SUPERIOR, Wis. - The Martin Luther College women's basketball team finished the opening weekend of Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) play with a split following a 78-49 loss at UW-Superior (UWS) on Saturday.

The Knights scored the game's first basket, but the Yellowjackets took control from there, racing out to a 26-12 lead after the first quarter and taking a 39-27 lead into halftime.

UWS put the game away in the third quarter, holding the Knights to only two field goals as it outscored MLC 21-6 in the period en route to the win.

The Yellowjackets from struggled to shoot from beyond the three-point arc (2-12), but shot 43.5 percent from the field and 81.5 percent (22-27) from the free throw line in the win.

MLC shot 21-28 from the charity stripe, but could not find the range from the field (27.3 percent) or from downtown (25.0 percent).

Lauren Paulsen led the Knights with 10 points. Emma Nelson added seven points.

The Knights fell to 2-7 on the season and 1-1 in UMAC play in defeat. UWS improved to 2-8 overall and 1-1 in league play with the win.

MLC will return to action on Sunday, December 19, when it plays Finlandia University in a game in Wisconsin Dells.