The LumberJills head into the UMAC tournament ready to defend their title after winning the title over the Northwestern College Eagles last season. The Jills finished the regular season with an overall record of 18-7 including a 12-2 UMAC record. The Jills will be the number two seed going into the tournament that will start on Tuesday. With the Jills securing the number two seed they will have a first round bye and host a semi-final matchup on Thursday February 25th at 7:30 p.m. UM-Morris will be the number one seed for the tournament after finishing with a 13-1 record in the UMAC. St. Scholastica secured the number three spot with a 7-7 record, they will host the number six seed Presentation Saints on Tuesday night in a quarter final game. The other quarter final game with matchup the number four seeded Northwestern Eagles vs. the number five seeded Martin Luther Knights in Roseville, Minn. also on Tuesday. The Jills will then face the second- lowest seed remaining. The Jills are once again led my reigning UMAC player of the year and MVP of the tournament Lindsey Hamm. Hamm is coming off of an ankle injury that saw her miss four games. Hamm is averaging 10.9 points per game and shooting 44 percent from the floor. The Jills second leading scorer is also coming back from a mid season injury. Sophomore Maria Mackey is averaging 9.4 points per game. She missed 9 games due to a stress fracture in her foot. Senior Chelsea Lundgren is averaging 9.2 points per game and 5.6 rebounds a game. Fellow Senior Mel Waytashek has started all 25 games and is averaging 6.7 points per game and 4.6 rebounds per game. Sophomore Ashley Runge stepped up her game in the absence of Hamm and is averaging 8.4 points per game and shooting 47 percent from beyond the arc. The Jills lead the UMAC in scoring defense allowing their opponents to score an average of 51.1 points per game. The Jills also lead the UMAC in three point shooting, they have made 156 three's on the season shooting 34 percent. Thursday game will be held at Kendrigan Gymnasium starting at 7:30 p.m. Admission for the game is five dollars, Northland students will be able to get in free with their school ID. The game will also have a live webcast at
www.northlandcollegesports.com.