Box Score

Morris, Minn. – Up by as much as 13, the Minnesota Morris women's basketball turned back a late rally from visiting Mayville State to score a 70-66 win tonight (Dec. 9) on Jim Gremmels Court.

Clinging to their lead late, the Cougars saw the Comets hit a big three to pull within one at 67-66 with just 32 seconds left. But after Mayville State was forced to foul, Morris' Kendra Wycoff drained both of her free throws to put the Cougars back up three in the final half-minute.

The Cougars then forced a turnover the next time down the floor, and after another Comet foul with just 11 seconds left Alyssa Silva hit the first of her two free throws to put the Cougars up four and seal the 70-66 win. Silva finished with nine points – including a 5-of-6 mark at the line – to overcome a slow start and finish among the scoring leaders.

The Cougars (3-4), though were led all night by freshman Allie Sannes who led all players with a career high 15. Sannes did the bulk of her damage under the basket, consistently getting open behind the Comet defense. She was joined on the leaderboard by Abby Fragodt with 13 and Emily Mehr with 12.

The Mayville State (8-5) trap that stifled the Cougars in their previous meeting this season struggled to get going tonight, as the Cougars quickly opened up a 6-0 lead over the first two minutes. After the Comets put a run together to take one point lead at 9-8, the Cougars rattled off eight straight points to go up 16-9 capped by a three-point play from freshman Emily Auch at the 12:08 mark.

Before the first half would end, the Cougars opened up a 12-point lead at 33-21 when Wycoff found Sannes alone under the basket with just over five minutes left. Morris would take a four-point lead into the break at 37-33.

The Cougars started the second half as hot as they were in the first, opening up their lead to its widest point at 51-38 with another score under the basket from Sannes at the 13:32 mark.

From there though, the Comets slowly began to chip away at the lead, finally erasing it when they tied the game at 54-all with less than seven minutes left. The Cougars held firm, and never trailed, quickly going on a 6-to-1 run to go back up five.

After Mayville State got within one again with just two minutes to go, Jenni Noordmans hit a huge three off a loose ball to give the Cougars back the momentum for the final stretch run.

The Cougars finished shooting 40% for the night, and pulled down 41 rebounds, their best since the season opener. They also tallied a season high 19 assists, paced by a career high six from Kelsey Erickson.

They will now take week off before the travel to Dakota State on Dec. 16 for their final game before the calendar turns. The last time the two teams met, the Cougars scored a 71-63 in the second game of last season. Tip-off next Friday is at 7:00 p.m.