Box Score MORRIS, Minn. (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica women's basketball team led for most of the game and outscored the University of Minnesota Morris 18-13 in overtime to win 83-78 in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Tournament semifinals Wednesday night.

The Cougars (18-8) came in as the UMAC regular season champion running the table in the league (14-0) and winners of their last 16 straight games. The Saints had not won in Morris since the 2004, losing 10 straight at the P.E. Center. CSS was defeated in last year's UMAC Semifinals in Morris.

The Saints got off to a very hot start, scoring the first nine points as the Cougars did not get their first points until over three minutes into the contest. After Morris cut the lead to four, CSS went on an 11-0 run run to extend its lead to 24-9 midway through the first half.

The Cougars began to chip away at the lead and got it down to five with over a minute to play in the first half, but a Mariah Hovick (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake HS) 3-pointer as the first half expired gave the Saints a 38-29 lead at the half.

The Saints shot 57 percent from the floor, while Morris shot 41 percent from the floor, but had a 20-14 edge on the glass, including 7-1 on the offensive boards. Hovick had 13 points to lead St. Scholastica in the first half.

The Cougars made a run at the beginning of the second half scoring nine straight points to make the CSS lead 43-40 with 16 minutes to go. The Saints had a response scoring the next six points to get the margin back to nine.

The St. Scholastica lead fluctuated between five and 10 until there was less than five minutes to go in regulation. Morris cut the lead to one with two minutes to go and then took its first lead of the game 65-64 on an Emily Mehr jumper with over a minute to go.

The Saints went to the foul line on the ensuing possession and Erin Frase (Phillips, Wis./Phillips HS (UW-River Falls)) made one-of-two free throws to tie the game at 65-65. The Cougars then went to the charity stripe on their possession, but would miss the front end of the bonus.

CSS would get a pair of chances to win the game in regulation, but both attempts fell short and the UMAC Tournament semifinal went to overtime. The Saints were going to overtime for the second straight game as they fell to Northwestern College in the regular season finale in OT last Saturday.

In overtime, the teams exchanged buckets early, but the Saints would then go on a 10-0 run thanks to five points from Hovick. Hovick then went 5-for-6 from the free throw line to seal the upset victory as the Saints won by a final of 83-78. CSS wins its first UMAC Tournament game since the 2004-05 season.

Hovick led the Saints with 25 points. She also had a team-high seven rebounds and six assists. Frase pitched in 15 points and Holly Peterson (Mantorville, Minn./Kasson-Mantorville HS) added 11 points off the bench making key buckets throughout the game. Emily Mehr had a game-high 26 points to lead Morris.

The Saints shot 48 percent for the game and were 8-for-17 from beyond the arc. The Cougars shot 39 percent and outrebounded the Saints 52-38.

The Saints (12-14) move on to face Martin Luther College in the UMAC Tournament Championship Saturday night. The third-seeded Knights were also road winners tonight at Northwestern 78-72. The game will take place in New Ulm with a start time of 7 p.m. The winner receives the automatic qualifier into the NCAA Division III Tournament.