'Jackets win home opener

11/18/2009
By Lucas Kraft
Staff Writer

On Monday in Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium, the UWS Women’s Basketball Team defeated Bethany Lutheran with a closing score of 65-49. 

It was a tight first half, but the Yellowjackets were able to leave at halftime with a one-point lead: 27-26. 

Kelsey Thingvold was the big scorer in the first half with eleven points; she finished the game with fifteen.

In the second half, freshman Connie Urmanski heated up and totaled twenty points by the end of the night. She hit four of her nine three-point attempts and all four of her free throws. 

Urmanski led the team in scoring, but it was Thingvold cleaning up the boards and getting nine rebounds. 

The team overall shot 40.3% and 76.9% from the line. They played good defense, only allowing Bethany Lutheran to shoot 32.0% for the game and getting fifteen turnovers. 

However, turnovers were a problem for the Yellowjackets as well. They turned the ball over sixteen times. This was one thing the team thought they needed to work on before the game. 

Earlier in the week, Coach Mulhern even stated, “We need to make crisper passes.” 

Although the home opener, this was not the team’s first game. The team traveled to North Dakota to play the University of Mary in North Dakota on Nov. 14 for an exhibition game. 

The game against the University of Mary proved to be a great learning experience to get them ready for the rest of the season. It was also a good opportunity for the freshman to experience the difference between high school basketball and college basketball. 

The team next heads to Plymouth, WI to play in the Lakeland College Tournament, with games on November 20 and 21.