Box Score After a narrow loss to Hamline University Monday evening on home court, the St. Catherine University basketball team had another golden opportunity to come up with a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) win against a Carleton College squad that owned an identical 2-11 conference record and a nine-game losing streak.

Unfortunately, the Wildcats struggled from the field and the free-throw line and let the Knights slip away with a 57-51 despite an attempted comeback in the final minutes Wednesday evening in Nortfield, Minn. 

As in the Hamline game, several categories were close with the Wildcats holding a 32-31 advantage in rebounds and the Knights committing 16 turnovers. In shooting percentage, though, the Knights were able to edge out the Wildcats as they shot 42.9 percent from the field and 94.4 from the charity stripe, while the Wildcats went just 31.1 percent from the floor and shot just over 50 percent from the line.

After the Wildcats jumped out to an early 11-6 lead, Carleton managed to take a three-point lead with 10 minutes to play in first half. The Wildcats then allowed th Knights to go on 10-0 run to end the half with a 25-19 lead.

The Wildcats gave the Knights some breathing room in the second half as they took an eight-point lead late in the second half. Thanks to a few clutch baskets in the final minutes, the Wildcats managed to pull within one point with 36 seconds remaining thanks to a 8-2 run over a 1:06 time span. Unfortunately, the Wildcats wouldn't get any closer as Jenny Ramey knocked in four points from the free throw line to allow the Knights to pull away for the win. . 

LaShay Holt (Minneapolis, Minn.) was again impressive for the Wildcats with a game-high 19 points and eight rebounds. The first-year came to life in the final 20 minutes scoring 15 points and shooting 6-for-10 from the field. Holt also knocked in three of the Wildcats' nine 3-pointers on the evening. 

Kristen Lee (Dawson, Minn.) also came up big for the Wildcats in the second-half as she made three from beyond the arc in the second half. The senior finished the game in double digits with 12 points and an impressive 4-for-6 mark from 3-point range. 

Shauna Horsch (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) was good for five points and six rebounds as well as a block and two assists. Abby Torgerson (Anoka, Minn.) also scored five points, while Mari Lee (Dawson, Minn.) had a team-high three assists and Jenna Mistler (Austin, Texas) pulled in a team-high three steals. 

Emma Purfeest led the Knights with 18 points and eight reboudns, while Ramey was good for 15 points.

The Wildcats return home Saturday for its second MIAC matchup of the season against Augsburg College. Tip off is scheduled for 3 p.m. at the Butler Center. 

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