Minnesota Morris forced 28 turnovers and withstood a rally in the second half to down the Knights, 68-60.
MORRIS, Minn.– The University of Minnesota Morris women’s basketball team build a sizable halftime lead and held on despite some cold shooting in the second half to defeat Martin Luther College on Saturday, 68-60. The Cougars forced 28 turnovers in the contest and turned those into 28 vital points, improving to 6-10 (4-2 UMAC) on the year.
The score was knotted at 13-13 late in the first quarter when Haley Wollschlager used some nifty moves to free herself up for a finish at the rim to start a 7-0 run that lasted into the second quarter. Lexus Eagle Chasing added an old-fashioned three-point play before the first quarter was up and then scored again to make it 20-13.
Martin Luther was within four, 26-22, with less than three minutes remaining until halftime before a 10-0 blitz from the Cougars took them to the break on top by fourteen. Jadyn Sondrol and Wollschlager each knocked down triples in the run to give UMN Morris a comfortable lead at the intermission.
The free-throw line was the saving grace for Minnesota Morris in the third quarter. The Cougars shot just 1-of-14 from the field, but made 9-of-10 at the line to maintain their lead. The Knights were able to make a dent in it however, slicing it to a 47-42 game heading to the fourth quarter.
A pair of free throws from Anna Treder brought the Knights to within three, 49-46, two minutes into the final quarter when Eagle Chasing took the game into her own hands, scoring five straight to extend the Minnesota Morris lead back to eight. With Martin Luther still in it with less than two minutes to go, Eagle Chasing assisted a Sondrol layup to make it 63-56 and then had a steal and layup to increase the advantage to nine with less than a minute left. Wollschlager made three out of four at the line down the stretch to ice it.
Wollschlager ended with a game-high 16 points. Eagle Chasing had 15 points, seven rebounds, and four steals. Malory Anderson had 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Sondrol (12 points) and Jay Kwateh (10 points) also reached double-figures. Ella Van Kempen didn’t score in the game, but made her impact known defensively, finishing with six rejections.
Minnesota Morris steps away from UMAC play on Tuesday night, hosting Trinity Bible College at Jim Gremmels Court starting at 5:30 p.m.
