DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica women's basketball team will play its first game since December 15 when it resumes Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) play on Saturday at Crown College and then takes on the University of Minnesota Morris on Sunday.
 
Where:
Saturday
Wild Athletic Center – St. Bonifacius, Minn.
Sunday
Jim Gremmels Court – Morris, Minn.
 
When:
Saturday at Crown – 5 p.m.
Sunday at Minnesota Morris – 5 p.m.
 
Live Video vs. Crown: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/crown/
Live Video/Stats vs. Minnesota Morris: http://csn.morris.umn.edu/   
 
Social Media:
Twitter: www.twitter.com/CSSsaints
Instagram: www.instagram.com/csssaints
Facebook: www.facebook.com/css.saints
 
St. Scholastica Saints
Stats
Record: 3-8, 1-2 UMAC
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference: Standings | Stats
 
Last Action: The Saints lost to the University of Wisconsin-Stout 87-63 on Tuesday, December 15 … Michaela Walther led the Saints with 17 points and Holly VanKempen (Elbow Lake, Minn./West Central HS) finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds … CSS fell behind 26-9 in the first quarter and never recovered … The Blue Devils shot 59 percent from beyond the arc in the victory.
 
Top Scorer Out for the Year: Senior Kelsey Sorenson-Giffrow (Braham, Minn./Braham HS (Minn. Duluth)) who led the team in scoring after six games will miss the remainder of the season due to injury … Sorenson-Giffrow was hurt in practice in early December.
 
Picking Up the Scoring Load: Senior Brittani Brennan (Ashland, Wis./Ashland HS) has scored in double figures in each of the last five games and in nine of the 11 games this season … She is averaging 12.4 points per game and is currently second in the conference making 52 percent of her field goal attempts … Freshman Michaela Walther in five of the last six games, including averaging 16.5 points per game in her last two games.
 
Rim Protector: Sophomore Holly VanKempen (Elbow Lake, Minn./West Central HS) leads the UMAC with 16 blocked shots this season … She also ranks third in the league with 76 total rebounds.
 
Cherish the Ball: The Saints have committed at least 20 turnovers in eight of their first 11 games … CSS is second-to-last in the conference averaging 22.3 turnovers per game … In the final 11 games of last season, CSS had over 20 turnovers in a game only once and had an eight-game winning streak during that stretch.

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UMAC Preseason Poll
1.   59 Points – University of Northwestern (4 First Place Votes)
2.   56 Points – University of Minnesota Morris (3)
3.   55 Points – University of Wisconsin-Superior (2)
4.   44 Points – College of St. Scholastica
5.   33 Points – Martin Luther College
6.   31 Points – Bethany Lutheran College
7.   17 Points – Crown College
8.   16 Points – Northland College
9.   13 Points – North Central University

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Upcoming Opponents
Crown Storm
Record: 1-10, 0-3 UMAC
 
The Storm picked up their first victory of the season on Tuesday when it defeated Cal Tech 77-71 at home … Prior to the victory, Crown had lost its first 10 games of the season, all by double-digits … Junior guard Desiree Davis leads the team, averaging 10.5 points per game … Davis also leads the team with 6.8 rebounds per game … Crown are near the bottom of the conference in nearly all major statistical categories, but are third in the conference in free throw percentage at 66.8 percent.
 
Minnesota Morris Cougars
Record: 4-5, 2-1 UMAC
 
The Cougars will host UW-Superior on Saturday before facing the Saints on Sunday … Morris enters the weekend on a three-game losing streak after falling to the College of Saint Benedict 68-51 on Tuesday … The first loss in the losing streak with a 67-63 conference loss at the University of Northwestern … Freshman guard Elli Stevenson leads the team in scoring at 12.9 points per game … Stevenson is also second in the league in assists, averaging 3.4 per game … Senior guard Kayla Kraemer is averaging 9.9 points per game and is third in the conference making 46.4 percent of her 3-point attempts … Forward Kendra Raths is third in the UMAC with 7.6 rebounds per game … Morris is second in the conference with 7.1 made 3-pointers per game.
 
Series Histories:
-CSS leads Crown 33-0
-Minnesota Morris leads CSS 27-6
 
Last Meetings: The Saints won by just 12 at Crown last season, which was the closest margin in the series since 2005 … The Saints then defeated the Storm by 39 points in Duluth … Minnesota Morris eliminated the Saints from the UMAC Tournament with a 82-55 semifinal victory in Morris last season … CSS lost by five in Morris during the regular season and then beat the Cougars by nine at home.

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Looking Ahead: The Saints will be across the bridge for their first conference Bridge Battle with the University of Wisconsin-Superior on Saturday, January 9.