MINNEAPOLIS – The University of Minnesota Morris women's basketball team closed the regular season on Saturday with an impressive 84-63 win at North Central University. The Cougars head into the UMAC Tournament as the No. 2 seed and carrying an overall record of 15-10 (11-3 UMAC).

Scoreless for more than two minutes to start the game, North Central finally broke the deadlock but Minnesota Morris came right back with an 8-0 run started by a Shelby Mortenson three-point play and continued by five straight points from Jadyn Sondrol. Consecutive buckets from Jay Kwateh pushed the lead to 12-5 and she then assisted on a three-pointer from Grace Perry before Sondrol canned her second three-pointer of the quarter to make it 18-11 after one.

Minnesota Morris blitzed North Central in the second quarter, outscoring the Rams by a 28-12 margin. Maddy Grove got into the scoring column on a fast break early, with Sondrol following with another three to push the lead to 24-13. Malory Anderson got in on the act with a triple and then Grove scored on a putback to grow the lead to 29-15 midway through the quarter. Alice Wilkinson made her presence felt with a three-pointer and an offensive rebound and bucket shortly after that. Pressing full-court in the final seconds, Minnesota Morris forced a turnover and Grove laid one in just before the horn to lead, 46-23, at the break. 

Despite an initial five-point burst out of the break from North Central, a three-pointer from Grove pushed the lead back to 20 points, 51-31. As the third quarter progressed, the Rams continued to scrap and try to build momentum, but Sondrol found Perry late in the quarter for a triple that helped keep the Cougars in front, 60-46, entering the final 10 minutes.

The fourth quarter began with a bucket from Kwateh and she then assisted Stark with a nice feed to make it 64-46. Though North Central tried to push the tempo and get back into it, Sondrol and Kwateh worked a give-and-go for an and-one from Kwateh to stretch it back to 70-50. Grove had a pair of buckets in the final three minutes and Sondrol made her fourth triple of the game to put on a bow on a the 21-point victory.

Grove finished with 17 points and six rebounds on the afternoon. Sondrol had 14 points and six assists. Kwateh scored 11 points and nabbed five boards, while Stark was the fourth Cougar in double-figures with 10 points and five rebounds. Anderson added eight points to go along with 13 rebounds, five assists, and five steals.

Minnesota Morris will be back home at James Gremmels Court on Wednesday night for a UMAC Tournament semifinal against the No. 3 seed, University of Northwestern. The other semifinal will feature No. 1 seed University of Wisconsin-Superior hosting No. 4 seed North Central.