ST. PAUL, MINN. – The St. Catherine University basketball team could be nick named the "comeback kids" if it wasn't already trademarked. The Wildcats have come back and won several close games this season, but none may have been sweeter than the team's 55-52 comeback victory over the Saint Mary's University Cardinals Saturday afternoon. St. Kate's clinched its first berth to the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) playoffs since the 2009-10 season with one of the best come backs in program history.

Saturday's game was, perhaps, the biggest of the season for the Wildcats. With a Bethel and St. Thomas win, St. Kate's would automatically make the playoffs, but a win would solidify the team's place among the top six teams in the conference. Saint Mary's was also looking for a win after a loss to Bethel on Wednesday, ensuring a competitive game between the two teams. However, a St. Kate's loss seemed almost inevitable after the opening quarter. The Wildcats trailed by as much as 14 points after the Cardinals jumped out to a 17-3 lead. However, the St. Kate's players showed resiliency, battling back to close the quarter with a  seven point run, highlighted by a last second three by Audra Clark (Kenyon, Minn. / Kenyon-Wanamingo) to cut Saint Mary's lead to 17-10.

In the second, the Wildcats continued to chip away at the Cardinals, both offensively and defensively. On offense, St. Kate's used free throws and the playmaking abilities of several players to get within three of Saint Mary's 19-16 lead. However, the team's defense was the star of the quarter. After giving up 17 points in the opening quarter, the Wildcats defense allowed the Cardinals, and their top offensive player Brandi Balttner, to score just 14 points in the ensuing period.

Still, St. Kate's entered half time down 31-28 and looked to complete the comeback and take the lead in the third quarter. Unfortunately, the Wildcats had their worst offensive quarter of the season, scoring just six points in 10 minutes. Although Saint Mary's also struggled in the quarter, the Cardinals were still able to score 11 points, allowing them to take a 42-34 lead after the third.

At that point, the game seemed over. Saint Mary's continued to score at the start of the fourth, while St. Kate's offense continued to struggle. In fact, the Cardinals seemed to take a commanding 50-38 lead with six minutes remaining, thanks to two free throws by Emma Schaefer.

However, LaShay Holt (Minneapolis, Minn. / Humboldt) was bound and determined to spark her team's comeback. The senior guard hit a huge layup on the next offensive possession and pulled in two big defensive rebounds to keep the Cardinals from scoring even more points.
Both teams were held scoreless for the next minute and a half, until Alexis Garcia (Minnetonka, Minn. / Hopkins) hit a wide open three from the corner, cutting Saint Mary's lead to seven. She also sparked a four minute period in which the Wildcats outscored the Cardinals 9-2.

Despite the scoring run, St. Kate's still trailed Saint Mary's 52-48 with 53 second remaining. Clark drained two free throws to pull within two of the Cardinals lead before Schaefer missed two big free throws for Saint Mary's and Holt pulled in her 12th rebound of the game. Holt pushed the ball up the court and found a wide open Mari Lee (Dawson, Minn. / Dawson-Boyd) under the basket, who hit the game tying layup with 43 seconds remaining.

Despite the tie game, 43 seconds left plenty of time for Saint Mary's to take the lead. The Cardinals took a 30 second time out and drew up a play to get Blattner alone under the basket. Although it worked, Blattner missed the layup and Holt pulled in the rebound and drew the foul, putting her on the free throw line with seven seconds remaining. Holt drained both free throws, giving St. Kate's its first lead of the evening at 54-52.

The Cardinals again tried to even the score on their next offensive possession but ended up fouling Garcia instead. Garcia sunk one of two free throws, and Schaefer's last second shot flew wide of the rim, securing the 55-52 win for the Wildcats.

Garcia was the team's leading scorer with 12 points, while Holt recorded the 29 double-double of her career with 11 points and 14 rebounds. Clark also scored the 1000 point of her career in the first half, making her the eighth Wildcat to reach the milestone in program history.

More importantly, the win secured and guarantee's St. Kate's a spot in the MIAC playoffs later this month. The Wildcats are now 15-8 overall and 9-7 in conference play, both of which are program records for the team since joining the MIAC.

St. Kate's will return to the court for one final home game on Wednesday when it hosts Gustavus Adolphus College at 7 p.m. in the Butler Center Gym.