MORRIS, Minn. – The UW-Superior women's basketball team shot 52 percent from the floor and made half of its attempts from 3-point range, but turnovers proved to be costly in a 72-68 loss at Minnesota Morris on Friday on Jim Gremmels Court.
The Yellowjackets led 36-35 at halftime, 51-50 entering the fourth quarter and were up 66-65 with less than a minute to play. Then, junior guard
Kaelyn Christian (St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville Senior) was stripped of the ball by Jayden Sondrol, who went the other way for a go-ahead layup with 48 seconds remaining.
The Cougars salted the game away at the free-throw line, making 5-of-6 in the final seconds.
Minnesota Morris (10-14, 7-6 UMAC) turned 30 Superior turnovers into 27 points, helping them stave off the upset attempt from UWS.
Sophomore
Sam Parendo (Proctor, Minn./Proctor) paced the 'Jackets with 17 points on 6-for-10 shooting, including 3-for-6 from beyond the arc. As a team, UWS (5-18, 4-9) posted its best shooting effort of the season, connecting on 26-of-50 shots overall and 8-of-16 from distance.
Down four at 35-31 with a minute to play in the first half, Parendo knocked down a trey off of a
Paige Servais (Savage, Minn./Burnsville) pass. Freshman
Allison Luoma (Iron River, Wis./Northwestern) then rebounded her own miss and put it back up and in at the buzzer to give her team the halftime edge.
The Cougars led, 45-39, when Justine Day hit a layup with 5:44 on the clock on the third quarter. UWS responded with an 11-3 run to take the lead, capped with an
Allie Zimmer (Waconia, Minn./Waconia) triple with 1:43 left.
UWS led by three points three times in the final 10 minutes – the last of which came when Christian hit a 3-pointer, assisted by Parendo, with 1:16 left for a 66-63 score.
The Yellowjackets outrebounded Morris, 34-26, and had 16 assists to the Cougars' 11.
Morris received a game-high 20 points from Lexus Eagle Chasing while Day added 11 off the bench.
The Yellowjackets close the regular season Saturday at Crown. Tip off at the Wild Athletic Center in St. Bonifacius, Minn., is set for 3 p.m.
