It wasn't as pretty as Friday night, but the sixth-ranked University of Minnesota Duluth women's basketball team survived a late charge from Minnesota Crookston to wrap up a series sweep 72-64 Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs improve to 7-0 (6-0) NSIC. 

UMD had control of this one from the jump, shooting an impressive 56.25% from the field in the first quarter. This allowed the team to an enjoy a 21-10 lead after the first quarter of play. In the second quarter the Bulldogs' lead was challenged a bit, in large part due to a tough second quarter in terms of shooting for the Bulldogs, who shot just 4-16 (25%) from the field. This opened the door for Crookston to bring things closer, which they did as the UMD lead was trimmed to just four points heading into the halftime break.
 
Following the same rhythm as the first half, UMD came out of the break firing and was able to amass an 11 point advantage heading into the final quarter of play. In the final quarter, a late run by Crookston brought the Golden Eagles within one point of the Bulldogs with just over three minutes to play. Senior guard Ann Simonet and junior guard Maesyn Thiesen would both hit triples late, which proved to be the final dagger for the Bulldogs. UMD would be superior on the glass for the second night in a row, out-rebounding Crookston 40-31. Rebounds would play a significant role as the Bulldogs would record 10 points off second chance opportunities. 

Junior forward Brooke Olson and senior forward Sarah Grow would again lead the way for UMD. Olson finished with a team high 19 points, tallied six rebounds and recorded three assists. Grow scored 15 points of her own on 7-9 shooting from the field. Grow again led UMD on the glass, recording a team high nine rebounds and one shy of recording her second consecutive double-double. Simonet was the other UMD player to finish in double figures in the point column. She would record 11 points, going 3-6 shooting from the field and 3-6 shooting from beyond the arc. Sophomore guard/forward Madelyn Granica and Thiesen both fell just short of double digits, tallying nine points each. Granica also recorded four rebounds and recorded one block. Thiesyn grabbed five rebounds and dished out three assists. Senior guard/forward Payton Kahl was big on the defensive end, recording four rebounds, two blocks and two steals, one of which led to the Simonet three pointer that for all intense and purposes iced the late Golden Eagle push. 

With two more wins this weekend, UMD head coach Mandy Pearson now sits only five wins from 200 in her collegiate coaching career, and only seven away from 100 with the UMD women's basketball program. 

Next up for the Bulldogs are the Bemidji State University Beavers. UMD and Bemidji State will battle it out next weekend (Feb. 12-13) at Romano Gym. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on Friday and 4:00 p.m. on Saturday.