ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Golden Bears women's basketball team (7-15, 4-12 NSIC) was done in by a fourth quarter run by Minnesota Crookston (6-14, 6-10 NSIC) on Saturday afternoon at the Gangelhoff Center.
 
The game was tight for the first three quarters, as no team was able to get ahead by more than seven and the lead changed hands 11 different times. The Eagles took the lead with two seconds left in the third quarter as senior Micaela Noga hit two free-throws, and, except for one tie early in the first minute, did not give up the lead for the entirety of the fourth quarter, going on to win 75-60.
 
Turnovers and second chance points really hurt the Golden Bears in the contest. The Eagles forced 20 turnovers and capitalized on 20 points off of these CSP missteps. CSP and Crookston both ended with 45 rebounds, but the Eagles held a 17-15 edge in offensive boards and took advantage of this, scoring 21 points off of their second chances, compared to the Bears' 13.
 
Junior Anna Schmitt led the Bears in scoring with 15 points and moves up another spot on the CSP all-time scoring list, as she is now in 11^th with 1,398 career points. Junior guard Lexi Lee was the other Golden Bear to end in double figures, scoring a career-high ten points. Lee also dished out a career-high three assists, while tallying a steal and a block in the game.
 
Senior Haydn Becker and junior Kayla Miller put together a strong rebounding performance, each ending with 11, which was a career-high mark for both. They also were an offensive threat, as Miller scored eight and Becker ended with seven. Becker also registered a career-high seven assists.
 
CSP took an early lead to start the game, going on a 7-0 run in the first three minutes. Crookston was held scoreless for four minutes, but a layup from junior Caitlin Michaelis got them on the board, to start a 7-0 run of their own to tie it up at seven apiece with four minutes left in the quarter. The Eagles went on another seven point run later in the quarter, but the Bears got it within three as the quarter ended, as it was 20-17 in favor of UMC. Schmitt led the Bears in the quarter with seven points and Becker had three assists.
 
The Golden Eagles led for the majority of the second quarter, but were unable to build up much of a lead. The Bears kept it close and threes from Becker and freshman Ellie Gess gave them a 34-33 lead at the halftime break. Becker led the Bears in the quarter, scoring five points, while Lee handed out three assists.
 
The third quarter was much like the second, with neither team able to gain a substantial lead. The teams traded baskets all quarter and the highest lead was when the Bears led by three early in the quarter. Free-throws from Noga put the Eagles up by two heading into the final frame. Miller was the most efficient in this quarter for the Bears, scoring five.
 
A layup from Becker to start the fourth quarter tied it up, but the Eagles quickly answered with a three. It went back-and-forth for awhile, but within the last four minutes, Crookston started to pull away, going on an 8-0 run to give them a 13-point lead with two minutes left, eventually winning by 15.
 
Noga finished with a game-high 22 points for the Eagles and the four other Crookston starters all ended in double digits. Junior Isieoma Odor was their second leading scorer, ending with 17 points while also securing a team-high 11 rebounds.  
 
Concordia finishes the regular season with four of their last six games on the road. Next weekend, they will travel to St. Cloud State on Friday, February 2^nd with game time at 6 p.m. The following day, they travel to Minnesota Duluth to face the Bulldogs at 4 p.m. Follow along with the games at cspbears.com/watch.