MORRIS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris women's basketball team rode a long scoring drought from the University of Wisconsin-Superior to victory on Saturday at James Gremmels Court, 61-51. The Yellowjackets had a five-point lead with just over six minutes remaining in the first half, but found themselves trailing by 11 before they finally scored in the third quarter. With the win, Minnesota Morris improves to 3-11 (2-3 UMAC), while UW-Superior falls to 5-8 (3-2 UMAC).

A slow start to the game for Minnesota Morris allowed UW-Superior to open up a 13-8 lead after one quarter of play. The Cougars made just three field goals in the opening 10 minutes, with Jay Kwateh making the first one and later adding two free throws.

The teams were trading baskets in the second quarter when Mady Sanders scored off a Minnesota Morris turnover to take a 19-14 lead with 6:13 remaining. That would turn out to be the final Yellowjacket point for the rest of the half. Ramping up the pressure, the Cougars forced UW-Superior into eight turnovers the rest of the half and did not even allow a shot attempt for more than four minutes. When the dust had settled, both Kwateh and Haley Wollschlager had made a pair of baskets as part of a 12-0 run heading into halftime to give the Cougars a 26-19 lead. 

Having scored the last four points of the first half, Kwateh kept rolling by scoring the first four points of the third quarter to extend the margin to 30-21 and the overall run to 16-0. Another basket from Sanders finally ended the offensive drought for UW-Superior, but Tariq Brownotter, Malory Anderson, and Wollschlager all converted three-point plays before the quarter had ended to take a 46-34 lead into the final period.

Jadyn Sondrol had the first two field goals of the fourth quarter, giving Minnesota Morris its largest lead of 50-34 as the clock rolled under eight minutes. UW-Superior refused to go quietly and used a trio of three-pointers to get as close as 53-48 with 2:43 to go. On the other end, a Reece Wassink layup restored order and the Cougars made four free throws in the final 30 seconds to wrap it up.

Kwateh and Wollschlager tied for the team high in points with 15 apiece, while Sondrol added 12. Anderson did a bit of everything for Minnesota Morris on the day, finishing with five points, nine rebounds, five assists, and four steals. 

Minnesota Morris heads out on the road on Friday night for a 7:15 p.m. contest at Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato.