MOORHEAD, MINN. – The St. Catherine University basketball team certainly did not have an easy start to the 2017-18 conference season. The Wildcats faced two formidable opponents at the start of Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play. After a disappointing loss to Carleton College on Saturday, St. Kate's was hoping to rebound with a victory over Concordia College on Wednesday. Sadly, the Wildcats came up short against the Cobbers, falling 56-49 in Moorhead, Minnesota.
It a low scoring first half between St. Kate's and Concordia, as neither team could get its respective offense going. The Cobber held the Wildcats to just 17 combined points in the first and second quarters, including just five points in the first 10 minutes of play. St. Kate's defense was just as stifling, as it held Concordia to its lowest first half total. Unfortunately, the Cobbers lowest point total still gave them a 27-17 advantage over the Wildcats at the half.
At this point, it's important to remember that no one can keep a good dog down. In this case, the good dog happened to be the Wildcats, who came storming back in the third quarter. Still, it took St. Kate's offense a while to get going, as Concordia extended its lead to 32-19 two minutes in to the second half.
However, the Wildcats slowly but surely chipped away at the Cobbers lead, starting with a made jumper from first year Morgan Kurth (Hutchinson, Minn. / Hutchinson) to cut the home team's lead to 33-21. However, it was sophomore's Jackie Radford (St. Paul, Minn. / Cretin-Derham Hall) and Danica Cambrice (St. Paul, Minn. / St. Croix Lutheran) who really jump started St. Kate's come back, from the free throw line of all places. Radford and Cambrice made five consecutive free throws, whittling Concordia's lead to just 33-26. While the Cobbers did manage to jump ahead 10 points, the Wildcats seemingly found their stride and had an answer for just about every Concordia basket. Meg Clark (Kenyon, Minn. / Kenyon-Wanamingo) drained four free throws and a huge three-pointer in the final minutes of the quarter, pulling St. Kate's within seven of the Cobbers.
Despite outscoring Concordia 16-13 in the quarter, the Wildcats still entered the fourth and final 10 minutes of play down 40-33. Although St. Kate's was able to hang with the Cobbers, it never was quite able to close up the gap in the final quarter, resulting in the 56-49 loss.
Radford led the team in scoring for the first time this season, scoring 15 points and pulling in a team-leading nine rebounds in 33 minutes of work. Cambrice wasn't far behind, scoring 10 points and pulling in seven rebounds in 31 minutes of work.
With the loss, the Wildcats overall record falls below .500 for the first time this season, as they are now 3-4 overall with a 0-2 mark in MIAC play. St. Kate's will return to the court for another road game, this time a little closer to home. The Wildcats will take on MIAC rival the University of St. Thomas at 3 p.m. on Saturday, December 9 in St. Paul, Minnesota.
