BISMARCK, N.D. - Brittney Dietz continues to blaze a trail in the University of Mary Women's Basketball record book, but her performance alone wasn't enough to slow the University of Minnesota Crookston tonight as the teams resumed the regular season schedule following a two-week hiatus.
 
Dietz became the seventh player in U-Mary's history to eclipse the 1,500 career point mark, but the Marauders (7-8, 1-6 NSIC) couldn't catch up to their foes in a 85-79 loss to the Golden Eagles (8-3, 5-2 NSIC).
 
Hannah Larson missed the first shot of the game for the Marauders and the response from Minnesota Crookston ensured they held the lead from wire-to-wire as Alison Hughes sunk the shot from beyond the arc, further cementing the Golden Eagles' status as the top three-point shooting team in the nation. Minnesota Crookston would go on to make 11-of-22 three pointers in the game.
 
Despite the scoring difference, U-Mary was never far behind as the Golden Eagles held an 18-4 lead early in the first quarter, only for the Marauders to close out the period on a 9-2 run thanks to four points from Dietz, two from Dani Williams, two from Rachel Weir, and one from Isabel Schmelzer, making the score 20-13 favoring the visitors.
 
Weir and Dani Clarke teamed up to cut Minnesota Crookston's lead down to one possession at 20-18 as Clarke sunk the perimeter shot and Weir made a driving layup to open up the second frame, but the Golden Eagles responded with seven straight points to build their cushion back up to 27-18 with 7:21 remaining.
 
The Marauders matched the Golden Eagles shot-for-shot through the remainder of the first half, but still faced a 39-31 deficit at the break with Williams sinking the final jumper of the quarter. U-Mary had a chance to cut the lead down further as Williams stole the inbound pass on the ensuing possession, but Haley Hibbs' shot was just off the mark with less than 40 seconds remaining.
 
Minnesota Crookston turned the ball over once again on the next inbound, but the Marauders couldn't capitalize on the opportunity as Dietz's jumper rattled off the rim in the closing seconds, keeping the score at 39-31.
 
U-Mary closed within a single possession once again at the 6:14 mark of the third quarter off a driving layup from Larson to put the score at 42-39, but Hughes maintained Minnesota Crookston's lead off a perimeter response to place the margin back at 45-39 with 5:38 to play.
 
Trading shots for the next four minutes of play, Dietz brought the Marauders back within one possession for a third time at 51-48 off a driving layup of her own with 50 seconds on the clock, but the final basket of the third quarter came off a free throw from Katrina Nordick as turnovers punctuated the final 30 seconds to keep the score at 52-48 heading into the fourth.
 
The final quarter turned into a game of cat-and-mouse as the Golden Eagles responded each time U-Mary closed the gap within two possessions, starting with Williams sinking a three-pointer at the 8:30 mark to put the score at 55-52. Unfortunately, the Marauders couldn't close within four the rest of the way and Minnesota Crookston rode 10 straight free throws in the final minute to seal the decision at 85-79, handing U-Mary their fourth straight loss in a row.
 
Brittney Dietz finished with 33 points on 12-for-23 shooting from the field, her third game of the season reaching at least 30 points. She also added eight rebounds and one assist in 38 minutes on the court.
 
Hannah Larson ended up fouling out after only 20 minutes of action, but she was extremely active with 15 points, five rebounds and one steal before heading to the bench.
 
Dani Williams rounded out the trio with 18 points on 5-for-10 shooting from the floor to go with six rebounds, three assists and three steals in 33 minutes played.
 
Rachel Weir proved to be active on the floor as well with seven points, eight rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal in 35 minutes on the floor as she started for the sixth game in a row.
 
U-Mary ended up shooting 46% (29-for-63) from the field as a team while also outrebounding the Golden Eagles 37-32.
 
The Marauders will host Bemidji State University tomorrow afternoon for the second game of the new year, starting at 2:00 PM CDT in the McDowell Activity Center.
 
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