ST. PAUL, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris women's basketball team had a cold-shooting start and finish to the ballgame, allowing the University of Northwestern to come away with its second win over the Cougars in four nights on Friday, taking a 64-47 decision. The loss sends UMN Morris to 8-12 (5-4 UMAC).
Jadyn Sondrol scored on the opening possession of the night for Minnesota Morris, but the Cougars went nearly seven minutes without a point from there, by which time Northwestern had opened up a 13-2 edge. Though
Malory Anderson was able to stop the scoring drought, the Eagles went to the second quarter with a 16-6 lead.
The second frame continued to be a grind for both teams, with nearly four minutes elapsing before Minnesota Morris was able to stop the offensive drought. Anderson grabbed the board on one end and drained a three-pointer on the other end to make it 16-9. Another triple from Anderson in the final seconds of the half made it 29-21 at the break.
A pair of buckets from
Ella Van Kempen to start the third quarter brought the Cougars to within four points, 29-25, and
Jay Kwateh did the same moments later at 31-27. From there, Northwestern took over with a 10-0 run and eventually took its largest lead of the night, 51-33, before the third quarter ended.
Minnesota Morris had a 9-0 run bridging the third and fourth quarters to slice the deficit in half at 51-42, but nine points was as close as the Cougars would get. Anderson scored with six minutes left to make it 56-47, only to see another drought end any hopes of a comeback, with the Eagles holding UMN Morris scoreless the rest of the way.
Anderson ended the night with 12 points and six rebounds.
Lexus Eagle Chasing was the only other Cougar in double-figures, finishing with 10. Kwateh had eight points, four rebounds, and three steals.
Haley Wollschlager finished with six points, five rebounds, four steals, and three assists.
Minnesota Morris wraps up its weekend in the Twin Cities tomorrow with a 3 p.m. tip-off at North Central University.
