NEW ULM, Minn. – For the second time in less than 24 hours, the University of Minnesota Morris women's basketball team put up a massive defensive effort to take control of a game in the opening 20 minutes. On Saturday, it was Martin Luther College who fell victim to the Cougars in a 72-33 romp as Minnesota Morris won its fourth straight game and improved to 5-11 (4-3 UMAC) on the year.

It was a total team effort on the afternoon for Minnesota Morris as 11 players scored for the Cougars and just two finished in double digits. UMN Morris limited itself to just nine turnovers on the day while Martin Luther committed 22, leading to a 25-2 edge in points off turnovers for the Cougars in the contest.

Jay Kwateh set the tone on the opening possession, scoring on a third effort to give Minnesota Morris the lead. A missed free throw led to an extra possession for the Cougars and Ella Van Kempen then scored to make it 4-0 after 30 seconds. The final MLC field goal of the quarter was a three from Jordyn Heckendorf to cut the deficit to 8-5, but the Knights would fail to make a shot for more than six minutes to close out the frame as Minnesota Morris expanded its lead to 14-6.

Minnesota Morris put on an offensive clinic in the second quarter, outscoring Martin Luther by a count of 28-6 to take a 42-12 halftime lead. A 9-0 run early in the quarter was highlighted by five points from Kwateh as the margin grew to 25-8. The lead was 27-12 in favor of the Cougars following a Martin Luther basket, but the half ended with a 15-0 run from Minnesota Morris. Reece Wassink and Shelby Mortenson had two field goals each during the run as the Cougar offense routinely worked the ball down low for easy finishes.

The cushion for the Cougars grew even more early in the third quarter when Haley Wollschlager and Malory Anderson knocked down triples to push the lead to 50-13. A layup from Lexus Redthunder in the final minute of the quarter gave Minnesota Morris a 61-22 advantage heading into the final 10 minutes.

To their credit, the Knights never quit. A 6-0 run for Martin Luther started the final quarter of play, but Minnesota Morris soon reestablished order and took its largest lead of the contest, 70-30, after a three-pointer from Maddie Smart and a layup from Mortenson. Smart also hit a mid-range jumper in the final minute to close out the scoring on the day.

Anderson did a bit of everything for Minnesota Morris on Saturday, finishing all alone or tied for game-high honors with 11 points, six assists, five rebounds, and five steals. Mortenson was the other Cougar in double figures with 10 points off the bench. Kwateh and Van Kempen each finished with nine points and Wassink added eight.

Minnesota Morris steps away from UMAC play for the final time on Tuesday night with a 5:30 p.m. game at Trinity Bible College in Ellendale, N.D.