MORRIS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris women's basketball team jumped out to a 20-4 lead over the St. Scholastica Saints and never looked back en route to a 77-43 victory Saturday afternoon inside the Cougar Sports Center.

"It was nice to have control from start to finish," head coach Tim Grove said. "Kept them away from any runs that they wanted to make. We did a good enough job defensively."

For the Cougar (12-7, 8-2 UMAC) offense, Elli Stevenson led the charge with 17 points and five assists. Along with Stevenson, Kendra Raths had 16 points and Lexie Winter scored 10 points. Morris found success in the paint by outscoring St. Scholastica (4-14, 4-7 UMAC), 28-14.

During the opening quarter of action, Morris went on a 13-0 run over the first 6:39 of action, which included five straight points from Stevenson to open the game.

The Cougar bench played its biggest part of the afternoon during the second period as it scored 10 points, as freshman Lexie Winter added five points of her own.

Coming out of halftime, Raths scored five points and Zoe Loucks tallied four points for the Cougars in the third quarter. Minnesota Morris entered the fourth quarter with a 32-point lead and was able to hold cruise to the 34-point victory.

The Cougars are back in action at home on Wednesday, Jan. 30, against Crown College. The game is slated for a 5:30 p.m. start at Jim Gremmels Court. Prior to the game, fans are invited to attend the Dacotah Deck dedication starting at 5 p.m. upstairs at the Cougar Sports Center.