ST. PAUL, MINN. – The St. Catherine University basketball team certainly found the perfect way to ring in the New Year. In their final game of 2017, the Wildcats dispatched the University of Minnesota-Morris in decisive fashion, defeating the Cougars 63-53.

Things were tight between St. Kate's and UM-Morris early on, but despite two ties, the Wildcats held the lead for six of the 10 minutes in the first quarter. Sophomore forward Jackie Radford (St. Paul, Minn. / Cretin-Derham Hall) accounted for St. Kate's first six points of the game, and helped the Wildcats take a 13-7 lead over the Cougars with three minutes remaining in the quarter. However, UM-Morris certainly made things interesting in the final closing minute and trailed by only one point with 55 seconds remaining. St. Kate's, though, went on a five-point run to end the first quarter, highlighted by Ashley Fosness' (Britton, S.D. / Britton-Helca) last second tip in to give the Wildcats a 20-14 lead.

Unfortunately, St. Kate's hit a bit of a speed bump in the second quarter, as the team was outscored 16-9. Senior Alexis Garcia (Minnetonka, Minn. / Hopkins) accounted for five of the Wildcats nine points, while Meg Clark (Kenyon, Minn. / Kenyon-Wanamingo) and Radford scored the other two baskets. Thanks to their efforts, St. Kate's staid within one of the Cougars lead, which was 30-29 at the half.

Fortunately, the Wildcats solved their scoring problems early in the second half. However, St. Kate's looked like it was in trouble early in the third, as the team struggled to convert baskets and penetrate UM-Morris' tough zone defense. The Wildcats, though, got a big pick up three minutes in to the third quarter. After the Cougars took a 34-31 lead on an Abby Van Kempen layup, St. Kate's seemed down and out for the count until Kaitlyn Struemke (Somerset, Wis. / Somerset) hit a huge three from the top of the key. Struemke's three tied the game at 34 and jump started the Wildcats struggling, dormant offense. Garcia converted three-straight free throws to give St. Kate's a 37-34 lead it would never relinquish, as the team closed the quarter with a 45-38 lead over UM-Morris.

Things continued to go well for the Wildcats in the fourth quarter as they led the Cougars by as many as 15 points in the final 10 minutes. Garcia got things started with a big-time three-pointer from the top of the key, extending St. Kate's lead to 48-38 just seconds into the quarter. That set the tone for the remainder of the final quarter, as UM-Morris had no answer for the Wildcats potent offense, especially Garcia and Clark. Garcia alone scored 16 of her team leading 21 points in the final half, guiding the Wildcats to the 63-53 win over the Cougars.

As aforementioned, Garcia was the leading scorer for St. Kate's Saturday afternoon, as she tied her career high in points with 21 total. Clark tallied the first double-double of her career as a Wildcats, as she scored 14 points and pulled in a career high 11 rebounds. Radford was the team's leading rebounder with 12 total.

Thanks to Saturday's victory, St. Kate's overall record improves to 5-6, while the team is still 1-3 in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play. The Wildcats will return to action on Wednesday, January 3, as they host Saint Mary's University at 7 p.m. in the Butler Center Gym.