ELLENDALE, N.D. – The University of Minnesota Morris women's basketball team won its fifth consecutive game on Tuesday night in a 71-56 victory over Trinity Bible College. The game, which wraps up the non-conference portion of the Cougar schedule for the season, improves the team to 6-11 overall on the year.

In an up-tempo first quarter, Minnesota Morris led by as many as seven points, but the Lions managed to pull closer before the opening 10 minutes were up. Jadyn Sondrol hit a triple with less than five minutes left in the frame to make it 17-10, but a 9-2 run from Trinity Bible followed to knot the score up. Baskets from Shelby Mortenson and Haley Wollschlager staked the Cougars to a 23-20 lead at the end of the quarter.

Wollschlager's basket to end the first quarter ended up being the start of a 9-0 run from Minnesota Morris as the defense stepped up and held Trinity Bible scoreless for more than half of the second quarter. The lead reached double-digits at 30-20 and a Jay Kwateh jumper just before the halftime horn gave the Cougars a 35-27 edge at the break.

The Lions drew as close as 37-30 in the opening moments of the third quarter, but it was all Minnesota Morris after that. The Cougars had a 24-8 advantage in the third, including an 11-0 run that blew the game open. Reece Wassink had the final two baskets of the quarter to increase the lead to 59-35 heading to the fourth.

Wollschlager and Ella Van Kempen had the first two field goals of the final quarter to give Minnesota Morris its largest lead of the night, 63-35. Though Trinity Bible would go on to outscore the Cougars over the final 10 minutes, the result was never in question as UMN Morris cruised to the victory.

Van Kempen scored 12 points to lead a balanced effort from the Cougar offense. Kwateh ended with 11 points on the night, while Wollschlager and Wassink each added 10.

Minnesota Morris begins a five-game home stand on Saturday with a 2:45 p.m. contest against Crown College.