The University of Minnesota Duluth will take a much-needed near-two week break following Saturday's Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference 2015 finale as St. Cloud State University pulled away in the closing minutes to hand the Bulldogs a 55-47 road defeat in St. Cloud.

UMD (2-7, 2-4 NSIC) closes out the season's first half on a three-game losing skid despite a comeback attempt that saw the Bulldogs pull within 46-43 as junior forward Kenzie Kane hit a pair of free throws with just 4:38 remaining. The team went just 1-for-4 in the closing minutes of the half as St. Cloud State (5-4, 5-1 NSIC) hit three shots including a three-pointer by Chelsea Nooker in the closing moments and hit a pair of free throws to put the game on ice late.

Trailing 29-27 headed to the locker room, the UMD's offense went quiet in the third quarter as the Huskies out-scored the Bulldogs 11-2 in the frame, but UMD quickly began its comeback effort, actually out-scoring St. Cloud 18-15 in the fourth. The quarter-long quell against the Bulldogs was typical of the team's defeats this season as they often have fallen short in just one period that made the difference. Freshman guard Sammy Kozlowski led UMD with 15 points on the afternoon, grabbing three steals and two blocks along with a game-high nine rebounds. Kane had seven points and six rebounds.

The Bulldogs got just four points off the bench compared to 13 for St. Cloud State. Nooker had a game-high 17 points for the Huskies. SCSU finished 21-of-65 on the afternoon, out-rebounding UMD 43-29 including grabbing 17 rebounds for second-chance points and swiping 12 steals on the afternoon.

UP NEXT
After an extended holiday break, the Bulldogs return to Romano Gym on Saturday, Jan. 2. UMD will play host to Concordia University, St. Paul to open the second half of the season. Opening tip is set for 2:00 p.m. preceding the men's contest.