Game of the Week: St. Scholastica at Minnesota Morris - Women's Basketball
UMAC Game of the Week Archives
ST. PAUL -- The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Game of the Week is a feature that takes place each week throughout the conference portion of the season with one contest being selected and highlighted as the UMAC Game of the Week.
This week's UMAC Game of the Week will take place on Friday, January 17 as the University of Minnesota Morris hosts the College of St. Scholastica in a women's basketball matchup the features the 2012-2013 UMAC regular season champion against the 2012-2013 UMAC tournament champion. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
About the Cougars
Coming off two straight wins Minnesota Morris looking to continue to roll as they host St. Scholastica in the UMAC Game of the Week. The Cougars might have revenge on the mind after the Saints upset the Cougars in the UMAC tournament semifinals last season. St. Scholastica is the preseason favorite in the UMAC receiving seven more votes than the Cougars.
Last week the Cougars picked up a pair of road wins over Presentation and Crown. The team shot the ball well in their two victories giving them confidence going into the weekend. Both the Cougars and Saints get to the free throw line often and it will be an important factor in tomorrow’s game. The Cougars will need to convert their opportunities at the line, something they did well in their win at Presentation.
About the Saints
The St. Scholastica women's basketball team won its conference opener on Tuesday 71-27 over Northland. The Saints held the LumberJills to just nine made field goals, which tied a program record. The CSS defense has held opponents below a 40 percent field goal percentage in eight of the last nine games. After Finlandia made 10, 3-pointers on the Saints two weeks ago, the Jills were 0-for-14 from beyond the arc on Tuesday.
The Saints are the conference favorite, according to the preseason coaches' poll and return a solid nucleus from last year's squad that made their first-ever NCAA Division III Tournament. However, it has been newcomer Kelsey Sorenson-Giffrow that has led the team so far. The Minnesota-Duluth transfer is averaging 11.9 points per game and leads the league making 46 percent of her 3-point attempts.
Game Notes
Minnesota Morris is 4-1 this season when they shoot over 39% from the field.
The Saints enter Friday's contest leading the UMAC field goal percentage (.419) and field goal percentage defense (.344).
The Cougars have three games in which they have 16 plus offensive rebounds leading to three victories.
Friday's contest will feature the conference's top two teams in terms of rebounding margin. The Cougars lead the conference with a +2.9 margin, while the Saints are second at -0.6. The Saints average 14 more rebounds per game in their wins than their losses this season.
Holding the opponent to less than 40% has keyed all four Cougar victories this year.
Last year's UMAC semifinal win at Morris snapped a 10-game losing streak to the Cougars in Morris for the Saints.
The Saints' last two victories against the Cougars have come in overtime. (66-62 in January of 2012, 83-78 last season)
For information on other contests around the league this week, visit the UMAC's live scoreboard.
St. Scholastica Recap | Minnesota Morris Cougars | Final Score: UMM 71, CSS 67