NEW ULM, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris women's basketball team opened Upper Midwest Athletic Conference play with an 80–75 overtime win Wednesday night in New Ulm, Minn. The contest featured 14 ties and 18 lead changes, with the Cougars emerging on top.
 
Minnesota Morris improves to 4–10 overall and 1–0 in the UMAC, while the Knights fall to 7–7 overall and 0–1 in conference play.
 
"So proud of our team tonight to come in and bear a really good MLC team," said head coach Tim Grove after the overtime victory. "It was great to see Gianna score so well for us, and of course Itzel's big three in the corner. This was the definition of a team win! Proud of our team."
 
The Cougars won the opening tip, and on the first possession of the game, Gianna Klarenbeek connected from behind the arc. The Knights answered with a three of their own. Grace Perry pushed the lead to four with a pair of layups. After an MLC basket, Klarenbeek knocked down another three and stayed hot from deep, making her first three attempts to give UMM a 13–7 lead. Klarenbeek added a jumper to extend the advantage to eight. Brooke Ver Steeg kept the lead at seven, and Shelby Mortenson pushed it to nine after recording a block on the defensive end. Klarenbeek capped the quarter with her fourth three-pointer. After the first 10 minutes, the junior guard was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field, including four three-pointers, and added five rebounds.
 
The Knights opened the second quarter on a 7–0 run. It took over three minutes for the Cougars to get on the board, as Claire Stark converted a free throw. Martin Luther cut the lead to two following back-to-back baskets. Anna Myers extended the lead with a layup and added a free throw to make it a five-point advantage. A three-pointer from MLC pulled the Knights within two, and another gave them their first lead of the game. Myers responded with a pull-up jumper to regain the lead for the Cougars. Martin Luther forced turnovers and went up four with two minutes remaining in the half. Stark chipped away at the deficit with a free throw and a layup. Mortenson grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back to give UMM a 33–32 lead, but the Knights answered with another three. Mortenson then found a cutting Klarenbeek for a layup to tie the game at 35–35 heading into halftime.
 
The Knights opened the third quarter with a pair of free throws. Klarenbeek hit her fifth three-pointer of the game to swing the lead back to the Cougars. Maddy Grove tied the game at 40–40 with her first points of the contest. Perry connected on her first three of the game, but the Knights responded immediately. Martin Luther extended its lead to four before Minnesota Morris tied the game again with a four-point run from Reece Wassink. The Knights went up five, but Klarenbeek answered to make it 55–52 heading into the fourth quarter.
 
Mortenson found Grove for an easy layup to open the fourth quarter. Stark went to work in the paint, scoring through contact and converting the ensuing free throw to give the Cougars the lead. Stark followed by grabbing an offensive rebound and finishing the putback to extend the UMM run. The Knights tied the game at 60–60 with seven minutes remaining. Klarenbeek drained another three-pointer for the 12th lead change of the game. Stark reached double figures with a layup and completed the three-point play.
 
Down the stretch, the lead continued to change hands. Grove scored to give UMM a 68–67 edge and followed with another basket to force yet another lead change. In the final 30 seconds, the Knights tied the game at 70–70. Both teams came up empty on their final possessions, and the Cougars were unable to score with 1.5 seconds remaining, sending the game into overtime.
 
Martin Luther struck first in the extra period with two made free throws. Grove went 1-for-2 at the line, and the Knights matched her on the other end to maintain a two-point advantage. Itzel Salazar found Stark in the paint to tie the game. MLC would find a response to go up two. Salazar picked the right time for her first make of the game as she connects from behind the arc to put UMM up for the first time in overtime with 21 seconds remaining. Grove then stole the inbound pass following a timeout and converted the fast-break layup to extend the lead to three. After an injury, Savanna Pelzer was called upon for the first time in the game to go to the free throw line. With five seconds left in a three-point game the sophomore guard delivers going 2-for-2 at the line to cap off the 80-75 victory.
 
Klarenbeek recorded her best performance in a Cougar uniform, scoring a season-high 26 points while shooting 9-for-15 from the field, 6-of-12 from three-point range, and 2-of-4 from the free-throw line. The Cougars shot 45.2 percent from the field, 38.1 percent from beyond the arc, and 55.2 percent at the line. Stark and Grove followed with 14 and 12 points, respectively, while Klarenbeek and Grove led the team with four assists apiece.
 
Defensively, Mortenson pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds, while Klarenbeek finished one rebound shy of a double-double with nine. UMM forced 11 turnovers, with Perry contributing three steals. Mortenson blocked three shots, and Grove added one.
 
Minnesota Morris returns to action on Jan. 14, hosting North Central University at 5:30 p.m. for the Cougars' first home game of 2026.