CROOKSTON, Minn. - Alexa Thielman connected on her 1,000th and 1,001st points to lead the University of Minnesota Crookston women's basketball team to a 63-62 win over Concordia University-St. Paul. The third-seed Golden Eagles move on to the quarterfinals of the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament to face Minnesota State University, Mankato at 2:30 p.m. at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.

The Golden Bears end their year with a 15-14 mark, one-year removed from making the Elite Eight in the NCAA Division II Tournament.

 The Golden Eagles move to 14-13 with Wednesday's win in front of a raucous crowd at Lysaker Gymnasium. The 14 wins is the most UMC has had in a season during the Mike Roysland era and is just two wins short of Golden Eagles' 16 wins during the 2004-05 season. This is the first NSIC playoff win for the Golden Eagles since the 2002-03 season and their first time ever hosting an NSIC playoff game.

Minnesota Crookston was led on the game by Ebony Livingston (Sr., G/F, Minneapolis, Minn./Sports and Rec Management) who saved perhaps her best game in Lysaker Gymnasium for last. Livingston scored 21 points and had seven rebounds, three assists, two blocks and one steal. Livingston was 7-of-13 from the field and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. In addition, the fifth-rated free-throw shooter in the nation, hit 4-of-4 from the line.

Micaela Noga (Fr., G, Parkers Prairie, Minn./Health Management) also came up in the clutch for the Golden Eagles, scoring 14 points with seven coming in the crucial moments of the second half. In addition to Noga, Katrina Moenkedick (Jr., F, Perham, Minn./Applied Studies) had 12 points and nine rebounds.

Alexa Thielman (Jr., G, Buffalo, Minn./Health Science) struggled from the field but saved her best for last, hitting her 1,000th point in the most epic of fashion to knot up the game. Thielman had eight points, four rebounds and three assists. She is the 10th player in school history to score 1,000, joining her teammate
Moenkedick.

The Golden Eagles were 23-of-54 from the field for 42.6 percent. In addition, they were 6-of-15 for 40 percent from beyond the arc and 11-of-13 for 84.6 percent from the charity stripe. UMC out-rebounded the Golden Bears 38-30.

Concordia-St. Paul was led by Anika Whiting, who had 14 points and nine rebounds. Lauren Shiflett came up big off the bench with 17 points on 5-of-17 shooting from beyond the arc. Ameshia Kearney had 11 points and five assists.

Concordia-St. Paul out-scored UMC 35-27 in the second half. They were 23-of-57 for 40.4 percent from the field and were dynamite from three-point range, connecting on 12-of-24 for 50 percent.

The Golden Eagles went into the break with a 36-27 lead over the Golden Bears after shooting 40.6 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from beyond the arc. Moenkedick and Emily Gruber (Fr., F/C, Monticello, Minn.) led the team with eight at the half.

Minnesota Crookston would extend their lead to 13 points on two Livingston free throws with 12:13 remaining. However, the Golden Bears would not go away. A 16-2 run for the Golden Bears led by three-pointers from Shiflett (2), Kearney and Myrah Fredenburg, would give Concordia-St. Paul a 52-51 lead with 7:02 remaining.

UMC would get the reins back and push the lead back out to five led by a Livingston three with 5:17 remaining.

However, Concordia would still not go away. The Golden Bears would cut the deficit to 57-56 on a Whiting lay-up with 2:44 left. UMC would push the lead back out to five after two big shots from Noga, making the score 61-56 with 1:11 left in the game.

A three-pointer from Kearney and a quick turnover from Gruber would give Concordia the ball back down just two with 33 second left. After two timeouts, Mishayla Jones would come through with a major shot with seven seconds left, giving the Golden Bears the 62-61 advantage.

UMC had one last shot. Jones would quickly foul, giving Concordia-St. Paul six fouls in the half. With one second left, Whiting would foul Thielman, sending UMC into the bonus and to the charity stripe. Thielman would come through in the biggest moments, with the game and her 1,000th point on the line.

The Golden Eagles will board the bus for Sioux Falls, S.D. tomorrow as they ready for the playoffs. The winner of Saturday's game against Minnesota State will play the winner of Northern State University and Augustana College (S.D.) Mon., March 2 at 12 p.m. at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.

For more information, visit the Golden Eagle Athletics website at www.goldeneaglesports.com.
 
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The University of Minnesota, Crookston is an NCAA Division II Institution and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Golden Eagle Equestrian team is a member of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA).