Staff photo by Travis Rosenau Martin Luther University’s Maia Morris, 23, plays the ball while being guarded by Mount Mary’s Indya Lucas during a nonconference women’s basketball game Friday night at MLC. trying to pass.
NEW ULM — The Knights, who have the most points scored in a game by a Martin Luther University women’s basketball team since 2015, defeated the Mount Mary Blue Angels 89-42 in a nonconference game Friday night.
The 89 points were the most points scored in a single game by an MLC women’s team since the 2014-15 season, when they won 92-67 at Northland on February 20, 2015.
Sophomore guard Mya Morris, a transfer from Crown College in his first season playing for the Knights, led the way with 23 points, 21 of which came on 7-of-11 shooting from beyond the arc. .
“It’s so cool.” Morris said of the Knights’ 89-point effort. “All of the girls work hard and we have a goal to glorify and honor God by being the best we can be. Moga 1 So when we all achieve that goal, we can achieve great feats and great things. It’s not just one person on the team, it’s all working together. The girls off the bench…they had a great performance and everyone pushed each other and kept the lead, so it was really great.”
Leading 41-15 at halftime, the Knights seized every opportunity to get all 10 available bench players on the floor and did so in the second half. MLC senior Lauren Paulsen played 20 minutes in the game to lead the team.
Also in MLC, Emma Dorn had nine points and eight rebounds, and Eva Stein added eight points off the bench. The Knights also had 14 of their 15 players score in the game, with Audrey DeBoer, the only player not in the scoring column, adding an assist and a steal.
Dejah Rivers led Mount Mary with 19 points.
It took the Knights just over two minutes to get on the board, but once Morris made a 3, they never trailed again. Morris then made a three to put the Knights up 6-0, and Poulsen hit a three and a jumper to give the Knights an 11-0 lead. Vanessa Diaz scored a goal for the Blue Angels, ending MLC’s hot start.
However, the Knights continued to extend their lead and entered the second quarter with a 28-6 lead. In the second quarter, Morris’ jumper in the paint gave the Knights their largest lead of the first half at 40-11.
The Knights went on an 11-0 run late in the final quarter to take a 47, 87-40 lead, their largest lead of the night. The run included a layup by Wilhelmina Wentz, a free throw by Ella Walz, two layups by Chloe Koschnitzke, two free throws by Hannah Rodmeyer and a layup by Ella Schmidt. After Avery Gaughan’s layup stopped MLC from scoring, Alana Szurzul sank two free throws for the Knights, leading to the game-winning score.
With the Knights, currently 3-2, heading into Thanksgiving break, the players will be able to rest and take time to express their gratitude. One thing Morris is grateful for is a fresh start in MLC.
“It was great to start over and play with a brand new team.” Morris said. “I love the Crown team and they were great, but I really love it here too. It’s a very unique atmosphere. The team is great, the coaching is great and we are learning more about Jesus and getting closer to God. It was a very unique experience that you wouldn’t get at university. …Even just the first few practices, I felt like we were meshing really well with the team. And the volleyball players came in for the first time in three weeks and hit the ground running and had a lot of fun. It was.”
The Knights will play an exhibition game in Viterbo on Dec. 3, then continue the regular season at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, on Dec. 10.
The South and West Sub-District Soccer Awards were announced on Friday, with several area players selected.
Boys Hockey New Ulm 14, Windham 0 Windham — New Ulm shut out Windham 14-0 in a non-conference boys hockey game on the 26th.
