ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris women's basketball team fell in its season opener, 73-61, to the College of St. Benedict on Friday night in St. Joseph, Minn. After trailing by 24 points, the Cougars were able to cut the deficit to five in the fourth quarter but could not complete the comeback.
The Bennies got ahead early, scoring the first six points of the contest.
Maddy Grove ended the run with a driving layup for the first UMM points of the 2026-27 season. St. Benedict soon pushed its lead into double digits.
Addison Cihak scored her first collegiate points off a pass from
Brooke Ver Steeg.
Grace Perry and
Acelynn Hacker added to the scoring before the quarter ended.
Grace Perry scored the first bucket for UMM in the second quarter with a shot from behind the arc.
Anna Myers and Grove also scored to keep pace with St. Benedict. Late in the quarter, Ver Steeg earned a trip to the free-throw line and went two-for-two to bring the CSB lead down to 10. The Bennies went on a 5-1 run to close out the half and take a 35-21 lead into the break.
Myers started the scoring in the second half with a driving layup. She was fouled on the attempt and completed the three-point play at the line. The Bennies matched the early scoring by the Cougars before going on a run to extend their lead. Perry added another three-pointer, and Cihak knocked down a pair of free throws to start chipping away at the advantage. Down the stretch, Ver Steeg and Grove connected on shots. Just before the horn,
Savanna Pelzer found Grove for a basket to make the score 57-40 heading into the final quarter.
The Bennies scored the first points of the fourth quarter, but the Cougars responded with a 14-point run.
Claire Stark started the rally with a layup. Grove scored the next four points with a jump shot and a pair of free throws. Two made free throws by Myers, followed by a driving layup from Ver Steeg, cut the lead to single digits. To close out the run, Cihak added four points to make the score 59-54. CSB regained separation with a 10-point run. Grove, Cihak, and Hacker added points late, but it would not be enough as the Cougars fell 73-61.
Grove led the Cougars in scoring with 18 points. Cihak came off the bench and added 11 in her UMM debut. Ver Steeg rounded out the top three in scoring with nine points. As a team, the Cougars shot 41.2 percent from the field and over 46 percent in the third and fourth quarters. Grove and
Kaylynn Christianson led the team with two assists each.
Defensively, Myers had a team-high seven rebounds. Ver Steeg and Cihak followed with five each. Ver Steeg tallied six of the team's 13 steals. The Cougars recorded three blocks, coming from Grove, Myers, and Pelzer.
The Cougars are back in action tomorrow (Saturday) with a noon tipoff against Hamline University.
