FOREST CITY, Iowa – The University of Minnesota Morris women's basketball team had a balanced scoring output from all 10 players in uniform, but the offense went cold after opening up an 11-point lead and Waldorf University roared back for a 65-59 win on Wednesday afternoon. The loss puts the Cougars at 4-8 overall on the season. 

Waldorf started the game off strong and held a lead for much of the first quarter until Minnesota Morris began to establish its post presence. Claire Stark had a pair of field goals, while Shelby Mortenson, Reece Wassink, and Jadyn Sondrol all also scored inside to give the Cougars a 14-11 lead after 10 minutes of play.

A scoreless stretch of more than three minutes to start the second quarter allowed the Warriors to open on a 7-0 run and take an 18-14 edge, but Minnesota Morris fought back and turned a 20-20 tie into a seven-point lead as Mortenson and Lexus Redthunder scored down low before Grace Perry rained in a triple. In the final minute, Wassink and Maddy Grove added layups to make it 34-28 in favor of the Cougars at the half.

A quick start to the third quarter courtesy of Sondrol helped Minnesota Morris extend its lead out to double digits for the first time at 41-30. Waldorf, however, showed a level of composure against the Cougar defense that it didn't have in last month's blowout victory for Minnesota Morris and by the end of the third quarter had pulled to within four, 47-43.

The comeback continued as the fourth quarter began. Waldorf took a 50-49 lead and then extended it to three with six minutes to play. Alice Wilkinson gave Minnesota Morris a little life, cutting it back to a one-point game, but the Cougars then were held scoreless for four minutes until Malory Anderson hit a pair of free throws that pulled UMN Morris to within 57-53 with 1:19 to go. The best the Cougars could do down the stretch was trade buckets with the Warriors, allowing the home team to eke out the six-point win.

All 10 players in the game scored for the Cougars on the afternoon, but none reached double figures. Sondrol was the leading scorer for Minnesota Morris with nine points. Anderson, Grove, and Mortenson all finished with eight, while Lexus Redthunder added seven.

Minnesota Morris resumes UMAC play on Saturday, traveling to face Crown College on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. in St. Bonifacius.