DE PERE, Wis. - St. Norbert College defeated a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference foe for the second consecutive day with a convincing 76-46 romp past UW-Superior on Connie Tilley Court at Schuldes Sports Center.
The Green Knights (2-0), who beat UW-Stout 64-57 on Saturday, closed the first half on a 19-0 run to take command against the Yellowjackets (0-2), who reached the WIAC Tournament championship game last season.
St. Norbert led 24-20 with 5:15 to go when Jill Kleiman buried a 3-pointer to start the decisive run. Two possessions later Kleiman buried another triple for a 32-20 lead with 3:38 left. Mallory Nickerson and Tasha Giese converted baskets, then Kleiman made a pair of free throws. Regan Carmichael closed out the half with a basket and 3-pointer to give the Green Knights a 43-20 advantage at intermission.
Superior opened the second half on a 12-3 run to get to within 46-32 with 14:18 left, but St. Norbert used a quick 10-0 spurt to retake command. Kleiman hit 3-pointers to start and finish the run, which gave the Green Knights a 56-32 lead with 11:11 remaining.
Kleiman scored a game-high 18 points and was named MVP of the tournament. Carmichael was also named to the All-Tournament team. Also making the All-Tournament team were Superior's Sally Linzmeier, Carroll's Breann Maryanski and Rachel Van Sluys, and UW-Stout's Sarah Schoch.
Carmichael added 15 points, while Nickerson and Tasha Giese had 11 points apiece. The Green Knights shot 44.6 percent (25-for-56) from the floor and had only 11 turnovers.
Linzmeier led Superior with 12 points. The Yellowjackets shot just 32.1 percent from the field, making 17 of 53 field-goal attempts.