ST. LOUIS – Junior Kaelyn Christian (St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville Senior) tallied season highs of 19 points and seven rebounds but Berea received 30 points from Aaliyah Hampton – including 17 in the first half – to earn a 73-68 victory over the UW-Superior women's basketball team in the final game of the McWilliams Classic at the WU Field House on Sunday.
 
The Yellowjackets held a 21-16 lead after the first quarter and trailed by just four, 38-34, at halftime. UWS, which fell to 1-7 on the season with the loss, cooled from the field after the break, shooting 39 percent the rest of the way. Superior connected on 11-of-23 attempts from the floor in the opening 20 minutes for 47.8 percent.
 
UWS jumped out a 15-6 advantage in the first five minutes on the strength of two 3-pointers from Christian and one by Paige Servais (Savage, Minn./Burnsville), who scored nine of her 13 points in the first quarter. 
 
Junior Kaija Davies (Aitkin, Minn./Aitkin), who was named to the all-tournament along with Christian, added a jumper off of a Christian offensive rebound for a 19-10 lead with three minutes to play in the period. A pair of Mady Sanders (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) free throws made it 21-12 before Hampton scored the final four points of the period.
 
Berea's Bailee Vanover completed a three-point play, pulling the Mountaineers even at 24-24 with 6:49 remaining in the half, and the lead changed hands until Destanie Love crashed the offensive glass and scored a putback for a 29-27 edge midway through the quarter.
 
Berea (7-3) never trailed from that point, using a quick five-point spurt to push the lead to 34-27 when Hampton knocked down a trey with 3:23 left in the half. Freshman Allie Zimmer (Waconia, Minn./Waconia) hit a 3-pointer of her own two minutes later to shave the deficit to 35-32, but Berea went into the locker room up four.
 
UWS made it a two-point game on four occasions in the third quarter, the last of which came when Christian canned a pair from the line for 54-52 with 49 seconds left. She then found sophomore Sam Parendo (Proctor, Minn./Proctor) for a layup with 8:17 on the clock in the fourth for a 58-56 Berea lead, and Servais hit two from the foul line for a 58-all tie, but the Mountaineers scored the next five and did not look back. 
 
Davies also posted a season high with 17 points on 8-for-15 shooting with five rebounds. 
 
UWS returns to action Friday at 5:30 p.m., opening UMAC play at home against Bethany Lutheran at Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium.