MORRIS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris women's basketball team moved into a tie for second place in the UMAC on Saturday by defeating Crown College, 67-51, for the team's sixth straight win. Gaining revenge for an earlier defeat to the Polars, the Cougars moved to 7-11 (5-3 UMAC) and into a tie for second place in the conference standings.
The game began with back-and-forth action that saw four ties and pair of lead changes, leaving the score knotted at 9-9. A technical foul called on Crown ultimately gave Minnesota Morris a lead that the Cougars would never give back.
Jadyn Sondrol knocked down both of the free throws resulting from that technical and
Lexus Redthunder scored down low in the final minute to give UMN Morris a 13-9 advantage after 10 minutes of play.
Redthunder also scored as the second quarter began. Following a Crown triple,
Ella Van Kempen went to work and accounted for the next six points for Minnesota Morris before
Tariq Brownotter's three gave the Cougars a 10-point lead, 24-14. A strong close to the first half that included another Redthunder bucket in the paint made it 35-24 at the half.
A strong third quarter for Minnesota Morris essentially pushed the game out of reach. The Polars cut the deficit to nine to start the half, but Van Kempen and
Malory Anderson each had four points in an 8-0 run to build a 43-26 edge. In the late stages of the quarter, the Cougars were sent to the line and went 6-for-6 to take a 52-33 lead entering the home stretch.
The Polars scored the opening five points of the fourth and tried using pressure to speed the game up, but baskets from Van Kempen and Redthunder restored order. The Minnesota Morris lead never dropped below 14 points the rest of the way.
Van Kempen finished with a game-high 16 points and added seven rebounds and a pair of blocks. Anderson was all over the stat sheet with 11 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, and three steals. Redthunder added 11 points off the bench for the Cougars.
Minnesota Morris is back home on Friday night, hosting first-place University of Northwestern at 7:15 p.m.
