After a little more than two weeks off, the Yellowjacket women's basketball team returned to the gym rejuvenated and ready to start the second half of the season. Things kicked off on Monday night as they traveled to Ashland for a non-conference meeting with Northland College.

And the Yellowjackets made quick work of the Lumberjills.

The Yellowjackets started fast and led the game from start to finish on their way to a 71-45 win.

Freshman Brynn Liljander (Isanti, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti) paced the Yellowjackets with 15 points, who won their second straight and climbed above the .500 mark for the first time in 2013-14. Sally Linzmeier (Valders, Wis./Valders) also had a strong outing, scoring 10 points and pulling down a game high 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season in just 18 minutes of action.

Liljander got the Yellowjackets rolling early, scoring five straight points in the first two minutes as the Yellowjackets opened by scoring the first 16 points. Northland stopped the bleeding, scoring its first bucket 7:20 in. The Yellowjackets responded by scoring the next six points to push the lead to 20.

Northland did manage to close the gap slightly, but the Yellowjackets finished strong and took a 23-point edge into halftime.

The Yellowjackets shot 39% from the field in the half compared to 36.8% for Northland, but the Yellowjackets attempted 22 more field goals than the Lumberjills.

It was more of the same in the second half. Alyssa Lindberg scored the first points of the half to push the lead to 27 points. The lead hit a game-high 32 points when Liljander hit another three-pointer with 12:14 remaining.

Liljander, Vanessa Lebens (Roseville, Minn./Roseville Area) and Lindberg combined to score the next 13 points led by 31 with 6:30 to play. The Yellowjackets closed out the scoring when Sarah Lekson (North Branch, Minn./North Branch) hit a jumper with 47 seconds left.

While Liljander and Linzmeier were the only Yellowjackets to score in double figures, Lindberg, in just her second game of the season, finished with nine points, while Lebens had eight. Liljander led the Yellowjackets with five assists.

Theresa Stewart led the Lumberjills with 14 points.

The Yellowjackets (5-4, 0-2 WIAC) have a quick turnaround and return home on Tuesday, December 31 when they host Twin Ports rival St. Scholastica at Mertz Mortorelli Gym. Game time is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.