Morris, MN.  – The Bethany Lutheran College Vikings women's basketball team lost their third straight game, this one a 76-67 defeat to the University of Minnesota, Morris Cougars. This game marks the Vikings first UMAC loss, putting their record at 4-1 . After their great 10-1 start, the Viking women are now 10-4.
 
Neither the Vikings nor the Cougars would go down easy to start the game, trading buckets back and forth. This trend would continue through the first quarter, which would end in a 10-10 tie. The Vikings were able to gain a slight edge on the Cougars in the second half, going up 27-22 with 2:30 left in the half. However, the Cougars would fight back and the first half would end gridlocked with a score of 29-29.
 
The Cougars would come out firing in the third quarter and went up 46-39 with just under four minutes left. The Vikings would begin to struggle, only scoring 7 through the end of the quarter, which saw a 52-46 Cougar lead. The Cougars would strike quickly in the final quarter, extending their lead to 10 and would never fall below five for the rest of the game. As hard as the Vikings played, they would end up losing the game 76-67.
 
Defense would once again be a tripping point for the Vikings, with the Cougars forcing 19 turnovers and recording 3 blocks and 8 steals. The Cougars defense would also keep the Vikings to just 37% field goal shooting and 26% three point shooting.
 
The Vikings would be led by Haley Sandin with 25 points and 5 rebounds. Kenlie Pytleski would also have an amazing game, recording a double double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Up next: The Vikings look to break this losing streak against the University of Wisconsin-Superior at home, where the Vikings are undefeated, on Saturday, January 5th at 3 p.m.
 
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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