by MORRIS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris women’s basketball team was efficient on the offensive end and stingy on defense, leading to an 81-45 victory over Martin Luther College. The Cougars improve to 9-12 (7-4 UMAC) with the win.
Minnesota Morris shot 50 percent from the floor as a team, including 52 percent from beyond the arc. Martin Luther came nowhere close to keeping pace, shooting just 27 percent as a team and 18 percent from three-point land.
The opening minutes of the first quarter were turnover-filled, but Minnesota Morris was soon able to turn a 6-5 deficit into a double-digit lead with an 11-0 run. The first six points of the run all came at the free-throw line before Lexus Redthunder scored down low and Grace Olson knocked down a three to make it 16-6. The Cougars then took a 16-9 lead into the second period.
A huge advantage in the second quarter allowed Minnesota Morris to open up a 20-point edge at the half. The teams traded baskets early in the frame before triples from Jadyn Sondrol and Malory Anderson started an 8-0 run. Redthunder later scored five straight for the Cougars and Tariq Brownotter hit a three-pointer in the final 30 seconds to make it 36-16 at the break.
Re-entering the game with about four minutes left in the third, Brownotter made her presence felt right away as she buried a three to make it 52-29. Sondrol followed that with a nifty inbounds pass off a defender and back to her for a layup while being fouled to increase the Cougar lead to 55-29. Brownotter then cashed in the final eight points of the quarter for UMN Morris to stake the Cougars to a 63-34 lead entering the fourth.
The lead grew steadily throughout the final quarter and finally reached 40 points, 78-38, on a three-pointer from Redthunder with 3:18 to play. Brownotter capped her career night with a three in the final minute to close the scoring in the game.
Brownotter finished with a career-best 19 points and six rebounds. Redthunder added 15 points, five boards, and four blocks. Anderson was the lone starter to finish in double-figures, scoring 13 on the night.
