ST. PAUL, Minn. – The opening round of the 2024-25 UMAC Women’s Basketball Tournament took place on Wednesday night as four teams competed in a pair of semifinal contests. The No. 1 University of Wisconsin-Superior Yellowjackets and the No. 2 University of Northwestern Eagles won their games to advance to the championship.
 
No. 1 UW-Superior 80, No. 4 Martin Luther 75 (OT)
| Box Score | Broadcast |

UW-Superior (16-10, 11-3 UMAC) hosted the Martin Luther College Knights (16-10, 9-5 UMAC) for a semifinal match in Superior, Wisconsin. The Yellowjackets had split their regular season series against the Knights, falling 60-52 in the first game on January 18 and then winning 70-63 on February 8.
 
Facing off for the third time on Wednesday night, UW-Superior earned a hard-fought 80-75 overtime win over the Knights to advance to host this Saturday’s tournament championship game. The Knights rallied back to erase deficits of 16 and 11 points in the game and hit a three-point shot in the final minute of regulation to send the game to overtime tied 66-66, but the Yellowjackets outscored the Knights 14-9 in overtime to take the victory.
 
MyKenzie Leccia led the Yellowjackets with 24 points in the win, going 6-for-12 from three-point range. Elise Besonen followed with 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting, going 5-for-7 from beyond the arc. Charlotte Ferstl had a game-high 14 rebounds for UW-Superior.
 
The Martin Luther duo of Emma Dorn and Mya Morris combined for 48 of the Knights’ 75 points, scoring 25 and 23 respectively.
 
No. 2 Northwestern 79, No. 3 Bethany Lutheran 66
| Box Score | Broadcast |

Northwestern (18-8, 11-3 UMAC) hosted the Bethany Lutheran College Vikings (11-15, 10-4 UMAC) for their semifinal contest. The Eagles had split their regular season series with the Vikings, winning 68-61 on January 8 and falling 79-74 on February 12.
 
In Wednesday night’s playoff game, Northwestern defeated Bethany Lutheran 79-66 to advance to Saturday’s tournament title game. The Eagles trailed 33-32 at halftime, but went on to shoot 60.0% from the field in the final two quarters to win and punch their ticket to the tournament championship game.
 
Jasmine Sondrol led UNW with 25 points in the win, going 9-for-11 from the field while also having a game-high six assists. Ella Falk followed with 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting to go with a game-high four steals.
 
Lexiss Trygg led BLC with 16 points on 6-for-10 shooting and had six rebounds. Juliana Ewald followed with 15 points and six rebounds.
 
UP NEXT
The UW-Superior Yellowjackets and Northwestern Eagles will battle for the UMAC postseason title and the automatic bid to the NCAA DIII national tournament on Saturday, March 1 at the Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium in Superior, Wisconsin at 4:30pm.
 
SCHEDULE
• Semifinals: Wednesday, February 26
    - 7:00 PM | #4 Martin Luther at #1 UW-Superior
        - FINAL: Yellowjackets 80, Knights 75 (OT)
        - Box Score | Broadcast
    - 7:00 PM | #3 Bethany Lutheran at #2 Northwestern
        - FINAL: Eagles 79, Vikings 66
        - Box Score | Broadcast
• Championship: Saturday, March 1
    - 4:30 PM | #2 Northwestern at #1 UW-Superior
        - Live Video | Live Stats
 
TICKETS
• $15 | Adults
• $10 | Seniors
• $10 | College Students
• $10 | Youth (Ages 6-18)
• Free | Ages 5 and Under
• Free | Any UMAC students, faculty, and staff with a valid and current institutional ID.
    • No other passes will be accepted.