After starting off the season with a victory, the St. Catherine University basketball team hoped to keep rolling as it headed West for a two-game tournament this weekend. Despite a second-half push from their opponent, the Wildcats' managed to hold off Whittier College for a 69-60 win Friday evening in Los Angeles, California.
The Wildcats cruised to an early lead outscoring the Poets 21-8 in the opening quarter before holding them off 17-15 in the second quarter for a 38-23 lead at the break. The Wildcats shot 40 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes and held a 28-21 advantage in rebounds.
However, the Poets weren't going to go quietly. In the third quarter, they slowly began to chip away at the Wildcats' lead as the Poets outscored the Wildcats 20-15. Then, in the fourth quarter the Poets made an early three to pull within seven points, but that was as close as it would get as the Wildcats picked up their second-straight win to open the season. The Wildcats recorded a school-record 58 total rebounds en route to victory.
LaShay Holt (Minneapolis, Minn./Humboldt) recorded her first double-double of the season with a game-high 22 points and 15 rebounds Friday. The junior shot 9-of-15 from the field and also led the game with five steals and tied for the team lead in assists with three.
Meg Clark (Kenyon, Minn./Kenyon-Wanamingo) was just one point shy of her career-high in scoring collecting 13 points on the night. The sophomore shot 50 percent from the field, was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field and added seven rebounds, two steals and two assists to complete her stat line.
Kennedy Jennings (Grimes, Iowa/Dallas Center-Grimes) chipped in eight points, eight rebounds and three steals for a strong outing, while
Mari Lee (Dawson, Minn./Dawson-Boyd) collected seven points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Annie Schoeben (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Osseo) also played a significant roll coming off the bench for seven points and three rebounds.
Leading the way for the Poets was Ana Youngblood who tallied 19 points. Carly Bechler also chipped in 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
With the win, the Wildcats improve to 2-0 on the season. They are scheduled to face tournament host Occidental College Saturday at 4 p.m. (CST).
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