MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - In a tie game with just under four minutes to go, women's basketball kept their cool and found the lead 56-53 against North Central to earn their second UMAC win of the season. The Cougars advance to 2-1 in conference play, and will have another chance at UMAC competition on their home court this Saturday (Jan. 18) against the University of Northwestern (3:45pm).

Minnesota Morris started out this matchup with what appeared to be a comfortable lead. The Cougars, led by Shelby Mortenson, Maddy Grove, and Claire Stark, dominated in the lane and knocked down shots from the outside. They were up 10 points with three minutes to go in the first quarter, before the Rams clawed back to trail by just three (20-17) heading into the second quarter. Minnesota Morris once again found a decisive lead as Mortenson made three layups in the first two minutes of the quarter. Grove led the Cougars to a 13 point lead with back-to-back layups. North Central would not allow the game to be put away and brought the score back to 30-36 at the halftime buzzer.

The score stayed tight in the third quarter of this intense conference matchup, with the largest lead for the Cougars coming at 48-38 with one minute remaining. North Central rallied to start the fourth quarter, battling back to a two point deficit and forcing a timeout from Minnesota Morris. After scoring back and forth, the Rams tied things up and it was a clutch triple from Itzel Salazar and allowed Minnesota Morris to jump back into the lead. Up 54-53, the Cougars fought to maintain possession of the basketball and, thanks to a stunning offensive rebound from Stark, Grove scored with 34 seconds on the clock to coast Minnesota Morris to a 56-53 victory. 

Grove led Minnesota Morris in scoring with 21 points on the night and a team-high of five steals. Mortenson totaled up 12 points of her own and five rebounds to aid in the Cougar victory. She also added two blocks on the night. Savanna Pelzer earned a team-high of seven rebounds, with six of those being on the defensive end of the court.