MORRIS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris women's basketball team defeated the University of Wisconsin-Superior 59–48 in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference play Saturday afternoon in Morris, Minn. Junior Maddy Grove led the Cougars with 28 points.
 
Minnesota Morris improves to 7–11 overall and 4–1 in the UMAC, while the Yellowjackets fall to 6–12 overall and 3–2 in conference play.
 
Shelby Mortenson scored the first basket for UMM, answering an early UW-Superior score. The Yellowjackets then scored the next eight points, forcing a Cougar timeout. Itzel Salazar ended the run by going two-for-two at the free-throw line. Grove began to chip away at the deficit with a two-point jumper. Mortenson grabbed an offensive rebound and scored through contact, then added two more points on the following possession. After the Cougars cut the lead to two, UWS pushed its advantage to nine. In the final minute of the quarter, Mortenson ended the scoring drought, followed by a free throw from Brooke Ver Steeg. Mortenson added another free throw to close the quarter with UW-Superior leading 19–13.
 
It took nearly four minutes for either team to score in the second quarter. Grove opened the scoring, but the Yellowjackets responded immediately. A driving layup from Grove pulled UMM within four, and she followed with another two-point basket. Ver Steeg and Grove kept the Cougars within striking distance down the stretch. Grove tied the game with 30 seconds remaining, sending the teams into halftime tied at 27–27.
 
Grace Perry found Mortenson for the first points of the second half, giving UMM its first lead of the game. Grove extended the lead to four with an assist from Perry. Grove then scored the next seven points to push the Cougars' lead to nine. Perry later gave Minnesota Morris a double-digit advantage with under three minutes left in the third quarter. The Cougar defense held the Yellowjackets scoreless for seven-and-a-half minutes in the period. Perry and Anna Myers capped the quarter, giving UMM a 42–28 lead.
 
Ver Steeg found Grove to open the scoring in the final quarter. UW-Superior connected from deep on back-to-back possessions, but Claire Stark scored her first points of the game after securing an offensive rebound. Grove increased the separation by converting from behind the arc. Each time the Yellowjackets scored, the Cougars answered. Against a high press from UWS, UMM found Mortenson down low for a layup. Minnesota Morris sealed the win at the free-throw line to secure the 59–48 victory.
 
Grove led all scorers with 28 points, including both of the Cougars' three-pointers. Mortenson also reached double figures with 15 points and posted the team's best shooting percentage at 54.5 percent. Perry led the team with four assists, all coming in the second half.
 
Defensively, Mortenson tallied a team-high seven rebounds, with Salazar and Gabby Randt each recording six. As a team, UMM totaled 12 steals, led by Grove with four. Minnesota Morris also recorded nine blocks, with Mortenson swatting a career-high seven—third most in a single game in program history.
 
Minnesota Morris continues its homestand on Wednesday, hosting Bethany Lutheran at 5:30 p.m.