Yellowjackets 74, St. Scholastica 63

It may only be late November, but the UW-Superior women's basketball team is already finding out that adversity can bring a team together.  And that sense of unity was certainly apparent Monday night against Border Battle rivals St. Scholastica.

Playing without three regular contributors, the Yellowjackets took advantage of solid performances from a number of players on the way to downing the Saints 74-63 at the Reif Center.

With Allyssa Lindberg (Marquette, Mich./Marquette), Carmen Watson (Milwaukee, Wis./James Madison) and Deandra Vavra (Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti) all missing from the lineup, the Yellowjackets got a game-high 23 points from Sally Linzmeier (Valders, Wis./Valders) and 10 more points from Grace Kennedy (Wausau, Wis./Newman Catholic) to up their record to 2-2 for the season.

The Yellowjackets got off to a nice start, taking an early 11-7 lead following a basket from Autumn Ackerman (Pine River, Minn./Pine River-Backus) with 14:02 remaining in the first half before a three-pointer by the Saints' Sammy Doucette

UW-Superior opened matters up over the next 9:52, outscoring St. Scholastica 17-3 to take a 28-13 lead after two free throws by Linzmeier with 4:06 showing on the clock.

Linzmeier proved instrumental in the run, knocking down seven straight free throws while Kennedy added a jumper and layup during the burst to help the Yellowjackets to a 15-point lead.

St. Scholastica (0-4) eventually trimmed the deficit to 34-24 at the break thanks to five points from Kayla Swanson and a jumper by Kariana DeYoung in the final two minutes of the first half.

UW-Superior again asserted itself in the early moments of the second half, getting a driving two layups from Brynn Liljander (Isanti, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti) and an additional inside score from Kennedy to up the margin to 51-37 with 13:13 left in regulation.

Down 52-37, the Saints would score the next seven points, behind four points from Swanson and a three-pointer from Elena Huber, to cut the deficit to 52-44 with 10:32 remaining in the second half.

But the Yellowjackets would outscore the Saints 16-6 over the next 4:30, culminating in Ackerman's layup that gave UW-Superior a commanding 68-50 lead with just 4:52 showing on the clock.

St. Scholastica would get no closer than 11 points the rest of the way as the Yellowjackets connected on four free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

Along with Linzmeier's 23 points and Kennedy's 10, the Yellowjackets also got nine points each from Vanessa Lebens (Roseville, Minn./Roseville Area) and Britnee Blake (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) while Hadley Skalmoski (Neenah, Wis./Neenah) chipped in with seven points.

For the game, the Yellowjackets finished 20-for-25 from the free throw line and also outrebounded the Saints 48-31, while grabbing an impressive 23 offensive rebounds as a team.

St. Scholastica was paced by Swanson's 16 points while Caitlin McKernon had 11 points and Kelsey Sorenson 10 for the Saints.

UW-Superior travel to Menomonie to take on UW-Stout on Dec. 4.  Opening tip is scheduled for 7 p.m.