DULUTH, Minn. – Late last week, the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference had teams on both the men's and women's sides of the basketball conference withdraw from the conference tournament due to COVID-19 protocols. As a result, there was now an even number of teams competing, and the first day of the conference tournament, which was supposed to be Monday, was no longer needed.
 
The UMAC decided to extend the conference regular season by one game, with some of the games being played to determine conference tournament seeding, while others were non-conference games that could further stoke rivalries.
 
For the Yellowjacket women, who were already locked into the No. 5 seed for the post-season, Monday's contest fell into the latter category, as they went across the bridge to close the regular season against St. Scholastica.
 
It wasn't easy. The Yellowjackets needed a late surge to catch and pull away from the Saints, outscoring them 20-4 in the fourth quarter on the way to a 59-49 win at Reif Gymnasium.

The win was the 17th straight victory for the Yellowjackets (4-5, 2-4 UMAC) over the Saints, a streak that dates back to February 2011.
 
Things started slowly for the Yellowjackets, as they fell behind early and trailed the Saints 16-9 after the first quarter. The 'Jackets found their offense in the second quarter and closed the gap. The Yellowjackets doubled up the Saints in the quarter, outscoring the hosts 18-9 and taking a two-point lead into the locker room.
 
The duo of Kaelyn Christian (St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville Senior) and Kaija Davies (Aitkin, Minn./Aitkin) did most of the damage in the second, combining for 15 of the 18 points Superior scored.
 
St. Scholastica erased the slim Yellowjacket lead early in the third quarter, taking a 31-30 lead with 7:43 to go. They would outscore the Yellowjackets 20-12 in the third and were up 45-39 as the teams went to the fourth quarter.
 
That's when the Yellowjackets took charge.
 
Mady Sanders (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) cut the deficit in half with a three-pointer 1:19 in. Moments later Bryton Kukowski (Duluth, Minn./Hermantown) hit a layup to pull the Yellowjackets to within a point. Then with 4:04 to go Ellie Leadstrom (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) drained a free throw to tie the game 45-45.
 
With under three minutes to go in the contest Leadstrom drained two more free throws to give the Yellowjackets the lead for good. Down the stretch the 'Jackets outscored the Saints 12-2 on the way to the victory in the regular season finale.
 
Davies had a big game for the Yellowjackets, finishing with a double-double on 21 points and 11 rebounds. Christian had another solid effort, scoring 14 points. Leadstrom was clutch down the stretch, scoring six of her seven points in the fourth quarter. She also had eight rebounds.
 
Kukowski and Kloe Hillestad (Eleva, Wis./Eleva-Strum Central) combined for 10 points off the bench.
 
Ameliz Zmuda led the Saints with 15 points.
 
The Yellowjackets will be on the road to open the UMAC tournament Thursday, March 4 at Minnesota Morris. The opening tip is set for 7:00 p.m.