ST. BONIFACIUS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris women's basketball team earned a dominant 73–39 win at Crown College in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference play Wednesday evening in St. Bonifacius, Minn.
 
Minnesota Morris improves to 6–11 overall and 3–1 in the UMAC, while the Polars fall to 3–14 overall and 0–4 in conference play.
 
After the Polars made the opening basket, the Cougars responded with a 10-point run to take an early lead. Shelby Mortenson started the rally with a pair of layups. Grace Perry came away with a steal and found Maddy Grove for a transition bucket, while Gianna Klarenbeek and Grove completed the UMM run. Crown answered with a three-pointer, but UMM responded with four points from Mortenson and Brooke Ver Steeg. The Polars cut the lead to three with under three minutes remaining in the first quarter, but Anna Myers scored her first points at the free-throw line. Klarenbeek closed out the quarter with a midrange jumper at the buzzer to put the Cougars ahead 22–13.
 
Mortenson found Grove for the opening basket of the second quarter. On the defensive end, Mortenson recorded two blocks. Perry hit the team's first three-pointer to extend the lead back to double digits. After a three-point play by Crown, Myers responded with a long two. Brooke Ver Steeg and Myers pushed the advantage to 15 before Klarenbeek converted from behind the arc for the final basket of the half, sending the Cougars into the break with a 39–21 lead.
 
Perry opened the second-half scoring with a three-pointer, followed by a steal and basket from Grove to make her the third Cougar in double figures. Mortenson and Grove continued to build the advantage, each adding two more points. Myers closed out the quarter with another basket, increasing the cushion to 54–32.
 
Perry began the fourth quarter with a layup, and Claire Stark got on the board with a free throw. The Cougars forced another turnover, which Klarenbeek converted into a three-point play. Klarenbeek stayed hot from deep, knocking down her third three of the game. Midway through the quarter, Itzel Salazar scored her first points with a layup after Gabby Randt grabbed an offensive rebound. In the final two minutes, Randt came away with a steal and finished the ensuing layup. Reece Wassink became the 10th Cougar to score as Minnesota Morris closed out the 73–39 victory.
 
Ten different Cougars recorded points in the win, led by Grove and Klarenbeek with 16 apiece. Mortenson followed with 14 points. As a team, UMM shot 45.6 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from three-point range, and 85.7 percent from the free-throw line. Perry led the team with six assists.
 
Defensively, Perry also pulled down a team-high nine rebounds as the Cougars narrowly outrebounded the Polars 37–35. Mortenson added six rebounds. The Cougars tallied 17 steals, with Myers posting a game-high four. Minnesota Morris also recorded a season-high nine blocks, led by Mortenson with five.
 
Minnesota Morris returns home Saturday to host the University of Wisconsin–Superior at 3 p.m.