ST. PETER, MINN. – Historically, the St. Catherine University basketball team has played some of its best basketball against the top teams in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). The Wildcats hoped that statement would remain true in Saturday's matchup with No. 25 Gustavus Adolphus College. Unfortunately, the high-powered Gusties proved to be too much for St. Kate's, as the Wildcats fell in St. Peter, Minnesota by a final score of 67-40.

St. Kate's struggled to find its way offensive, as the team fell behind 15-5 in the first quarter. However, the Wildcats managed to hang with Gustavus through the first five minutes of play, as Jackie Radford (St. Paul, Minn. / Cretin-Derham Hall) and Meg Clark (Kenyon, Minn. / Kenyon-Wanamingo) scored baskets to keep St. Kate's within striking distance of the home team's 7-4 lead. Unfortunately, the Gusties went on an 8-1 scoring run in the final five minutes of the quarter, with six of those eight points being scored by Miranda Rice.

Unfortunately, the Wildcats could never recover after the opening quarter. Offensively, St. Kate's scored just 17 points in the first half, and Clark was the team's leading scorer with five points. The Wildcats also couldn't stop Rice on defense, as the senior scored 14 points in the first half alone. St. Kate's did manage to contain Gustavus' top scorer Mikayla Miller in the first half, though, as the junior point guard scored just five points in the opening half.

Despite being down 35-17 at the half, the Wildcats fought valiantly in the second but never could catch the red-hot Gusties. Alexis Garcia (Minnetonka, Minn. / Hopkins) ended the game as the team's leading scorer with nine points, while Radford added seven. Ashley Fosness (Britton, S.D. / Britton-Hecla) was the team's leading rebounder for the first time all season with five total rebounds.

In the end, St. Kate's lost to Gustavus by a final score of 67-40. With the loss, the Wildcats record falls to 7-11, and they have a 3-8 mark in MIAC play.

St. Kate's will return to the court on Wednesday as it looks to rebound with a home win against Macalester College. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. in the Butler Center Gym.