MINOT, N.D. – The Minot State women's basketball team outscored Minnesota Crookston 16-9 in the fourth quarter, but fell just short, as the Beavers dropped a 66-64 contest vs. UMC in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play on Friday night in the Minot State Dome.

The loss drops the Beavers to 10-11 in NSIC play and 13-12 on the season while the Golden Eagles improve to 7-14 in NSIC and 7-18 overall.

Minnesota Crookston got off a to a hot start, knocking down five three-pointers to take a 21-16 at the end of the first quarter.

The Beavers trimmed the Golden Eagle lead down to two on a Holly Johnson jumper with 5:13 remaining in the first half. Both teams went back and forth in the next five minutes, as UMC held a 36-32 lead at halftime over Minot State.

The Golden Eagles extended their lead to 11 in the third quarter before Madison Wald connected on a jumper with 4:47 left in the third quarter to cut UMC's lead down to 47-42.

The Beaver defense clamped down, as UMC scored only three points in the final 5:55 of the game. Emily Gruber scored on a layup with 3:28 left to give UMC a 65-57 lead.

The Beavers rattled off seven consecutive points off a Holly Johnson three-pointer, a jumper by Mariah Payne and free throws from Diondra Denton to make it a 65-64 game with 1:05 remaining.

After holding the Golden Eagles scoreless on their final possession, Minot State had one final shot to tie the game with 3.7 seconds left and inbounding the ball in the front court.

Payne inbounded the ball to Johnson who attempted a contested jumper from the free throw line at the buzzer that nearly banked in before rolling off the front of the rim.

Minot State shot 41 percent from the floor while the Golden Eagles shot 37.9 percent from the field.

The Beavers posted advantages in points in the paint (22-6) and bench points (21-10) while outrebounding UMC 42-35.

Four Beavers scored in double-figures, as Payne was the leading scorer with 14 points on 6-11 shooting while dishing out a team-high four assists.

Denton finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds. Johnson grabbed a season-high 15 rebound and scored 10 points to post her team-leading seventh double-double of the season.

Madison Wald was the fourth Beaver in double-figures, scoring 10 points while connecting on two three-pointers.

Minot State returns to action tomorrow night, as the Beavers host Bemidji State at 4 p.m. for Senior Day. Kristal Flowers, Denton and Johnson will be playing their final regular season game in the Minot State Dome.