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Box Score
Morris, Minn. – The Minnesota, Morris women's basketball team used a stifling second half defense to propel them to a 79-68 win over Presentation in the conference opener this evening (Jan. 11).
Opening up the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) season on the friendly floor of Jim Gremmels Court, the Cougars held the Saints to just 20% shooting from the field in the second half. The Cougars allowed just six second half field goals, while also limiting the Saints to a 19% mark from long range in the period.
Minnesota, Morris (5-6, 1-0 UMAC) outscored Presentation (4-7, 0-1 UMAC) 35-25 in the second half on their way to the win, after taking just a one-point lead into the locker rooms.
The Cougars were led on the night by the inside presence of Steph Roggenbuck (Osakis, Minn.) and Emily Mehr (Aitkin, Minn.) who scored 20 and 19 points respectively, while giving UMM a 28-to-12 advantage in points in the paint. The pair was also a major part of the Cougars 61% (17-of-28) shooting mark in the first half, and 55% (30-of-55) tally for the game. Mehr finished a very impressive 9-of-11 on the night, while Roggenbuck was not far behind at 7-of-12.
Tara Thielke (Hancock, Minn.) – who was honored during the men's game for scoring her 1,000 collegiate point on Jan. 4 against Valley City State – also joined in the scoring leaders with 15 on the night.
The Cougars opened the game on a 12-to-4 run with Roggenbuck and Mehr combining to score all 12 points. It looked as if they would win going away when a Diane Blommel (Grey Eagle, Minn.) three-pointer put UMM up by 12 at 33-21 with eight minutes left in half, but from there the Saints began to chip away.
Presentation held UMM to just two field goals over the final five minutes, and scored the final six points of the half to trail just one at the break.
Turning the momentum, the Cougars opened the second half on a 10-to-0 run, forcing three turnovers and six missed shots by the Saints. Under the intense defensive pressure from UMM, Presentation would get only within eight in the second, and trailed by as much as 21 on two occasions, before ending the with 11-point margin.
The Saints were led by Nicky Rausch with a game high 22 points, but the Cougars made her earn it, as she was just 8-of-26 from the field, and only 3-of-15 from three-point range on the night.
For the Cougars, Roggenbuck was just two rebounds shy of her second double-double, grabbing a team high eight on the night. She also went a perfect 4-of-4 at the line, leading the Cougars to a 10-of-11 mark as a team.
Now 1-0 in league action, the Cougars have won 14 consecutive UMAC games, with their last loss coming in last season's opener. They will look to stay unbeaten this weekend when the host Northwestern and Crown on Friday, Jan. 14 and Saturday, Jan. 15 respectively. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. on Friday and 3:00 p.m.
