EAU CLAIRE, WIS. – The energy surrounding the St. Catherine University basketball team before its season opener against the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire could not have been better. The Wildcats were coming off their best season in recent memory, where they rattled off five consecutive wins to end the 2015-16 season. Thanks to the team's outstanding defensive play late in the game and a huge offensive night from senior Mari Lee (Dawson, Minn. / Dawson-Boyd), that winning momentum carried over to the 2016-17 season as St. Kate's rallied for a huge 53-39 nonconference win over UW-Eau Claire Tuesday night.  

Despite the final score, the Wildcats needed to earn their first victory of the year. The team shot 25% from the floor and 29% from behind the arc in the first half. Fortunately for St. Kate's, the Blugolds were no better. The home team also shot under 30% from the floor in the first 20 minutes of play and exactly 30% from the three-point line in the first half. Still, UW-Eau Claire held a 12-7 lead over the Wildcats after the first quarter, and with St. Kate's offense stalling, it looked like the Blugolds were only going to extend that lead in the second quarter.

However, the first was the only quarter where UW-Eau Claire would outscore the Wildcats. St. Kate's cut the Blugolds lead to 21-19 at the end of the first half thanks in large part to Lee. The senior scored nine of her team leading 18 points in the first half, playing every minute of the two quarters for the Wildcats. More impressively, Lee went 3-4 from the field and 1-2 from behind the arc and single-handedly provided 75% of St. Kate's offense in the first half of the game.

Down by two after the first half, the Wildcats were firing on all cylinders to start the second. After UW-Eau Claire extended its lead to 22-19, Audra Clark (Kenyon, Minn. / Kenyon-Wanamingo) caused a big-time turnover and took the ball all the way to the basket to cut the Blugold lead to 22-21. Then, less than a minute later, Clark passed Lee the ball under the basket for an easy lead, giving the Wildcats a 24-22 lead it would never relinquish. Although UW-Eau Claire did manage to retake the lead with three minutes remaining in the third quarter, St. Kate's scored nine unanswered points to take a 36-28 lead.

The Wildcats offense stayed hot from that point on. Five different members of the team scored for St. Kate's in the fourth and final quarter, securing the Wildcats 53-39 victory.

St. Kate's defense was also stellar in the victory. After surrendering 22 points to UW-Eau Claire in the first half, the Wildcats gave up just 18 in the second and held the Blugolds to a 24.1 field goal percentage. More impressively, thanks to St. Kate's defense, UW-Eau Claire went 0-11 from the three-point line in the second half after going 3-10 in the first and second quarter.

Lee led the team in points after an impressive night on the court. The senior went 7-9 from the field and 2-3 beyond the arc to end the game with 18 points and four total rebounds. Clark and Alexis Garcia (Minnetonka, Minn. / Hopkins) each added nine points respectively, while first year Danica Cambrice (Minneapolis, Minn. / St. Croix Lutheran) added seven in her collegiate debut.

The win against UW-Eau Claire marked the third consecutive season that the Wildcats have opened their season with a victory. The team will look to keep the winning momentum going this weekend as it travels to New York City, New York to play in the NYU tip-off classic. St. Kate's will play UMASS-Boston at 8 p.m. EST on Saturday and will close the tournament on Sunday with a 3 p.m. EST game against Baruch College.