MORRIS, Minn. - The University of Minnesota Morris women's basketball team records their first victory of the 2024-25 season against Trinity Bible College. The Cougars came away from the game with a commanding 88-39 victory on their home court. 

Minnesota Morris got the scoring going early in this matchup with two made baskets from Claire Stark at the charity stripe followed by a three pointer from Katelyn Lindberg on a Cougar fast break. Finding a 15-7 lead halfway through the first quarter, Anna Meyers snagged a rebound and hit a jumper to kick off a 9-0 scoring for Minnesota Morris. Unable to respond, the Lions trailed 7-24 heading into the second quarter. 

Trinity Bible dropped five points on the Cougars to kick off the second quarter which Minnesota Morris responded to with an 11-2 run of their own. The scoring run started with a layup from Shelby Mortenson and ended with Maddy Grove splashing a three for the Cougars. The Lions answered back with four made free throws before back-to-back-to-back steals from Taylor Johnson, Lindberg, and Myers resulted in made baskets for Minnesota Morris. The Cougars led the match by a dominant 27 points heading into halftime. 

Scoring started off slow for both teams in the second half, before going back and forth with two layups from Trinity Bible and a free throw followed by a three from the Cougars. Minnesota Morris, led by two three pointers from Myers with five minutes on the clock, went on a 13-6 run to wrap up the third quarter of play in the matchup. The Cougars expanded their lead to 65-28 heading into the fourth quarter.

Six quick points from Grove and Lindberg expanded the Cougar lead to 43 over Trinity Bible. With both teams going scoreless for several minutes, it was the Lions who resumed the scoring by knocking down a free throw. Myers hit the first shot for Minnesota Morris in over three minutes to spark a 17-9 scoring run that resulted in a 49 point gap between the two teams at the final buzzer. 

Minnesota Morris ended the game with six players in double-digits in scoring; Grove (14), Myers (13), Itzel Salazar (11), Stark (10), Lindberg (10), Johnson (10). Mortenson also earned a double-digit day in rebounds, totaling up 10 total with six being on the defensive end of the court. 

The Cougars will travel to Mayville State University for a 5:30 pm matchup on Nov. 26.