ST. PAUL, Minn.---The St. Catherine University basketball team was going to need big individual performances and a solid effort from the entire squad if it was going to get back on the winning track and end its four-game losing streak. The Wildcats got one of the two against St. Olaf College –
LaShay Holt (Minneapolis, Minn./Humboldt) set a school record for made 3-pointers in a game with eight – but that wasn't enough as they fell 79-69 to the Oles Saturday in the
Butler Center.
Holt went an impressive 5-of-5 from beyond the arc in the opening half before adding three more to finish the day 8-of-13 – the previous school record was set by five different players including
Shauna Horsch (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley) with five. Not only did Holt drain shots from downtown, she finished the game with a career-high 33 points that is the second most for a Wildcat player in a single game in St. Kate's history.
Though Holt's performance was nothing short of impressive – and the Wildcats as a team tied a school record for 3-pointers in a game with 14-made shots – the Wildcats couldn't slow down an Ole team that finished with 56 percent shooting from the field after going 14-of-19 in the second half alone.
The Oles limited the Wildcats to just 39.7 percent shooting and held a 37-26 advantage in rebounding opportunities. They also gave up just 20 points in the paint to the Wildcats, while the Oles capitalized with 30 points in the paint thanks to Makenna Ash who poured in 14 points in the paint on a 7-for-9 shooting performance.
The first half opened in favor of the Wildcats who pushed the pace early and held an eight-point lead with just over two minutes remaining in the opening quarter. The Wildcats held a 17-10 lead after the first before the Oles opened the second half with a 12-6 lead to regain the lead with 7:04 left in the half. The two teams exhanged 3-pointers in the second half – combining for a total of seven between the two teams – before ending the half deadlocked at 37-37.
The Wildcats couldn't maintain their sharp-shooting in the second half or slow down the Oles who slowly pulled away over the next 10 minutes. Down 11 at the end of the third, the Wildcats were able to cut the lead to single digits just once more in the fourth but it was too little too late.
Audra Clark (Kenyon, Minn./Kenyon-Wanamingo) added to the Wildcat offense with 12 points and four assists, while twin sister
Meg Clark (
Kenyon, Minn./Kenyon-Wanamingo) added nine points and four assists. Mari Lee (Dawson, Minn./Dawson-Boyd) also had nine points and a team-high two blocks.
Shauna Horsch (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley) tallied six points, a game-high five assists and a team-high four rebounds, while Kennedy Jennings (Grimes, Iowa/Dallas Center-Grimes) also collected four rebounds.
For the Oles, Afton Wolter showed her skill from beyond the arc going 6-of-10 to finish with a team-best 22 points. Betsey Daly also scored 12 points and pulled in a game-high 11 rebounds for a double-double performance.
With the loss, the Wildcats fall to .500 at 7-7 overall and 2-6 in the MIAC. They will hit the road for the next two games beginning with a big trip to Moorhead, Minnesota, to face Concordia College Wednesday at 7 p.m. Wildcat Basketball on TwitterWildcat Basketball on FacebookWildcats on InstagramWildcats on TwitterWildcats on Facebook
