Yellowjackets 71, Minnesota Morris 50
 
SUPERIOR, Wis.: In early December the Yellowjacket women's basketball team met the University of Minnesota Morris on the Cougars' home court, and were given everything they could handle and then some as they battled to keep their lengthy conference winning streak. In the end the Yellowjackets earned the victory, but the task was anything but easy.
 
Saturday afternoon the Yellowjackets welcomed Morris to town, and through the first 20 minutes it looked like the rematch would come with just as much, if not more drama, than the first meeting.
 
Then halftime ended.
 
The Yellowjackets blew the game open in the third quarter and in the end cruised to a 71-50 victory before a crowd of 122 at Mertz Mortorelli Gym.
 
It was a five-point game at halftime, with the Yellowjackets leading 34-29, but they outscored Morris 27-8 in the third quarter to make this one a rout.
 
The teams went back and forth early and Morris opened up a four-point lead in the first seven minutes, moving ahead 8-4. The Yellowjackets closed the gap and tied the game on a layup from Taylor Kane (Grand Rapids, Minn./Grand Rapids). The teams continued to trade buckets before Morgan Anderson (Savage, Minn./Prior Lake) hit a jumper with eight seconds left in the first quarter to give the Yellowjackets a 19-18 lead.
 
With 7:59 to play in the first half Marissa Ruiz (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley), who scored six points off the bench, hit a three to put the Yellowjackets in front 24-22, a lead they would hold the rest of the way. It stayed close as the first half drew to a close and the Yellowjackets took the five-point edge into the break.
 
Hannah Norlin (Litchfield, Minn./Litchfield) led the charge to start the second half, scoring eight points as the Yellowjackets came out of the locker room and went on an 18-2 run.
 
The Yellowjackets' second-half lead would hit a high of 26 on two occasions - late in the third quarter on a pair of free throws by Eva Reinertsen (Duluth, Minn./Homeschooled), and early in the fourth quarter when Katie White (Pequot Lakes, Minn./Pequot Lakes) sunk a pair from the stripe. Sydney Franks (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) would close out the scoring for the Yellowjackets, hitting a pair of free throws in the final minute as the Yellowjackets cruised to the win.
 
Norlin paced the Yellowjackets offensively, scoring 22 points and pulling down five rebounds. Reinertsen, meanwhile, had 13 points to go with five rebounds. Kane had a strong game, hitting double figures and pulling in a team-high eight rebounds. Kane also tied for the team lead with five assists.