MANKATO, Minn. – The Bethany Vikings women's basketball team has already accomplished two things this season that have not been done before. First, they have won 20 games for the first time in program history. Second, they are in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) tournament championship game for the first time in program history. Both of these achievements were accomplished on Wednesday evening when they defeated the University of MN-Morris in the UMAC tournament semi-finals. With those things behind them, the Vikings are now ready to do something else which has not been done yet, namely, to hand the top-seeded UW-Superior Yellowjackets their first UMAC loss since joining the league in 2015.
 
In the first meeting of the season between the two teams, the Yellowjackets won in convincing fashion by a score of 90-72. At the time, the Vikings were still acclimating their top point guard, freshman Abby Olson, and their top post player, freshman Hanna Geistfeld, to the rigors of conference play. In the second meeting of the season, the Vikings gave the Yellowjackets all they could handle on their way to a 60-67 loss. Game two was tied with less than four minutes to play before the Yellowjackets solidified the win. Now, with a full season under their belts, the Vikings are playing with full confidence in their ability and are ready for the challenge that awaits them in Superior.
 
Veteran Viking coach Lyle Jones and the #2 Vikings boast the highest scoring offense in the conference this season, averaging 74.9 points per game. Part of their dominance has come with their ability to get to the free throw line at a dominant rate. The Vikings have made 264 free throws during conference play, over 50 more than their closest competitor. The Vikings also average the fewest number of turnovers per game and shoot the highest percentage from three-point range. Junior guard Haley Sandin leads the conference in scoring at 18.4 points per game and freshman guard Abby Olson is ninth in the conference in scoring at 13.3 points per game.
 
The undefeated #1 UW-Superior Yellowjackets averaged the second highest number of points per game during UMAC play at 72.0. The Yellowjackets have also made their presence felt on the defensive end of the floor, holding teams to just 55.7 points per game. Senior guard Hailey Kontny is seventh in the UMAC in scoring at 15.5 points per game. Just behind her is teammate Hannah Norlin who averages 14.0 point per game.  
 
The Vikings and Yellowjackets will compete for a trip to the NCAA National Tournament on Saturday, February 24. Tipoff will be 7:30 PM.
 
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MEDIA: If you need further information, please feel free to contact Dan DeWitt at 507-344-7856 or email ddewitt@blc.edu