MORRIS, Minn. – Defense was the calling card for Minnesota Morris (9-9, 7-0 UMAC) on Saturday as they forced 25 Eagles (10-8, 6-1 UMAC) turnovers and scored 30 points off turnovers in a 62-47 win over Northwestern in the UMAC Game of the Week. Tori Holt had 17 points, her second highest total of the year, to lead the Cougars.
 
The Cougars only outshot the Eagles by .3% on the afternoon but UMM made nine more shots than UNW. Kendra Wycoff added 16 points and seven rebounds. Cori Becker had six points and six rebounds off the bench. Connor Lewis tied her season high with six big points, while adding four assists and four rebounds.
 
Morris flew out to a 12-3 lead in the opening four minutes of play, forcing an Eagle timeout. Northwestern cut the lead to three at 16-13 but could get no closer and Morris was able to increase their lead to ten with 2:17 left in the half. Morris went to the locker room with a 27-17 halftime lead.
 
Minnesota Morris held the Eagles to just five made field goals in the first 20 minutes of play. Wycoff led all Cougars with eight points in the half.
 
Second chance points and points off turnovers were the story for UMM in the final half. Morris pushed their lead to 16 with 14:58 left in the game before the Eagles provided some push back. Northwestern cut the lead to eight on multiple occasions, the final time coming with 10:20 left but Morris would not be stopped.
 
In the second half the Cougars racked up 13 second chance points and 17 points off turnovers to keep their distance from the Eagles. The lead would get as large as 17 with 3:54 left in the game.
 
Next weekend the Cougars will play three games on the road as they try to stay perfect in the UMAC. They have a one game lead as the teams head through the conference schedule one more time starting on Tuesday. The Cougars will take on Crown at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday night.