The Southwest Minnesota State University women's basketball team went 1-1 over its Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference weekend road trip and saw its six-game win streak snapped Sunday against the University of Minnesota-Crookston.

The Mustangs extended their streak to six games on Saturday, taking down Minnesota State University-Moorhead in a tight 66-64 battle.

Moorhead held a lead throughout much of the first half and went into the locker room with a slim 39-36 advantage over SMSU at halftime. MSUM extended its lead to 10 points early in the second half, but the Mustangs chipped away. Megan Stadler played a major role in the Mustangs' comeback bid, scoring all of her 14 points in the second half.

A Stadler bucket and a 12-footer by Abby Kenealy gave SMSU a 65-63 lead with less than two minutes left in the game and the Mustangs would hang on to win.

"We had a lot of kids make some plays down the stretch and we kept fighting," SMSU head coach Mike Jewett said. "We were fortunate to make one more play than Moorhead did to sneak out the win."

Kenealy was SMSU's high scorer with 15 points. Lucia Puchelova joined Stadler and Kenealy in double figures with her 10 points.

The six-game winning streak was the longest for the Mustangs since the 2004-05 team opened the season with seven straight victories.

SMSU, however, would see its winning streak snapped Sunday in another close affair.

The Golden Eagles and Mustangs battled back and forth through much of the first half. Then in the final minutes of the opening half, UMC went on a 12-0 run and took a 43-33 lead into the break.

The Mustangs went on a 14-4 run to open the second half to tie the game and took their first lead of the half after Kenealy hit two free throws to give SMSU a 51-50 advantage.

With under a minute remaining and UMC up three, Stadler nailed her third 3-pointer of the game to tie the score at 72-72. But the Golden Eagles converted on four free throws and the Mustangs failed to execute in their final possessions and UMC pulled out the 76-72 win.

"We dug ourselves a hole in the first half and fought really hard in the second half to get back in it," Jewett said. "It was a close game and they converted on their free throws. We gave ourselves an opportunity to win and that's all you ask out of your team on the road. There were plenty of times where we could have quit and we fought until the end."

Heather Smith scored a team-high 16 points for SMSU, while Kenealy scored 13, Stadler had 11 and Laura Kramer put in 10.

UMC's Bri Zabel went 11-of-12 from the free throw line and had a game-high 23 points, while teammate Jamie Zelinsky netted four 3-pointers and scored 22 points. The Golden Eagles (6-6, 4-2 NSIC) went 23-24 from the free throw line in the game.

The Mustangs drop to 9-3 (3-2 NSIC) after the loss and will continue play on the road next weekend with trips to Winona State University and Upper Iowa University.

As the Mustangs head into the bulk of their NSIC schedule, Jewett said he thinks his team has been performing at a high level and he thinks SMSU will have success as long as the players continue growing together.

"We've continued to get better every game out and understand the intensity it takes to compete at this level now that we're in conference play," Jewett said. "We've been playing well defensively and have really been shooting the ball well. I'm not disappointed by any means with how the team has been playing through the first 12 games."

SMSU (66)

Megan Stadler 5 3-4 14, Abby Kenealy 7 0-0 15, Tori Fink 2 3-4 8, Heather Smith 3 0-2 6, Laura Kramer 2 2-2 6, Miley Hunziker 1 0-0 2, Taylor Voss 2 0-0 5, Lucia Puchelova 4 1-2 10. Totals 26 9-14 66.

MSUM (64)

Brittany Mayclin 4 0-0 9, Betsy Dickson 3 0-0 7, Meghan Rettke 7 5-8 19, Alison Nash-Gerlach 3 2-2 8, Angie Jetvig 0 1-2 1, Krista Opheim 1 2-2 5, Marisa Yernatich 2 0-1 4, Kaycee Charette 1 2-2 4, Mara Paulson 2 2-2 7. Totals 23 14-19 64.

Three-pointers SMSU-5 MSUM-4 Rebounds SMSU-29 (Kenealy 9) MSUM-38 (Rettke 12) Assists SMSU-12 (Stadler 4) MSUM-10 (Mayclin 4) Steals SMSU-9 (Kramer 3, Fink 3) MSUM-5 Blocks SMSU-1 MSUM-4 (Rettke 2) Turnovers SMSU-14 MSUM-18 Total Fouls SMSU-15 MSUM-11.

Halftime Score MSUM 39, SMSU 36

SMSU (72)

Megan Stadler 4 0-0 11, Abby Kenealy 4 5-5 13, Tori Fink 2 2-2 7, Heather Smith 7 1-1 16, Laura Kramer 4 2-5 10, Taylor Voss 2 0-0 6, Lucia Puchelova 3 2-2 9. Totals 26 12-15 72.

UMC (76)

Brittani Wiese 2 4-4 8, Jamie Zelinsky 7 4-4 22, Diana Taddy 1 2-2 4, Bri Zabel 5 11-12 23, Lauran Kessler 2 2-2 6, Gina Jaroszewski 4 0-0 11, Laurie Tyson 1 0-0 2. Totals 22 23-24 76.

Three-pointers SMSU-8 (Stadler 3) UMC-9 (Zelinsky 4) Rebounds SMSU-40 (Kramer 9) UMC-39 (Taddy 10) Assists SMSU-17 (Stadler 7) UMC-17 (Taddy 7) Steals SMSU-4 UMC-3 Blocks SMSU-4 (Smith 2) UMC-2 Turnovers SMSU-15 UMC-16 Total Fouls SMSU-24 UMC-13.

Halftime Score UMC 43, SMSU 33