Superior, WI - The Martin Luther College women's basketball team stayed within striking distance for much of their four-quarter game at UW-Superior but was unable to edge out the Yellowjackets and fell 70-63 on the road on Saturday.

MLC won the first meeting between the pair of schools in New Ulm in mid-January and Saturday's game featured another closely contested matchup of two teams vying for the top of the UMAC standings.

The Knights took a 21-17 following the first quarter and did so by shooting 50 percent from the floor. The Knights would cool down in the second quarter while the Yellowjackets answered with four 3-pointers with one made by Mykenzie Leccia at the 1:13 mark before halftime to give UW-Superior a 35-32 lead at the break.

The Yellowjackets went up 42-32 a couple of minutes into the third but MLC battled throughout the quarter and found themselves only down 48-46 going into the fourth period.

MLC cut it to 62-60 after Lauren Paulsen and Grace Kieselhorst connected on back-to-back 3-pointers and there seemed to be an opening for them to take their first lead of the second half. However, UW-Superior scored eight unanswered points and hit their free throws in the final moments of action to secure the victory over the Knights.

Freshman Ava Stein had a monster game down low for MLC and walked out with a double-double effort that saw her put up a career-high 25 points and 10 rebounds. Stein also was a force as a rim protector, blocking two shots. Stein came off the bench and scored all of MLC's bench points, giving her squad the 28-5 edge in that area over UW-Superior. Grace Kieselhorst finished with 12 points and six rebounds and knocked down three 3-pointers.

Neither team turned the ball over more than 10 times, but UW-Superior shot slightly better from the floor and had the advantage from the perimeter, shooting 40 percent while MLC shot 22 percent.

MLC (13-8, 6-4) heads back home for their next opponent on Wednesday, February 12, at 7:15 p.m. as they play Crown College. MLC previously beat the Polars by 40 points a month ago and have a chance to defeat them again.