Yellowjackets, Cougars get wins to head to UMAC women's hoops title game
ST. PAUL, Minn.---The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) women's basketball championship tournament got off to an exciting start Monday as No. 4 seed Bethany Lutheran College held off a late-game run from rival No. 5 Martin Luther College to advance to the semifinals. The excitement continued with two women's semifinal games Wednesday evening as No. 2 University of Minnesota Morris played host to No. 3 University of Northwestern , while No. 1 University of Wisconsin-Superior welcomed No. 4 Bethany Lutheran.
No. 1 Wisconsin-Superior will host the UMAC title game for the second-straight season after defeating No. 4 Bethany Lutheran 69-54, while No. 2 Minnesota Morris makes a return after missing last season following a 71-62 win over No. 3 Northwestern.
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Tournament Site |
Semifinal 1 Recap |
Semifinal 2 Recap |
Women's Basketball - No. 1 Wisconsin-Superior defeats No. 4 Bethany Lutheran, 69-54 |
Box Score |
In just its second season as a conference member, Wisconsin-Superior has held supreme in women's basktball and will look for its second-straight playoff title after holding off a tough Bethany Lutheran squad.
Wednesday's semifinal started off with a closely-contested first quarter in which No. 1 Wisconsin-Superior held just a three-point lead after 10 minutes. They then took a nine-point 35-26 lead over the Vikings at the half. The Yellowjackets opened the second half with a 7-0 run to go up 16 and never looked back en route to the big win.
Last year's UMAC Player of the Year Hailey Kontny led the Yellowjackets with 14 points, while rookie Eva Reinertsen had 12 points off the bench to add to the offense. Hannah Norlin led defensively with a game-high 12 rebounds while also adding eight points. Brooke Henning was just short of a double-double for the Vikings with 18 points and rebounds, while Haley Sandin added 11 points.
Women's Basketball - No. 2 Minnesota Morris defeats No. 3 Northwestern, 71-62 |
Box Score |
The second semifinal of the night was close throughout the contest and came down to the final quarter before No. 2 Minnesota Morris could pull away to make a trip to the championship game after missing last season.
In the opening quarter Northwestern jumped out to an early seven-point lead before the Cougars ended with a quick run to go up by one. The Eagles then went up by seven points twice and managed to hold a 31-27 lead over the Cougars at the half. However, the Cougars came out strong an outscored the Eagles 22-6 in the third quarter to go up 12.
The Eagles weren't done, though, and managed to cut the Cougars' lead to just one point with 3:46. before tying it at 57-57 at 3:01. The Cougars responded quickly with three-consecutive 3-pointers to take a nine-point lead and seal the win.
Elli Stevenson controlled play for the Cougars with a game-high 26 points and added seven rebounds to her solid performance. Bailey Miller was good for 17 points off the bench in the win, while Tori Holt scooped up 10 rebounds. Tiffany Stubbs carried the weight for the Eagles with 25 points. Amy Berglund and Taryn Tumbleson each tallied 10 points as well.
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. 1 Wisconsin-Superior def. No. 4 Bethany Lutheran, 69-54 |
Box Score |
No. 2 Minnesota Morris def. No. 3 Northwestern, 71-62 |
Box Score |
Championship – Saturday, Feb. 25
No. 2 Minnesota Morris AT No. 1 Wisconsin-Superior, 3 p.m. Superior, Wis. |
Live Stats |
Live video |