Minnesota Crookston 67 #7 Wayne State 58

            In a game that was a tale of two halves, Minnesota Crookston outscored Wayne State 41-19 in the second half after the Wildcats built a 39-26 halftime lead as the #7 Wildcats were shocked at Rice Auditorium Friday evening by the visiting Golden Eagles 67-58.  WSC drops to 8-2 on the season and 2-2 in league play while Minnesota Crookston snapped a 16-game losing streak to WSC dating back to 2004 and improves to 3-5 and 2-2 in the NSIC.
            After eight ties and two lead changes early in the contest, WSC went on an 11-0 run to snap an 18-18 tie and the 'Cats took a 29-18 lead on a Katie Hoskins layup with 4:58 to play before halftime. 
            The Wildcats were up 36-26 when senior guard Ashton Yossi went down with an ankle injury 15 seconds left before halftime.  But WSC got a 3-pointer from freshman reserve guard Jasmin Bretoi with five seconds to play to give the Wildcats a 39-26 halftime lead.
            Minnesota Crookston came out in the second half with a stingy zone defense that limited WSC to just 4 of 22 shooting (18.2%) in the second half.  The Golden Eagles also used a sizeable 49-28 advantage in rebounding over the Wildcats that included 18 offensive rebounds as UMC rallied for the win.
            A Jordan Spencer three-point play gave WSC a 47-40 lead with 14:21 remaining, but the Wildcats went without a basket until the 6:52 mark when Bretoi drained a 3-pointer that gave WSC a 53-52 lead. 
            Freshman Maggie Schulte hit a pair of free throws with 5:40 to play that gave the Wildcats their last lead of the night at 55-54.  UMC scored the next nine points to take a 63-55 lead with 2:08 to play and Sadie Murren's 3-pointer at the 1:17 mark was the only other points for WSC in the final five minutes as the Golden Eagles capped the comeback win.
            Spencer was the lone Wayne State player in double figures with 23 points, going 6 of 10 from the floor and 11 for 19 at the free throw line.
            WSC finished the game shooting 20 of 54 for 37 percent.  The 'Cats were just 5 of 23 behind the arc and 13 for 21 at the charity stripe.
            Minnesota Crookston was led by the duo of Katrina Moenkedick and Emily Gruber.  Gruber, a freshman forward, had 26 points while Moenkedick was right behind with 24.
            The Golden Eagles were 21 of 56 from the field for 37.5 percent, going 1 of 10 from the 3-point line and 24 of 29 at the charity stripe.
            UMC held a commanding 49-28 edge in rebounding over Wayne State thanks to 18 offensive rebounds.  Moenkedick hauled in nine boards for the Golden Eagles with Alexa Thielman grabbing eight. 
            Both teams had 28 points in the paint, but the Golden Eagles held a 17-4 advantage on second chance points over the Wildcats.
            Wayne State will be at home again Saturday entertaining Bemidji State in a 4 p.m. NSIC contest at Rice Auditorium.