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Morris, Minn. – The Minnesota Morris women's basketball team was led by their seniors today (Feb. 5), as the quartet paced their squad to a 67-59 win over Bethany Lutheran on Jim Gremmels Court.

Steph Roggenbuck (Osakis, Minn.) put up the gaudy numbers – with 19 points to lead all players – but her fellow seniors were equally responsible for the Cougars latest comeback win.

Tara Thielke (Hancock, Minn.) nailed a three for the Cougars first points of the game, and finished with nine on the night. Diane Blommel (Grey Eagle, Minn.) hit a pair of free throws to halt a Viking rally while also pulling down three boards and adding a steal. And Brandi Cresap (Perham, Minn.) had yet another game without a turnover, handling the ball for 28 minutes.

For the second straight night the Cougars (15-6, 10-0 UMAC) put themselves in a hole early, letting the Vikings (8-12, 4-6 UMAC) out to an early 11-3 lead less than three minutes into the game. They still held the lead at the 9:14 mark when a Nicole Jones jumper capped back-to-back baskets and gave the Vikings a 20-13 advantage.

After the two teams traded missed shots, Alyssa Silva (Maple Grove, Minn.) provided the spark that the Cougars needed. At the 8:15 mark she nailed a three that brought Morris within four at 20-16, which also was the first of 10 straight points that gave the Cougars a 23-20 lead with 5:45 left to play.

The run was just the beginning of a 21-to-8 streak that the Cougars used to take a 34-28 lead in to the locker rooms. The final 14 of that came from Roggenbuck, as she overcame a 0-for-4 start to finish with 15 in the half.

The Cougars opened the second half with eight straight points and never looked back. Winners of 11 straight, the Cougars have shown the last two nights that they can win the close ones. After winning the first nine of the streak by double digits, they have now won back-to-back games that have been decided by less than 10.

With the season down to its final two weeks, Morris must now take to the road to close out their chase for a conference title. Up first is this weekend's trip to the Twin Cities and a Feb. 11 date with Crown, before a Feb. 12 match-up with Northwestern.

If both teams keep winning, the Saturday match-up with the Eagles will be the Cougars first chance to clinch the 2011 UMAC Championship.

Tip-off is 5:30 p.m. in St. Bonifacious and 3:00 p.m. in St. Paul.