ST. PAUL, MINN. – The St. Catherine University basketball team could not have had a hotter hand entering Saturday afternoon's game against the Bethel University Royals. The Wildcats were coming off their best offensive night of the season and were playing at their very best against Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) opponents. Unfortunately, St. Kate's hit a bit of a stutter step against the Royals, losing at home by a score of 86-57.

The Wildcats offense struggled for the majority of the game. The team shot just 33% from the floor and 29% from the three-point line during the game. On the flip side, Bethel shot 54% from the floor and 38% from the three-point line, which allowed the visitors to score 86 points as compared to St. Kate's 57.

However, the Wildcats were able to stay within striking distance of the Royals lead, thanks to timely shots from Kennedy Jennings (Grimes, Iowa / Dallas Center-Grimes) and Audra Clark (Kenyon, Minn. / Kenyon-Wanamingo). The teammates combined to score 36 of the team's 57 points, accounting for over 50% of St. Kate's offense. Jennings had a supremely spectacular afternoon, tying her career high in points with 20 after going 6-of-13 from the floor and 8-of-10 from the free throw line. Clark was just as impressive, scoring 16 points, just below her season average, and dishing out five assists in the loss. She also led the team in minutes, despite playing the majority of the fourth quarter in foul trouble.

Despite the Royals strong shooting day, the Wildcats entered halftime only down 43-31 and felt as though the game was still up for grabs. With 10 seconds remaining in the second quarter, senior guard LaShay Holt (Minneapolis, Minn. / Humboldt) stole the ball away from Bethel's point guard, giving her team a chance to score the last basket of the half. As she streaked up the court, first year point guard Danica Cambrice (Minneapolis, Minn. / St. Croix Lutheran) went with her. Holt fed Cambrice under the basket, allowing the first year to make the easy layup and seemingly swinging the momentum in St. Kate's direction.

Unfortunately, the Wildcats came out slow again in the second half. The team continued to commit costly turnovers, which the Royals were able to capitalize on. Even Holt's last-second three at the end of the third-quarter wasn't enough to get St. Kate's back in the game, as the team trailed Bethel 60-48 at the end of the quarter.
Bethel continued to have the hot in the fourth while St. Kate's offensive struggles continued. The Royals outscored the Wildcats 26-9 in the final quarter of play, resulting in the 86-57 loss. St. Kate's also lost two players due to foul trouble in the fourth quarter, including Mari Lee (Dawson, Minn. / Dawson-Boyd) and Cambrice.

With the loss, the Wildcats overall record falls to 10-5 while their conference record falls to 4-4. The team will return to MIAC play on Wednesday, when St. Kate's takes on undefeated Gustavus in St. Peter, Minnesota. Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m.