Coming off a huge Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) win over Macalester College Saturday, the St. Catherine University basketball team hoped it could carry over that same momentum against an undefeated University of St. Thomas squad that ranked No. 5 heading into Wednesday's game. Strong defense allowed the Wildcats to outscore the Tommies in the second half, but it wasn't enough to overcome a late first-half run by the league leaders as the Wildcats suffered a 62-49 setback in the Butler Center. 

The Wildcats came out strong defensively from the get go and kept the Tommies close through the opening 10 minutes of the game. Eventually, the Wildcats managed to tie the game at 16-16 with 7:06 remaining in the half before allowing the Tommies to end the half with a 20-4 run to go up 36-20. 

The second half was a different story for the Wildcats, though. Despite being down by as many as 25 points with less than five minutes to play, the Wildcats slowly chipped away at the Tommie lead and managed to out score their opponent 29-26. The Wildcats also shot 46.1 percent in the second half as opposed to just a 37.5 percent mark for the Tommies. Unfortunately, the late Wildcat run wasn't enough to overcome the first half deficit in suffering their fifth conference loss of the season despite falling by just 13 points – the smallest losing deficit by a MIAC team this season against St. Thomas. 

The Wildcats starting five all contributed to the Wildcat offense and defense with Audra Clark (Kenyon, Minn./Kenyon-Wanamingo) leading the way with a game-high 17 points thanks to her 3-for-7 perfromance from beyond the arc. She also added three rebounds, three steals and two assists to her stat line. 

LaShay Holt (Minneapolis, Minn./Humboldt) was held to single digits in scoring for just the fourth time this season with nine points. She did finish with a game-high nine rebounds and also collected threee steals and three assists to help set up her teammates for success at the rim. 

Mari Lee (Dawson, Minn./Dawson-Boyd) went 3-for-6 from the field for seven points, while Shauna Horsch (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley) collected six points, three rebounds, three steals and a block. Meg Clark (Kenyon, Minn./Kenyon-Wanamingo) added just two points, but chipped in three rebounds and a steal. 

Mary Neumann (Duluth, Minn./Hermantown) came off the bench to score six poitns in first half and finished 3-for-6 from the floor. She also added three rebounds and a block, while sister Emily Neumann (Duluth, Minn./Hermantown) scored two points and added three assists. 

Jenna Dockter led the way for the Tommies with 15 points on a 7-for-10 shooting performance, while Anna Smith had 12 points. The Wildcats managed to hold two-time reigning MIAC Athlete-of-the-Week and one of the league's leading players in Maggie Weiers to her lowest point total of the season with just six points. The Wildcats are only one of four teams to do so all season. 

With the loss, the Wildcats fall to 7-7 overall and 2-5 in MIAC play. They return to action again at home Saturday against St. Olaf College. Tip off is slated for 7 p.m. in the Butler Center. 

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