MANKATO, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris women's basketball team got back to its winning ways on Saturday afternoon with a 69-62 victory at Bethany Lutheran College. The Cougars improve to 12-9 (8-2 UMAC) and stay within a half-game of the lead in the UMAC standings.

Bethany Lutheran showed right away that it would not be a walk in the park for Minnesota Morris. After a Claire Stark three-point play tied the score at 3-3 early on, the Vikings went on a 9-0 run. The Cougars got back into it when a pair of Maddy Grove paint finishes sandwiched a Jadyn Sondrol three-pointer to bring UMN Morris back within two. Malory Anderson's three-point play at the end of the quarter ensured that the Cougars would remain down by just two points after one period of play.

Still trailing by two in the middle of the second quarter, Minnesota Morris pulled ahead with a 6-0 run that was capped off by a Grace Perry three-pointer to take a 21-17 lead. Outside of a 23-23 tie, the Cougars were able to maintain the lead from there and went to the break with a narrow 27-25 advantage.

The Vikings pulled ahead on three occasions in the third quarter, but Minnesota Morris closed the quarter strong. A 6-0 run that featured two more field goals from Grove made it 37-32. Stark later scored six straight in a 7-0 run and the Cougars expanded their lead to 46-37 heading into the final quarter.

A three-point play from Anderson with less than eight minutes to go grew the UMN Morris cushion to 15 points, 53-38, but Bethany Lutheran refused to go quietly. The Vikings knocked down four three-pointers in the fourth quarter and were able to shrink the gap to just three points, 61-58, with less than two minutes remaining. Shelby Mortenson was able to connect on a bucket with just over a minute to go and Grove added another after a BLC turnover to help fend off the threat. Two free throws each from Sondrol and Jay Kwateh wrapped it up in the closing seconds.

Grove once again led the way on the offensive end of the floor for Minnesota Morris, finishing with a game-high 23 points. Kwateh added 13 points and was one of four Cougars with four steals as the UMN Morris defense caused 27 turnovers in the contest. Stark ended with nine points and Mortenson had eight off the bench.

Minnesota Morris returns to James Gremmels Court for the final two home games of the regular season next weekend. First up is a matchup between the Cougars and the team they're currently chasing at the top of the UMAC standings when the University of Wisconsin-Superior comes to town on Feb. 9 for a 5:30 p.m. clash.