Box Score After losing to Concordia College by its largest point-deficit all season on Saturday, the St. Catherine University basketball team knew it was going to have to work for every point if it wanted to take down a Bethel University squad that only suffered it's first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) loss of the season on Monday. Despite a career-night from Jenna Mistler (Austin, Texas) and an attempt at a second-half comeback, the Wildcats fell short in suffering a 68-53 loss to the Royals Wednesday evening at the Butler Center in St. Paul. 

Mistler was nearly unstoppable off the bench for the Wildcats scoring a career-high and game-high 17 points. The junior went 7-for-10 from the field, sunk her only 3-point shot of the night and also picked up an assist to lead the Wildcats and give them a fighting chance through the first 30 minutes of play. 

The Royals opened the game with a lead, but it didn't last for long as the scored was tied at 9-9 just under halfway through the first half. The Wildcats managed to keep the score close – with the Royals'  largest lead of the half being only nine points – and pulled within five to make it 28-23 at the break. 

The Wildcats opened up the second half determined to make a comeback and tied the score at 37-37 at the 12:45 mark thanks to a 14-9 run. Unfortunately, though, the Royals went on a 9-0 run in the next two minutes to take a commanding lead and never looked back in handing the Wildcats their seventh-straight MIAC loss. 

Mistler helped lead the Wildcats to a 39.2 percent night shooting from the field – the team's best outing since its win over the College of Saint Benedict on Dec. 4. First-year Abby Torgerson (Anoka, Minn.) also had her best performance of the new year with nine points and two assists offensively. She also pulled in three rebounds and added two steals. 

Kristen Lee (Dawson, Minn.) and LaShay Holt (Minneapolis, Minn.) each posted seven points to add to the scoring attack. Lee also picked up three rebounds and assist, while Holt had four rebounds, two steals and an assist. 

Shauna Horsch (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) finished the night with a full stat line. The sophomore picked up six points, a team-high five rebounds, two assists, two steals and the team's only block. 

The Royals had three players in double-digits including Katelyn Vavra and Kalli Zimmermann with 16 points a piece. Rachel Parupsky also had 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds. 

With the loss, the Wildcats fall to 2-9 on the season and 1-7 in the MIAC. They return to action at home on Saturday against Macalester College. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. at the Butler Center. 

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