Box Score The St. Catherine University basketball team found success against the College of Saint Benedict to open the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) with a one-point win in December. The Wildcats hoped for a similar outcome in round two with the Blazers on home court, but unfortunately the Wildcats couldn't overcome a slow second half in falling 63-41 Wednesday evening at the Butler Center in St. Paul. 

Early in the first half, the Wildcats found themselves down to the Blazers, but pulled close and even held a lead early. The two teams exchanged two-point leads throughout the opening 20 and the Wildcats were down just 26-24 at the break. The Blazers returned in the second half with a quick 13-2 run to pull away from the Wildcats thanks to a 51 percent shooting performance from the field in the second 20 minutes. 

After shooting 54 percent and sinking 12 3-pointers against Gustavus Adolphus College on Monday, the Wildcats couldn't maintain that momentum as they finished just 20 percent from beyond the arc and 30 percent from the field. The Wildcats showed improvement on the rebounding as they held a 24-14 advantage at the half, but only managed to pull in 10 in the final 20 minutes. 

LaShay Holt (Minneapolis, Minn.) led the Wildcats with 13 points and was 4-for-5 from the free throw line, while Abby Torgerson (Anoka, Minn.) finished the game with nine points and a team-high two assists. 

Senior Kristen Lee (Dawson, Minn.) scored six points as she went 2-for-3 from beyond the arc to continue her sharp shooting from the outside. Jenna Mistler (Austin, Texas) led the team in rebounding with six, while Mari Lee (Dawson, Minn.) had two blocks and Shauna Horsch (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) had two steals. 

Tish Alexander had a game-high 18 points for the Blazers, while Brianna Barrett added 14. Morgan Dale led the Blazers with seven rebounds and also scored nine points. 

With the loss, the Wildcats fall to 2-9 in the MIAC. They return to action Saturday at the University of St. Thomas. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Schoenecker Arena. 

Wildcat Basketball on Facebook
Wildcats on Twitter
Wildcats on Facebook