Game of the Week: Minnesota Morris at St. Scholastica - 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 Saturday, February 15 in Duluth as the College of St. Scholastica hosts the University of Minnesota Morris in women's basketball action. Heading into the weekend the Cougars sit in first place in the UMAC (9-1) while the Saints are in a two-way tie for second place with the Martin Luther College (8-2). On Friday Minnesota Morris will face Northland College while St. Scholastica will host Crown College. In the previous meeting between the two teams this season the Cougars were victorious by a score of 71-67. With just two weekends of regular seson competition left, both teams will look to secure their seed in the UMAC Postseason Tournament this weekend.
About the Cougars
The Cougars are used to the pressure of the UMAC Game of the Week having won their previous two UMAC Games of the Week this year. This time however, they will on the road for the game and on the road for the first time since January 25.
Minnesota Morris is riding a six game winning streak heading into this weekend. The Cougars lone UMAC loss came against Northwestern on January 24. Earlier this season Morris beat St. Scholastica 71-67 in the P.E. Center. Emily Auch had 18 points and 11 rebounds in the win and Kendra Wycoff added 13. The Cougars had eight more made free throws in the four point win which proved to be the difference.
About the Saints
The St. Scholastica women's basketball team is coming off a 58-52 loss at Martin Luther College on Saturday that dropped them a game back of Minnesota Morris. In that loss, the Saints committed 27 turnovers, which is the second-most by any UMAC team in a conference contest this season. The Saints also made only four 3-pointers in the two games combined last weekend, which is the lowest in back-to-back games this season.
The Saints are led in scoring by Kelsey Sorenson-Giffrow, who is averaging 11.1 points per game. Sorenson leads the UMAC, making 42 percent of her 3-point attempts and is third in NCAA Division III making 92 percent of her free throw attempts. Mariah Hovick is averaging 10.9 points per game for the season. However, in her last five games, she is averaging 16.4 points. Erin Frase is coming off a career-high 26 points in the team's win over Bethany Lutheran on Friday.
Game Notes
- On the year Minnesota Morris is outrebounding opponents by 7.7 rebounds per game, which ranks 42
nd in the nation.
-CSS is shooting a conference-best 45.5 percent from the field in league games and limiting opponents to 33.6 percent shooting on the year, good for second in the conference.
- Minnesota Morris' Emily Auch has five double-doubles this year in UMAC play, and four in the last five games.
-Saturday's game will be Senior Day for the Saints as they will be honoring Erin Frase and Caitlin McKernon.
-Abby Fragodt ranks 22
nd in the nation in blocked shots, averaging 2.57 per game. She has 23 blocks in the last five games. She also ranks in the top 50 in the nation in rebounds per game.
-The last two victories for the Saints against the Cougars have come in overtime.
- Entering the weekend Morris' Kendra Wycoff needs 30 points this weekend to reach 1,000 career points. She is averaging 13.2 points per game this season and 14.7 per game in conference season.
Minnesota Morris Recap |
St. Scholastica Recap |
Final Score: UMM 70, CSS 60
For information on other contests around the league this week, visit the UMAC's live scoreboard.