Top-seeded Wisconsin-Superior hosts second-seeded Minnesota-Morris in the UMAC tournament championship game at 3 p.m. today at Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium, At stake is the conference's berth into the NCAA Division III tournament.
UWS advanced with a 69-54 semifinal win over Bethany Lutheran College on Wednesday, while Morris dispatched Northwestern 71-62 behind 26 points from sophomore guard Elli Stevenson.
Defending champion UWS (22-4) closed out its second straight 16-0 UMAC regular season by downing the Cougars 76-63 last week in Morris, Minn., as Hannah Norlin had 20 points and Hailey Kontny added 16 points and 12 rebounds. UWS trailed 37-36 at the break before shooting 52 percent in the second half to take control.
The teams also met Jan. 13 in Superior, with Eva Reinertsen coming off the bench to score 17 of her 21 points in another big second half for the Yellowjackets. Norlin (20 points), Kontny (15) and Justine Larson (15) also played key roles.
Morris (20-6) features a balanced offense with Stevenson leading the team at 14.3 points per game. The Cougars play more of a perimeter style and have attempted 200 more 3-pointers than the Yellowjackets (544 to 344), making 36 percent of them.
