No. 4 Bethany Lutheran escapes No. 5 Martin Luther to take UMAC women's basketball quarterfinal
MANKATO, Minn.---After the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) women's basektball 2016-17 regular season wrapped up in exciting fashion, the opening quarterfinal game of the women's postseason was sure to be a closely-contested thriller between rivals No. 4 Bethany Lutheran College and No. 5 Martin Luther College.
In an action packed game with multiple leads by both teams, the No. 4 Vikings held off a late-game run by the No. 5 Knights to take a 72-67 thriller at home Monday evening, and will advance to the semifinal against No. 1 University of Wisconsin-Superior Wednesday.
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Box Score |
Tournament Site |
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Heading into Monday's matchup, the No. 4 Vikings were hoping to find success in the postseason after losing to the University of Northwestern by just one point Saturday, while No. 5 Martin Luther hoped the third time was a charm for a win against a Bethany Lutheran squad it lost to twice in the regular season.
Unfortunately, the Knights couldn't overcome a 13-point deficit with just over six minutes left despite making an 11-0 run to pull within one at 66-65 with 1:39 remaining. The Vikings ended the run and scored the next five to seal up the win and a place in their second-straight semifinal game.
The game opened up in closely-contested fashion with a number of fouls on both sides in a back-and-forth game. The Knights overcame an early four-point deficit to take a 34-28 lead at the half. The Vikings came out strong in the second half and made it close early before pulling away in the fourth quarter.
Brooke Henning led the way for the Vikings with a 21-point, 12-rebound double-double performance, while Haley Sandin added 14 points and Anna Balcom had 11. Grace Schultz matched Hennings' 21 points to lead the Knights in scoring and in rebounds with nine.
Monday's quarterfinal sets the stage for two exciting semifinals Wednesday. The No. 4 Vikings will face No. 1 Wisconsin-Superior at 7:30 p.m. in Superior, Wisconsin, while No. 2 University of Minnesota Morris will host No. 3 Northwestern at 7:30 p.m. in Morris, Minnesota.
All tournament information including scores, recaps, team information and more can be found on the
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Playoff Schedule
Quarterfinal Round – Monday, Feb. 20
No. 4 Bethany Lutheran def. No. 5 Martin Luther, 72-69 |
Box Score |
Semifinal Round – Wednesday, Feb. 22
No. 4 Bethany Lutheran AT No. 1 Wisconsin-Superior; Superior, Wis., 7:30 p.m. |
Live Stats |
Live Video |
No. 3 Northwestern AT No. 2 Minnesota Morris; Morris, Minn., 7:30 p.m. |
Live Broadcast |
Championship – Saturday, Feb. 25
Lowest remaining seed at highest remaining seed; Location and time, TBD