The St. Catherine University basketball team hoped to get back on a winning track before the Thanksgiving holiday in a set of non-conference games against Crown College and North Central University. After a narrowly taking a first-half lead against Crown, the Wildcats found their shooting stride in the second half in order to take the first of the two games 60-40 Monday evening in St. Bonafacius, Minnesota. 

In the first half, the Wildcats managed to outshoot their opponent but only at 35.7 percent from the field and were out-rebounded by the Storm 25-14. With that effort, the Wildcats led by just two points heading into halftime. 

Fourtunately, the Wildcat offense came to life in the second half with a 42.9 percent effort from the field and 44.4 percent from beyond the arc. Meg Clark (Kenyon, Minn./Kenyon-Wanamingo) hit a 3-point shot in the opening 22 seconds of the half to start a 13-4 run that allowed the Wildcats to take a double-digit lead over the next eight minutes before the Wildcats pulled away for their third win of the young season. 

First-year Emily Neumann (Duluth, Minn./Hermantown) led the Wildcats' all-around team offensive effort with a team-high nine points and four steals. She was 4-for-6 from the field to lead the Wildcats' 39.3 percent team effort from the field. 

Kennedy Jennings (Des Moines, Iowa/Dallas Center-Grimes) came off the bench for six points and a full stat line complete with four rebounds, two steals and a team-high two blocks. LaShay Holt (Minneapolis, Minn./Humboldt) also came off the bench for six points and a team-high seven rebounds and five assists. 

Alexis Garcia (Eden Prairie, Minn./Hopkins) again had a strong performance from 3-point range going 2-for-5, while Mari Lee (Dawson, Minn./Dawson-Boyd) continued to keep her season shooting above 50 percent going 2-for-3 from the field with a total of five points on the night. 

Emily Leeb (Mora, Minn./Mora) made her first appearance this season with a five point performance, while Audra Clark (Kenyon, Minn./Kenyon-Wanamingo) had five rebounds and Mary Neumann (Duluth, Minn./Hermantown) a team-high two blocks. Sarah Manning (Page, Ariz./Page) was 2-for-2 on the night for five points. 

For the Storm, Jessica Klaustermeie had a game-high 12 points, while Desiree Davis had 11 points. 

The Wildcats return to action Tuesday night against North Central. The non-conference contest is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Minneapolis. 

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