The Wildcat basketball team beat Augsburg 74-71 Saturday afternoon with an impressive come-from-behind effort at Butler Center.
St. Kate's struggled in the first half, falling behind early as Augsburg was able to shoot 51.4% from the field. Despite 13 points from Laura Kalbfell and 12 from Molly Peterson, the Wildcats went into halftime trailing 35-46.
After a sluggish start to the second half, the Wildcats found themselves down by 20 with 11:59 left in the game. That's when St. Kate's started to put defensive pressure on Augsburg, which resulted in an offensive spark for the Wildcats.
After steals from Kalbfell, Megan Zillmer, and Ann Schmitz, the Wildcats were able to put points on the board.
With 8:58 remaining in the game, Kalbfell hit a three-pointer to bring the Wildcats within eleven, 52-63. With 6:09 left to play, Amy Battey found Brooke Hakanson who drained a three-pointer to cut Augsburg's lead to just five.
Almost four minutes later, after continuing an aggressive defensive attack, a Molly Peterson rebound resulted in another Kalbfell three-pointer that tied the game up.
Finally, with just 32 seconds remaining, Jessica Arechigo made a free throw that put the Wildcats up by one, 72-71.
On Augsburg's next possession, Kalbfell stole the ball to give St. Kate's control with 15 seconds left. Arechigo was then fouled and made both free throws to seal the Wildcats come-from-behind victory, 74-71.
Laura Kalbfell led St. Catherine with 24 points, followed by Molly Peterson with 19, and Brooke Hakanson* with 16.
All five of St. Kate's three-pointers came later in the second half, with three from Kalbfell and two from Brooke Hakanson*. As a team, the Wildcats made 23 of 28 free throw attempts, 12 of 13 in the second half.
With the constant defensive pressure, the Wildcats forced the Auggies to decrease their field-goal percentage to 34.5 % In the second half. St. Kate's outscored Augsburg 39-25 in the second half, going on a 25-8 run in the last ten minutes.
The victory improves St. Kate's to 8-5 in the M.I.A.C., 11-5 overall. Their next game is on Wednesday, January 28th at 7:30 pm at St. Ben's. Their next home game is on Saturday, January 31st, at 3:00 pm versus Gustavus.
Complete Box Score
