Box Score MORRIS, Minn. (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica women's basketball team suffered its first conference loss of the season Friday night  falling to the University of Minnesota Morris 71-67 in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Game of the Week.

The Cougars started the game off on a hot note going up by seven points less than just four minutes into the game with a run highlighted by two 3-point buckets by Kendra Wycoff.

The Saints would come back fighting with a 14-6 run of their own to take the lead at 19-16 with 11:55 remaining in the first half. 

The game would remain tight until 3:44 left in the first half when Morris again took a seven point lead at 33-26.  This would be quickly stamped out when CSS would go on a 10-1 run to hold the lead at halftime 36-34.

The halftime lead would be short-lived; however, as the Cougars' Emily Auch made a layup to tie the game just seven seconds into the second half.

CSS would take the lead on a Kayla Swanson (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing HS) jumper with 17:15 left in the game, but that would turn out to be the last time the Saints would hold the lead as the Cougars took control of the game from that point, building a lead as high as 10 points.

The Saints would battle back and a Mariah Hovick (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake HS) layup with less than 30 seconds to go cut the Morris lead to 68-67. After two Cougar free throws, the Saints would get a look at a game-tying 3-pointer, but it would be off the mark and the Cougars hung on to win 71-67.

Swanson and Hovick led the Saints in scoring with 13 points apiece, while teammate Sammy Doucette (Colfax, Wis./Colfax HS (UW-River Falls)) trailed just behind them with 11 points.  The Saints bench also outscored the bench of the Cougars by nine points 37-28. The Cougars (5-8, 1-1 UMAC) were led by Emily Auch with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

The Saints (6-7, 1-1 UMAC) will play tomorrow at Crown College with tip-off at 5 p.m.