(Pictured right-Jamie Rainey)
(Story by: Zach Koenig)
Ellendale, ND—For the second time in the past week, the University of Minnesota-Morris women’s basketball team defeated its opponent by at least 35 points, this time running the score to 72-36 in a victory over Trinity Bible College on Tuesday.
With the win over Trinity Bible, the Cougars extended their current winning streak to four games, also having won eight of their past nine.
During the contest, Jamie Rainey (Jr. Maple Grove, MN) came up just short of a triple-double (nine points, eight rebounds, five steals), while Alaina Benson (Sr. Clinton, MN) led UMM with a career high 25 points scored.
Also scoring in double digits was Tynell Kocer (Jr. Pierre, SD), who had 15 points.
Coresa Leighty (Jr. New Ulm, MN) recorded seven rebounds in the contest, followed by Arielle Anderson (Sr. Wayzata, MN) with seven and Kara Norris (So. Zimmerman, MN) with five.
A 3-2 lead was the only luxury that Trinity Bible was allowed in the first half, after which an Anderson layup gave the Cougars a lead they would not relinquish.
Two consecutive three-point shots from Benson, followed by another from Kocer, gave UMM a solid 24-8 lead with 11:03 left in the half. From that point, Minnesota-Morris went on an 11-4 run to close out the half, capped by a Norris layup that made the halftime score 35-14.
Benson (17 points) and Kocer (10 points) dominated the first half scoring for the Cougars, while Diane Blommel (Fr. Grey Eagle, MN) added a pair of rebounds.
The Cougars increased their lead to 43-16 on consecutive three-pointers from Benson and Rainey early in the second half, then went up by 36 points (54-18) after a Kristie Swanstad (So. Osakis, MN) free-throw.
A layup from Blommel gave the Cougars their largest lead of the night, 70-30, with 2:36 remaining in the game, while two points from Rainey closed the evening’s scoring at 73-36.
Many Cougars got into the scoring action in the second half, including Benson (eight points), Rainey (seven), Kocer (five), Swanstad (five), Leighty (four), and Norris (four).
Marissa Maynard (Sr. Blaine, MN) grabbed four boards, with every Cougar recording at least one rebound in the second half.
The 36 points is the fewest allowed by the Cougars this season.
After the big win, the Cougars now begin the second half of their conference schedule with a trip to Northwestern College on Friday, February 1.
 |  |
| Minnesota-Morris | 35 | 37 | 0 | 72 |
| Trinity Bible | 14 | 22 | 0 | 36 |
Box Score
