MORRIS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris women's basketball team defeated Trinity Bible College, 80-48, in their final home game of 2025 on Monday night in Morris, Minn.
 
The Cougars improve to 3-8 overall, while the Lions drop to 4-6.
 
The Lions opened the scoring with a technical free throw before the opening tip to go up 1-0. Gianna Klarenbeek answered by knocking down the Cougars' first shot of the game from behind the arc. Shelby Mortenson followed with a layup, and Maddy Grove scored the next two baskets after coming away with back-to-back steals to cap an 11-point run to start the game. After a TBC three-pointer, Brooke Ver Steeg scored a jumper and a layup to push the lead to 11. Ver Steeg later connected from long range to extend the lead again. The Lions closed the quarter with a three-pointer to make it 24-13.
 
Mortenson scored the first four points of the second quarter in the paint, with Grove following with four more on a pair of free throws and a layup off an offensive rebound. Claire Stark and Anna Myers joined the scoring with a free throw and a three-pointer, respectively. Myers then scored five straight points before Grove added to the run with a pair of layups. Both teams traded baskets in the final seconds, and the Cougars took a 48-26 lead into halftime.
 
Grove opened the second half with a midrange floater. Stark scored the next three Cougar points, and Klarenbeek knocked down a three-pointer to make it a 6-0 run. On the defensive end, Itzel Salazar recorded a block. Reece Wassink added her first points of the night with a turnaround jumper. In the final minute of the quarter, Mortenson secured an offensive rebound and converted the putback. Grove scored the final basket of the period after Myers found her following a steal, extending the lead to 65-35.
 
Stark began the fourth quarter with a pair of free throws. Early in the period, Grove and Wassink added to the Cougars' total. Myers and Ver Steeg knocked down back-to-back shots to grow the lead further. Savanna Pelzer scored her first points of the game with a jumper, and Taylor Johnson became the ninth Cougar to score after sinking a free throw.
 
Grove led all scorers with 21 points. Mortenson and Myers also reached double figures with 14 and 11 points, respectively. The Cougars shot 41.3 percent from the floor, including 55 percent in the first quarter. Klarenbeek paced UMM with five assists.
 
Defensively, Klarenbeek grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Ver Steeg, Wassink, and Gabby Randt each added six. Grove recorded a career-high seven steals. The Cougars finished with four blocks, one each from Wassink, Klarenbeek, Salazar, and Mortenson.
 
The Cougars return after the break to compete in the UW-Oshkosh BSN Winter Classic beginning on Dec. 28.