NEW YORK, N.Y. – The St. Catherine University basketball team started its season in the best way possible. On Tuesday, St. Kate's scored its first win of the season 53-39 over the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. This weekend, the Wildcats hope that winning momentum travels with them to New York, where they will compete in the NYU Tipoff Tournament Saturday and Sunday.
St. Kate's will play two strong teams from the east coast in the four team tournament, including the University of Massachusetts-Boston Beacons and the Baruch College Bearcats. The Wildcats will take on the Beacons at 8 p.m. EST on Saturday before taking on the Bearcats at 3 p.m. EST on Sunday.
Live stats and video will be available for both St. Kate's games against UMASS-Boston (
live stats,
video) and Baruch (
live stats,
video). Score updates will also be made on St. Kate's official Twitter account (@stkateswildcats).
Here are the five facts to know before the Wildcats tipoff in New York on Saturday:
4 – Four different conferences will be represented at the NYU Tipoff Tournament. St. Kate's will represent the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) as the only team from west of the Mississippi River while host New York University is from the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC). UMASS Boston is part of the Little East Conference (LEC) and Baruch is a member of the City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC).
1st – This will be the first time the Wildcats have played basketball in New York in program history, according to available records. It will also be the first St. Kate's plays either UMASS-Boston or Baruch in the regular season.
1 – Both the Beacons and Bearcats are looking for their first wins of the season. UMASS Boston lost to Suffolk University 73-70 in its season opener while Baruch lost to Stockton University 71-65 on Tuesday.
18 – Senior power forward
Mari Lee (Dawson, Minn. / Dawson-Boyd) matched her career high in points in Tuesday night's season opener against UW-Eau Claire. Lee went 7-9 from the floor and 2-3 from behind the three-point line to finish the night with a team-leading 18 points. That performance matched her career high and helped the Wildcats beat the Blugolds 53-39.
26 – St. Kate's held UW-Eau Claire to 26% shooting from the floor and 14.3% shooting from the three-point line Tuesday night in a superb defensive effort.
