ST. PAUL, MINN. – The St. Catherine University basketball team might think about adopting a new nickname: the Buzzer Beaters.

Five days after beating Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) opponent Augsburg College 93-91 with an overtime buzzer beater, the Wildcats were looking to round out the first half of the season with one final win against the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. Even though the game was in River Falls, Wisconsin, it felt an awful lot like déjà vu for St. Kate's. The Wildcats and Falcons were deadlocked at 59-59 with under five seconds remaining in regulation. However, just like against Augsburg, St. Kate's found a way to win, this time on a Kennedy Jennings (Grimes, Iowa / Dallas-Center-Grimes) buzzer beater to beat the reigning Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) champions 61-59.

Entering the game, the Wildcats knew it would be a challenge to beat UW-River Falls, who opened the season as the No. 12 ranked team in the country. While the Falcons fell out of the top-25 in the past two weeks, they still were a team to be reckoned with and held a 2-1 record against MIAC teams this season. St. Kate's, though, was undaunted, especially on the defensive side of the ball. The Wildcats held UW-River Falls to 35% shooting from the field in the first half, allowing the Falcons to score just 28 points in the opening 20 minutes of play.

Despite St. Kate's strong defensive play, the offense struggled to get going in the opening quarter, allowing UW-River Falls to take an 11-4 lead in the first quarter. However, an eight-point run gave the Wildcats a 12-11 lead, which they eventually extended to 14-13 at the end of the quarter.

After the first quarter, the two teams were never able to hold a substantial lead over the other. Mari Lee (Dawson, Minn. / Dawson-Boyd) gave St. Kate's a 25-19 lead, its biggest of the night, with a three-pointer five minutes into the second quarter, but UW-River Falls was quick to close the gap with a layup on its next offensive possession. Still, the Wildcats stingy defense never allowed the Falcons to get within three of their lead, which allowed St. Kate's to end the first half up 32-28.

The Wildcats looked to set the tone in the second half with a quick basket, and that is exactly what they did. Audra Clark (Kenyon, Minn. / Kenyon-Wanamingo) scored a quick layup just five seconds into the quarter, putting St. Kate's up by six. Less than a minute later, sister Meg (Kenyon, Minn. / Kenyon-Wanamingo) extended the lead with a basket of her own, making it 36-28 Wildcats. There was still plenty of time remaining in the game, and UW-River Falls did not waste any time starting a scoring run of their own. Due to St. Kate's turnovers and missed opportunities on offense, the Falcons scored six unanswered points, pulling within two of the Wildcats lead.

Still, St. Kate's continued to keep UW-River Falls at bay, as Danica Cambrice (Minneapolis, Minn. / St. Croix Lutheran) made a two-point bucket to extend her team's lead. From that point on, the Wildcats managed to hold the Falcons off by making key shots and big defensive stops. The team also continued to extend their lead, as two free throws from Jennings and a last second layup from Audra Clark gave St. Kate's a 51-45 lead with one quarter remaining in the game.

With only ten minutes remaining in regulation time, the Wildcats knew UW-River Falls was a dangerous team in the fourth quarter. In order to pull off the win, St. Kate's would need to play big on defense and continue to score on every offensive possession. Things looked promising from the start, as the Wildcats did not allow the Falcons to score on their opening offensive possession. Then, baskets from LaShay Holt (Minneapolis, Minn. / Humboldt) and Lee gave the Wildcats their biggest lead of the night: 10 points, 55-45, with exactly nine minutes remaining in the game.

However, UW-River Falls was not about to go away quietly. Over the next six minutes of play, the Falcons chipped away at St. Kate's lead, first with a basket here and a layup there. Then, with 1:10 remaining in the game, Taylor Paulsrud tied the game at 59 with a three-pointer from the top of the key.

After Paulsrud's free throw, Holt immediately drew the foul on the Wildcats following possession and was sent to the free throw line with 47 seconds remaining in the game. However, Holt missed both free throws, and UW-River Falls pulled in the rebound to earn possession. The Falcons tried to eat away at the clock, eventually taking a shot at 32 seconds. Their shot rimmed off the basket, and Clark pulled in her biggest rebound of the night.

Then, it was like Saturday all over again. Clark and Holt ran down the clock, waiting until there were eight seconds left to start the offense. Holt drove toward the basket, drawing the attention of multiple defenders. However, with so many Falcons focused on Holt, Jennings was left wide open under the basket. With three seconds remaining, the senior guard found the senior forward, sealing the 61-59 victory for St. Kate's.

Clark was the leading scorer with 15 points, while Lee added 14. Holt recorded her second-consecutive double-double with 10 points and a team leading 11 rebounds in the effort.

With the win, the Wildcats improve to 6-3 on the season and hold a 2-1 mark in MIAC play. St. Kate's will resume play after the holidays, when it travels to Superior, Wisconsin to take on the University of Wisconsin-Superior on December 30.