UW-Superior 66, Bethany Lutheran 54
SUPERIOR, WIS. (February 24, 2018) – The Yellowjackets fought back in the third quarter to gain and hold the lead to the end to claim their third-straight UMAC Tournament Championship and to punch a ticket to the NCAA Tournament. Tournament Most Valuable Player (MVP) Hailey Kontny (Superior, Wis./Superior) led Superior, dropping 27 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
It was a rough first go for the Yellowjackets, falling into a 4-0 hole at the 9:07 mark of the first quarter. Hannah Norlin (Litchfield, Minn./Litchfield) soon changed things on layup of the inbound pass. Jade Tucker (White Bear Lake, Minn./White Bear Lake) then made it a 6-4 contest after an offensive rebound, and Kontny a 6-6 game after a steal and score.
The Vikings kept pushing back, going up 12-8 at 3:05 but two layups from reserves Taylor Kane (Grand Rapids, Minn./Grand Rapids) and Eva Reinertsen (Duluth, Minn./Homeschooled) tied the game once again. Reinertsen scored the final bucket for the Yellowjackets at 51 seconds remaining to hold a one-point lead after one.
Amelia Leger (Andover, Minn./Andover) got on the board in the opening minutes of the second, knifing to the basket for the left-handed layup, and Kontny hit two shots to get the 'Jackets rolling to a 20-15 game. Bethany Lutheran fought back to make it 23-22 on consecutive free throws at 5:36 of the quarter, and then again on the layup to make it 29-22. Superior got five-straight points from an Emily Carpenter (St. Peter, Minn./St. Peter) 3-pointer and Reinertsen putback to cut the Viking lead to 29-27 at halftime.
The third quarter proved to be the 'Jackets from the opening two minutes. Norlin and Tucker saw two assisted buckets go in to take a 31-29 lead followed by a Leger-assisted 3-pointer from Kontny and a Kontny-assisted layup from Norlina to get out to a five-point lead.
Superior soon clamped down on defense, converting three-straight turnovers to points; getting a 43-31 lead after a Justine Larson (Stanchfield, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti) layup at 3:24. A 9-0 Yellowjacket run would then ensue, including another Reinertsen putback, and a Carpenter steal that she converted for one free throw. Kontny would then hit two free throws after an intentional Viking foul, and Larson added a jumper with 12 seconds remaining. The 'Jackets were up 52-35 after three quarters.
Brittany Laehn (Gilmanton, Wis./Gilmanton) got her bucket of the game to start the scoring in the final quarter, while Tucker knocked down two free throws at 6:57 to make it 56-51. The Vikings didn't go away in the final minutes, cutting the game to 10 points at 5:48, but Superior soon stepped on the gas, eight unanswered to make it a 64-46 game with two minutes to go.
Two final free throws from MVP Kontny would seal a third-consecutive Championship for the Yellowjackets; these two free throws got her 40 points and 20 rebounds for the two tournament games.
Norlin was a monster on the boards, getting 16 rebounds along with her eight points. Reinertsen also had eight in the contest, scoring after four invaluable offensive rebounds. Larson would add seven points and two blocks in 36 minutes, and Tucker notched six with a block and steal.
With the win, the Yellowjackets completed a 54-0 (playoffs included) UMAC-winning streak, and earned their third-consecutive NCAA Tournament bid. Their opponent will be determined this Monday during the NCAA Selection Show.
