SUPERIOR, Wis. – Since joining the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference in 2015, the regular season crown in women's basketball has resided in Superior. In fact, if you back to the program's final season in the WIAC, they've won five in a row, and with the way 2019-20 has unfolded they're in the running to earn their sixth straight.
 
Standing in the way of the sixth are a pair of UMAC heavyweights – Northwestern and Bethany Lutheran. The Yellowjackets, along with the Eagles and Vikings, make up the top three teams in the conference, and heading into Wednesday's action, any of the three had a chance to be the league's regular season champion.
 
And after Wednesday's action, that number is down to two.

The Yellowjackets shots the lights out of the place in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter, on the way to a convincing 85-58 win over Northwestern at Mertz Mortorelli Gym.
 
With both the Yellowjackets (17-7, 13-2 UMAC) and Bethany Lutheran winning Wednesday, the stage is set for a winner-take-all meeting between the teams Saturday in Mankato, Minn. The two teams met in Superior back on December 14, with the Vikings picking up the one-point win.
 
The Yellowjackets came out of the gate a little slow, shooting just .316 percent in the first quarter. Fortunately, Northwestern struggled as well, and the 'Jackets trailed just 21-19 after one.
 
Northwestern's lead quickly evaporated, however, when Emily Carpenter (St. Peter, Minn./St. Peter) knocked down a three less than a minute into the quarter to put the Yellowjackets in front by one. It would be a recurring theme throughout the contest, as Carpenter proved deadly from outside the arc as the game wore on.
 
The teams would go back and forth in the second, changing leads a handful of times with neither team able to move ahead by more than one possession. That changed late, when Carpenter hit a jumper to break a 31-31 tie. Mady Sanders (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) finished off a fast break with under three minutes to go in the half, giving the Yellowjackets a four-point advantage. The 'Jackets would go to the locker room up eight, 41-33, when Sanders grabbed a rebound and laid it in just as time expired.
 
In the second half the Yellowjackets pulled away, hitting on over 50 percent of their shots, including a clip of .769 in the fourth quarter, turning the game into a rout. By the midway point of the quarter the Yellowjackets emptied the bench and cruised to the 27-point victory.
 
Carpenter was on fire, hitting three threes in the fourth quarter and dropping in 13 of her 23 points in the second half. Eva Reinertsen (Duluth, Minn./Homeschooled) led all scorers with 26 points for the game, with 18 of those coming after halftime.
 
Marissa Ruiz (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley) was the only other Yellowjacket to reach double figures in scoring, finishing with 14 points.
 
Reinertsen and Sanders had 10 rebounds apiece to lead the Yellowjackets. Reinertsen also dished out team-high seven assists, putting her just shy of her first career triple-double.
 
For the game the Yellowjackets shot .477 from the field and .458 from three.