Yellowjackets 63, Martin Luther 47
The Yellowjacket women's basketball team was in action Saturday evening when they took on UMAC foe Martin Luther College. With their first UMAC victory already under their belt, the Yellowjackets were looking to start their inaugural UMAC season with a pair of conference win.
The Yellowjackets never trailed in this one, as they defeated the Knights 63-47.
Both teams struggled to find any offense to open up this match up, with the Yellowjackets holding a 6-0 lead following an Allie Nelson 3-pointer with 5:42 remaining in the quarter. The score would remain that way until a pair of Martin Luther free throws at 4:10 cut the Yellowjacket lead to 6-2.
The offensive struggles would continue for both teams the remainder of the quarter, as this game went into the first break with the Yellowjackets holding a 9-7 lead.
The second quarter saw Martin Luther tie the game up at 9-9 with 8:40 remaining. It is at this point the Yellowjacket offense found their rhythm, going on a 9-4 run over the next two minutes to take an 18-13 lead. The Yellowjackets saw that lead grow to 10 points thanks to an Allyssa Lindberg 3-pointer with 3:56 remaining in the second. The Yellowjackets capped off the big quarter with a Brittany Laehn layup as time expired to go into the half with a 30-19 lead.
The Yellowjackets opened up the third quarter on a 10-4 run, capped off by a Laehn 3-pointer that pushed their lead to 40-23. Martin Luther fought back, cutting the Yellowjacket lead to six, at 40-34, with 1:24 remaining in the third. The Yellowjackets managed to push the lead back to nine, at 43-34, thanks to a pair of Hadley Skalmoski free throws with 0:03 remaining in the quarter.
The Yellowjacket lead swelled to 52-34 thanks to a 9-0 run in the opening three minutes of the fourth quarter. With the game in hand, the Yellowjackets coasted to a 16 point victory.
The Yellowjackets were led by Skalmoski, who finished with 16 points, eight rebounds, and three assists in only 18 minutes of playing time.
Nelson was the only other Yellowjacket in double figures, finishing with 13 points and four assists. Bartunek finished with eight rebounds, including four on the offensive end.
Martin Luther was led by Faith Schroeder, who finished with 10 points and eight rebounds. Mariah Schoof also scored 10 for the Knights.
The Yellowjackets shot 36.4% from the field, hitting 7-17 from beyond the 3-point arc, while going 16-22 from the free throw line.
Martin Luther shot 22.4% from the field, hitting 4-19 from beyond the 3-point arc, while going 17-25 from the free throw line.
The Yellowjackets committed 25 turnovers. Martin Luther committed 15.
The Yellowjackets (5-2, 2-0 UMAC) next game will be at home when they take on Finlandia University. Game time from Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium is set for 7:30 p.m.