU controlled for the majority of the game as they pulled down 43 rebounds, while UMC grabbed 28.

Other than the points off turnovers, the Golden Eagles were also able to get the free-throw line much more often, as they shot 19-of-22 from the line, while the Mavericks shot just 2-of-8 from the line.

UMC's duo of Alexa Thielman and Katrina Nordick led the way as they scored 55 of the teams 72 points. Thielman finished with a game-high 30 points, as she made five three-pointers on the night and made all seven of her free-throw attempts. Nordick finished with 25 points and seven rebounds as she barely missed from the field, shooting 10-of-13.

For the Mavericks, Ziegler finished with a team-high 22 points, six rebounds and two assists as she made 11-of-16 of her field-goal attempts. Freshman Taylor Paulsrud [Rogers, Minn.] recorded 10 points, four rebounds and three assists, as she made a team-high two three-pointers in the loss. Scherber ended the night nine points, while freshman Monica Muth [Cambridge, Wis.] and senior McKenzie Hoelmenn [Lakeville, Minn.] each tallied eight points apiece. Muth also led the team with 11 rebounds and four assists.

With the loss, MSU finishes its season with a 9-18 overall record.