MANKATO, MN. – The BLC women's basketball team hosted the MN-Morris Cougars in the semi-finals of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) tournament for the second year in a row. The Vikings earned the #2 seed by finishing 13-3 during the regular season while the Cougars came in at #3 after finishing 12-4. The Vikings played in front of a full crowd as well as another 150 online viewers.
The first quarter went back and forth. Kenlie Pytleski was back in the lineup for the Vikings after missing a couple games and got one of her early three-point attempts to fall. The Vikings took a slight lead early, but the Cougars used a 5-0 run to end the quarter and take a 16-14 lead. Bethany outscored Morris by four points in the second quarter to take a 32-30 lead into halftime. Haley Sandin led the charge for the Vikings with 11 points and four assists. The Vikings shot 43.3% overall from the field and went 3-7 from three. The Cougars shot just 37.1% from the field and went 1-6 from behind the arc.
Both teams continued on the same pace in the third quarter. A few minutes in, the Vikings used a run to push their lead to 10 points. Hanna Geistfeld contributed with a couple of baskets inside as well as rebounding on the defensive end. The Cougars would respond, however, and climbed back into the game. Geistfeld hit a couple free throws with less than a minute in the quarter to push the lead up to six points. After the Cougars missed a couple of free throws, Laura Ellinghuysen dribbled through the lane and scored a layup to end the quarter, giving the Vikings an eight point lead.
The game stayed tight throughout the fourth quarter, but the Cougars were unable to cut into the Vikings lead. BLC kept their distance and outscored the Cougars by two in the quarter, winning the game by a final score of 72-62.
Abby Olson led all scorers with 22 points on 8-16 shooting. Haley Sandin finished the game with 20 points, eight rebounds, and five assists. Kenlie Pytleski had a big night as well with 12 points and eight rebounds.
The Vikings shot 47.3% from the field and limited the Cougars to 40.0%. The Vikings went 7-13 from deep compared to just 3-12 for the Cougars.
Up Next: The Vikings are moving on to the UMAC Championship game which we be played on Saturday, February 23rd. The Vikings are currently awaiting the winner of UW-Superior vs. Northwestern. If #1 Superior wins the Vikings will be playing on the road. If #4 Northwestern wins the Vikings will get another home game.
MEDIA: If you need further information, please feel free to contact Dan DeWitt at 507-344-7856 or email
ddewitt@blc.edu
