No. 3 Bethany Lutheran holds of No. 1 North Central for third-straight UMAC women's tourney title
MINNEAPOLIS---For the second Monday in a row, Bethany Lutheran College and North Central University met in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) women’s basketball with a championship on the line. This time, on the No. 1 Rams' home court, the No. 3 Vikings had to hold off a furious late-game surge from their opponent for a narrow 75-72 win to capture a third-straight UMAC tournament title.
In the early going, North Central held a brief six-point lead before taking just a two-point lead after the first 10 minutes of play. The Vikings roared back in the second quarter outscoring the Rams 21-10 to take a nine-point lead into the half.
The Vikings built on that lead with a 17-12 advantage in the third quarter. However, the Rams made a furious attempt at a comeback in the fourth quarter – eventually outscoring the Vikings 33-22 – and managed to take a 69-68 lead with 46 seconds remaining. Two late-game turnovers, though, stopped the Rams' comeback just short of their first program tournament title.
Vikings' senior Hanna Geistfeld was selected as the UMAC Women's Basketball Tournament MVP finishing with 29 points in Monday's championship game and averaging 26.3 points per game (ppg) in three tournament contests. Over the course of the tournament, Geistfeld averaged 12.7 rebounds per game and shot 61.4 percent from the field. She also was 25-of-27 from the line and added 5.3 assists per game.
Championship Game Highlights
- Bethany Lutheran maintained a health 43-27 advantage on the glass including 17 offensive rebounds that led to 15 second-chance points. The Vikings also received 28 points off the bench while the Rams had no contributions outside the starting five.
- The Rams' 33 points in the fourth quarter were more than their 27 total first half points.
- The Vikings' Geistfeld finished with a 29-point, 17-rebound double-double thanks to a 13-of-14 performance from the free throw line. She also shot 50 percent from the field and added five assists. Sarah Kottke also added 11 points and five rebounds for the Vikings.
- Kadija Conteh dominated offensively for the Rams scoring 28 points on 11-of-21 shooting from the field. Emily DiGiorgio was just shy of a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds, while Naomi Hagstrom added 14 points.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Quarterfinal Round – Thursday, March 4
- No. 1 North Central def. No. 8 Crown, 87-54 | Box Score |
- No. 2 Northwestern def. No. 7 St. Scholastica, 76-54 | Box Score |
- No. 3 Bethany Lutheran def. No. 6 Martin Luther, 75-64 | Box Score |
- No. 4 Minnesota Morris def. No. 5 Wisconsin-Superior, 73-67 | Box Score |
Semifinal Round – Saturday, March 6
- No. 4 Minnesota Morris AT No. 1 North Central, 76-53 | Box Score |
- No. 3 Bethany Lutheran def. No. 2 Northwestern, 67-50 | Box Score |
Championship – Monday, March 8
- No. 3 Bethany Lutheran def. No. 1 North Central, 75-72 | Box Score |
Tournament Championship Page