Box Score
Yellowjackets 82, Bethany Lutheran 60
Balance is an attribute most any college basketball team strives for. And over the past two games, the UW-Superior women's basketball team certainly has proven capable of finding balance.
The Yellowjackets had seven players score at least six points and held Bethany Lutheran to just 32.3 percent shooting to pull away for an 82-60 win over the Vikings Saturday afternoon in Mankato, Minn.
UW-Superior meanwhile hit on 47.1 percent (34-of-71) from the field to win their second straight and even up their season record at 4-4. The Vikings fell to 1-6 with the loss.
The Yellowjackets started on a 9-2 run in the first 1:57 of the contest, getting a layup from Britnee Blake (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior), a three-pointer by Brynn Liljander (Isanti, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti) and layups from Vanessa Lebens (Roseville, Minn./Roseville Area) and Hadley Skalmoski (Neenah, Wis./Neenah) for a seven-point lead with 18:03 left in the opening half.
Another score by Lebens and a free throw from Sally Linzmeier (Valders, Wis./Valders) upped the margin to 14-4 at the 14:51 mark before five straight points from Bethany Lutheran's Kasslin Swenson brought the Vikings to within 16-11 with 13:31 remaining on the clock.
But the Yellowjackets came right back, scoring the next eight points behind four points from Liljander and baskets from Linzmeier and Lebens for a 24-11 advantage and 10:28 left in the first half.
After leading 33-19 following two straight jumpers from Jayme Malnory (Eau Claire, Wis./Memorial), the Vikings again trimmed the deficit, this time to 33-28 on a three-pointer by Rudy Ruffin with 3:20 remaining.
UW-Superior outscored Bethany Lutheran 6-0 in the final 3:09 for a 39-28 halftime edge on baskets from Lebens, Skalmoski, and Liljander.
A jumper by Linzmeier, a three-pointer by Blake and a free throw by Skalmoski in the first 4:01 of the second half extended the Yellowjackets' lead to 45-33 with 15:59 remaining in regulation.
From there, Bethany Lutheran never came within 12 points the rest of the way as the Yellowjackets held a 31-21 edge in rebounding and forced 20 Vikings' turnovers for the game.
Offensively, Linzmeier led the attack with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Liljander meanwhile pitched in with 12 points. Blake and Lebens each finished with nine points for the Yellowjackets as well.
Bethany Lutheran was led by Ruffin with a game-high 17 points. Swenson added 15 points while Jade Pelzl had 14 more for the Vikings.
The Yellowjackets return to action on Dec. 30 with a road game against Northland College. Opening tipoff against the LumberJills is scheduled for 7 p.m.
