Ashland, Wis. – The Minnesota Morris women's basketball team put the cap on a perfect conference season today (Feb. 19), as a 69-41 win over host Northland polished off a conference championship season and a perfect 14-0 record in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC).
Morris (19-6, 14-0 UMAC) never trailed in the game and took a 21 point lead into halftime. In the second, they led by as much as 30 on two occasions before the final 28-point margin of victory. The Cougars' shot 54% (28-of-52) from the floor for the game, one of their best marks of the season.
The last UMAC team to beat Morris, Northland (13-11, 8-6 UMAC) could not recreate the moment today. The LumberJills struggled from the floor all night, making just 27% (12-of-44) of their attempts from the floor, and made just 12 field goals for the game.
Each team now turns their attention to the UMAC Tournament, which opens Wednesday (Feb. 23), with Morris hosting Martin Luther and Northland traveling to Northwestern.
Tonight, the Cougars led just two at the 15:25 mark at 9-7, but after eight straight points led 16-7 at the 11:21 mark. Then an 11-to-3 run extended the Cougars lead to 17 with 5:33 to go. The first scoring spurt was capped by Alyssa Silva (Maple Grove, Minn.), with the second ended by Emily Mehr (Aitkin, Minn.). Silva and Mehr each finished with 12 points on the night, behind the game's scoring leader, Steph Roggenbuck.
Roggenbuck finished with 17 points, including 10 in the second half. At one point in the second, she scored eight of 12 Cougar points as they were able to put it in cruise control for much of the final 20 minutes. The senior ends the UMAC season averaging 18.6 points and 7.3 rebounds, and entering the weekend, was the only player in the league in the top-five of both categories.
Northland had just two players reach double figures on the night, as Laura Fisher netted 16 and Ashley Runge logged 11. The .278 mark from the field allowed by the Cougars is the lowest for an opponent since Crown was held to a mere .231 back in the first week of league play.
After closing conference action with 13 consecutive wins last season, the Cougars run through completely unscathed this year. They must now put their perfect mark on the line, as the second season begins in just four days. The ultimate goal is a UMAC Tournament championship and berth in the NCAA tournament.
The Cougars will have the benefit of home court as they strive for the auto berth, as Morris has posted a stellar 11-2 mark on Jim Gremmels Court this season.
