NEW ULM, Minn. – Minnesota Morris (5-9, 3-0 UMAC) made it three straight with a 58-51 win over Martin Luther (3-10, 2-1 UMAC) on Saturday afternoon. The win was #99 for Tim Grove in the UMAC, giving him the opportunity to pick up win #100 next Friday at home against Northland.
 
It was a balanced scoring effort for UMM on the day as six players finished with at least six points on the day. Kendra Wycoff had 12 and Emily Auch had 11 to lead the way. Kayla Kraemer added nine points, four rebounds and three assists. Jessica Love scored eight points off the bench for UMM.
 
Morris hit three of their first six shots but turned the ball over four times in the opening six minutes of play to allow Martin Luther to stay with them. The game was tied at seven through the first six and half minutes. The two teams continued to counter punch each other and the game was knotted at 11 at the midway point of the first half.
 
With the Knights leading 18-16 the Cougars went on a 10-0 run to take a 26-18 lead and gain some breathing room. Morris would keep the lead the rest of the half and went to the locker room up 29-24.
 
Auch and Jess Love led the way offensively with seven points in the first half. Morris shot 42.3% from the field in the first half. Defensively, the Cougars did not give up a three pointer as Martin Luther went 0-9 from behind the arc.
 
Martin Luther started the second half by scoring two quick buckets and pulling the Knights within one at 29-28. The Cougars responded by scoring seven straight and forcing a Knights timeout. The Cougars pushed their lead to ten but MLC raced back and cut the lead to four with 12:23 left in the game.
 
The Knights would tie the game at 46 with 5:52 left in the game. The game was still tied with four minutes to go but the Cougars did not give up a bucket in almost three minutes as they built a small three point lead. Kraemer would help the Cougars ice the game hitting a pair of free throws with 32 seconds left, giving UMM a five point lead.