Notables:-The Saints will be the No. 3 seed for next week's UMAC Tournament and travel to face No. 2 seed Minnesota Morris on Wednesday
-Eighth straight victory for the Saints
-Game featured 50 combined turnovers and 47 total personal fouls
-Martin Luther had 20 steals
DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – In its final game of the regular season, St. Scholastica women's basketball defeated Martin Luther College 81-77 in overtime in an Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) contest at the Reif Gymnasium.
Martin Luther led for the majority of a tightly contested the first half. The Saints would take a 35-34 lead just as the first half ended thanks to a
Mariah Hovick (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake HS) 3-pointer. Hovick led all players with 12 points in the half and three steals.
Neither team could pull away in a second half that ended tied 70-70.
Kelsey Sorenson-Giffrow (Braham, Minn./Braham HS (Minn. Duluth)) appeared to have sealed the game for CSS after hitting a 3-pointer to make the score 70-68 with just 38 seconds remaining in the game, but 15 seconds later Grace Schultz made a layup for the Knights to tie the game.
Mariah Hovick (Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake HS) scored five points in the overtime period to lead CSS to an 81-77 victory.
Martin Luther bested the Saints in points off turnovers (28-to-15) and second chance points (15-to-9) but ultimately couldn't overtake St. Scholastica.
Hovick was the leading scorer for CSS with 22 points followed by
Danica Schellbach (Rush City, Minn./Rush City HS) with 18. Schellbach also added six rebounds and two blocks while Hovick contributed five rebounds, three assists, and four steals.
Grace Schultz was the top scorer for MLC with 18 points and was also credited with six rebounds and five steals.
The win brings the Saints overall record to 14-11 and 11-3 in the UMAC while also cementing CSS as the No.3 seed heading into the UMAC Playoffs.
St. Scholastica will take on No.2 seed University of Minnesota Morris in the UMAC Tournament semifinal game on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. in Morris.
