MORRIS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris women's basketball team fell at home to (RV) Concordia College, 79-53, Monday night in Morris, Minn.
 
The Cobbers improve to 5-1 overall as the Cougars drop to 2-8.
 
Concordia opened the game with the first three points before Shelby Mortenson got the Cougars on the board with a jumper. The teams traded baskets, and Itzel Salazar capped the back-and-forth scoring with a three-pointer for the Cougars. Maddy Grove tied the game at eight, then gave Minnesota Morris its first lead with a pair of free throws. Two threes and a two-point basket from Concordia swung the lead back in favor of the Cobbers, but Mortenson stopped the run with a jumper and added a free throw to complete a three-point play. Gianna Klarenbeek scored in the final seconds to cut the deficit to 18-14 at the end of the first quarter.
 
The teams continued to trade baskets early in the second quarter, with Mortenson and Grove scoring for the Cougars. Three minutes in, Grove came up with a steal and scored a fastbreak layup to give UMM its first lead of the quarter. After Concordia answered, Klarenbeek knocked down a three to make it 27-24. A steal and layup by Brooke Ver Steeg stretched the lead to five. In the final minute, Concordia retook the lead after three made free throws, but Grace Perry tied the game at 34-34. The Cobbers scored the final basket of the half to take a 36-34 lead into halftime.
 
Concordia opened the third quarter with a three, but Grove responded with one of her own. She later added a jumper and a free throw to tie the game at 40-40. From there, the Cougars went cold, enduring a seven-minute scoring drought as the Cobbers went on a 14-0 run. Perry ended the stretch with a free throw, but Concordia held a 16-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
 
The Cobbers continued to extend their advantage, starting the final period on an 8-2 run. Anna Myers and Ver Steeg broke up the surge with a free throw and a layup, respectively. In the final two minutes, Savannah Petersen scored the Cougars' last points as Concordia secured the 79-53 victory.
 
Grove led the Cougars with 18 points. Mortenson followed with nine, while Klarenbeek and Perry added eight apiece. As a team, UMM shot 21-of-63 (33.3 percent) from the field, with its best quarter coming in the second, where the Cougars went 9-of-18. Salazar paced the team with four assists.
 
Defensively, Perry recorded a team-high nine rebounds while Mortenson added seven. The Cougars tallied 12 steals, with nine different players recording at least one. Perry, Grove, and Gabby Randt each had two. Mortenson recorded the team's lone block.
 
The Cougars return to action next Monday when they host Trinity Bible College for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff.