The Wildcat basketball team lost a close game to St. Thomas Wednesday night, falling 69-60 in front of a large crowd at Butler Center.
St. Kate’s held St. Thomas scoreless for the first five minutes of the game, taking a 10-0 lead with just under 15 minutes left in the half. But the Tommies fought back, eventually gaining a 15-14 advantage at the 8:49 mark. The Wildcats could not grab the lead back before halftime, as they trailed 26-32 when the buzzer sounded.
The Wildcats were able to close within 5 points of the Tommies off of a Sonja Ellingson layup with 10:48 to play in the second half. Unfortunately, they were not able to take the lead in the final 10 minutes of play, as St. Thomas made free-throws down the stretch to take the win.
Laura Kalbfell led the Wildcats with 20 points and 9 rebounds, followed by Ellingson and Molly Peterson with 8 points each.
St. Kate’s record now stands at 8-12 on the season, 7-10 in the MIAC.
The Wildcats travel to play St. Mary’s on Saturday, February 6th. Their next home game is on February 13th against Hamline at 3:00 pm at Butler Center.
Box Score