Yellowjackets 64, Chicago 49
Box Score
The Yellowjacket women's basketball team finished off their season opening weekend in grand fashion, riding a big second half to a convincing 64-49 win over the University of Chicago to improve to 2-0 on the young season and capture the championship of the Ripon College tournament.
The Yellowjackets arrived in the title game by way of a 69-60 win over Ripon, while the Maroons knocked off Benedictine University 59-45 in their tournament opener.
In the first half the Yellowjackets got off to a cold start, missing their first four shots and connecting on just one of their first 14, but still found themselves only trailing by six at 9-3. In a span of three minutes, however, Connie Urmanski (Edgar, Wis./Edgar), Sally Linzmeier (Valders, Wis./Valders) and Kristen Nett (Green Bay, Wis./Bay Port) hit shots and just like that the deficit was gone and the Yellowjackets were on top at 13-11.
Like a boxing match the teams traded jabs the rest of the half, with neither team jumping ahead by more than four points, and they went to the locker room with the Maroons leading by a point, 30-29. Linzmeier led the Yellowjackets with eight points in the first half, while Britnee Blake (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) came off the bench to add six points in ten minutes. Hannah Ballard did most of the damage for Chicago, scoring 16 points. The Maroons also dominated the post play, outscoring the Yellowjackets 24-6 in the paint.
The second half saw Chicago's shooting go cold, as they hit only 25% of their shots and went 1-for-6 from beyond the arc, and the Yellowjackets took advantage.
Urmanski hit a three to open the half and the Yellowjackets went up by two. The teams went back and forth for the first six minutes of the half before the Yellowjackets took off and put the game away. A pair of Linzmeier free throws put the Yellowjackets ahead 39-37 and started them on a 20-6 run over the next over the next ten minutes. A three-pointer from Deandra Vavra (Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti) put the lead to double digits, and the margin spiked at 17 points on a jumper by Desirae Sarver (Washburn, Wis./Washburn) in the final minute. The Yellowjackets would hit on 11-of-31 (35.5%) in the half and roll to their second win of the year, and the tournament title.
Linzmeier led the way in the championship game, scoring a team-high 16 points. Urmanski and Vavra each dropped in 14 as the Yellowjackets shot 33.3% from the field for the game. Linzmeier also had a team-high nine rebounds. Vavra also had five assists and five steals, both team highs. Five different players had one blocked shot.
For her effort on the weekend, Linzmeier was named the tournamen'ts Most Outstanding Player. In the two victories Linzmeier had 26 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and seven steals in 64 minutes of play. Also honored was Nett, who was chosen as a member of the all-tournament team.
The Yellowjackets (2-0, 0-0 WIAC) will play at the University of Minnesota Duluth on Tuesday, November 20. The opening tip-off from Romano Gym on the UMD campus is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.