ST. PAUL, MINN. – They say revenge is best served cold. For the St. Catherine University basketball team, revenge is a dish best served in the final seconds of regulation.
The Wildcats avenged their early season loss to Concordia College in most thrilling way possible: with a last second basket by Audra Clark (Kenyon, Minn. / Kenyon-Wanamingo). The junior guard broke her career high in points and propelled St. Kate's to a 63-61 victory over the Cobbers Wednesday evening in the Butler Center Gym.

Clark's career night helped the Wildcats earn a much needed win in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play, as the team's record improved to 14-8 overall and 8-7 in conference play. However, it was clear that the game was going to be close from the get go. Concordia led through the majority of the first quarter due to the sharp shooting of guard Greta Walsh. However, down 16-11 with under three minutes to go, the Wildcats slowly started to chip away at the Cobber lead, thanks to key layups by Danica Cambrice (Minneapolis, Minn. / St. Croix Lutheran) and LaShay Holt (Minneapolis, Minn. / Humboldt). Cambrice cut the lead to three with under two minutes remaining before Holt's basket and free throw tied the game at 16 all.

Unfortunately, Concordia managed to score in the final seconds of the quarter and carried that momentum into the second. The Cobbers took a 22-16 lead in the opening minutes of the second and looked to start running away with the game when Clark decided to take over. The junior hit three consecutive jump shots for St. Kate's, tying the game at 22. Less than a minute later, sophomore Kanani Asuncion (Rochester, Minn. / Century) gave the Wildcats their first lead of the night by plowing through the Cobber defense for a layup under the basket.

Unfortunately, Concordia wasn't done scoring for the night and quickly regained the lead on St. Kate's turnovers. However, each time the Cobbers managed to take the lead, Clark was there to give the Wildcats the lead. First, she tied the game at 26 with her fourth jumper of the quarter, then gave her team a 28-26 lead with yet another layup at the two minute mark. Of course, Concordia managed to tie the game both times, but Holt drained two free throws in the final minute to ensure St. Kate's held a 30-29 lead entering half time.

After the 15 minute break, the Wildcats come out with a hot hand to open the third quarter. Less than 15 seconds in, forward Alexis Garcia (Minnetonka, Minn. / Hopkins) drained a three from the top of the key to extend St. Kate's lead to 33-29. That three set the tone for the Wildcats for the remainder of the quarter, both offensively and defensive. St. Kate's jumped out to a 40-33 lead after converting multiple Cobber turnovers into points on the other side of the floor. However, the Wildcats physical play on defense eventually led to trouble, as the team was called for eight fouls in the third quarter alone. Unfortunately, the Concordia shooters capitalized on every free throw opportunity, resulting in a slim 45-44 lead for St. Kate's at the end of the quarter.

The fourth quarter proved to be just as tight as the third, as neither team was able to gain a substantial lead. The Cobbers struck first, as two free throws from Januschka gave the visitors a 46-44 lead. Clark, though, wasn't about to let that stand, as she drained a wide open three to tie her career-high in points with eight minutes remaining in the game. Concordia, though, successfully managed to tie the game on the following offensive possession with shots from the free throw line. Fortunately,St. Kate's had an answer, and the momentum officially seemed to swing back in the home team's favor after Meg Clark (Kenyon, Minn. / Kenyon-Wanamingo) drained two huge threes to give the Wildcats a 58-50 lead.

With under three minutes remaining in the game, though, it looked like fouls might spell doom for St. Kate's. Each time the team managed to take a substantial lead, the Wildcats would find themselves in foul trouble as they continued to be called for their physical play on defense. The Cobbers made sure to always take advantage of the situation, eventually whittling St. Kate's lead to 61-57 with one minute remaining.

Two consecutive lay ups from Mentzer tied the game at 61 with 27 seconds remaining in the game. However, the Wildcats had the ball and experience on their side, as head coach Sean Pinkerton called a time out to advance the ball up the court. Clark managed to whittle clock down to 15 seconds before setting up the play and draining a huge layup under the basket to give St. Kate's the 63-61 lead. However, the Cobbers still had five seconds to tie the game or take lead. As the seconds wound down, Walsh threw the ball up from the paint, and Wildcat and Concordia fans alike held their breath as the shot bounced around the rim and out onto the floor, securing  St. Kate's 63-61 victory.

Audra Clark was the team's leading scorer, thanks to her career-high 26 points in 35 minutes of play. Holt added 11, while Meg Clark added a season high eight points in the game.

Thanks to the win, the Wildcats are now 14-8 overall and hold an 8-7 mark in MIAC play. They also moved up to fifth place in the conference standings with Saint Mary's loss to Bethel earlier in the evening.

St. Kate's will return to the court on Saturday when it hosts the Cardinals at 3 p.m. in the Butler Center Gym. The Wildcats will also honor their three seniors, Holt, Kennedy Jennings (Grimes, Iowa / Dallas Center-Grimes), and Mari Lee (Dawson, Minn. / Dawson-Boyd) that afternoon.