WINONA, MINN. – The St. Catherine University basketball team has never shied away from the dramatics of the sport. The Wildcats have played in some of the closest games in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) this season and historically have always played well against the Saint Mary's University Cardinals. With one win already under its belt, St. Kate's defeated Saint Mary's for the second time this season thanks to a 69-67 overtime victory.
If the first meeting between the two teams was any indicator, Wednesday's contest would be another one for the ages. Back on January 3, the Wildcats stunned the Cardinals 63-59 after playing, statistically, their best game of the season. St. Kate's executed its game plan to near perfection back in early January and did the exact same thing Wednesday evening. The Wildcats hung with Saint Mary's every moment of the game and held All-American forward Brandi Blattner to just 10 points through the first three quarters of regulation. St. Kate's also had its best shooting performance of the season as the team shot 50% from the floor in regulation and scored 61 points in 40 minutes of play.
Of course, the Wildcats fifth MIAC win of the season did not come drama-free. St. Kate's and Saint Mary's were deadlocked in a 10-10 tie after the first quarter of play, and the Wildcats held a slim 28-27 advantage at the half. However, with sophomore forward Danica Cambrice (St. Paul, Minn. / St. Croix Lutheran) back in the lineup, St. Kate's offense rarely sputtered in the second half of play. Cambrice scored a team leading 19 points in her return to action, 17 of which were scored in regulation.
Still, even with Cambrice's hot hand, the Wildcats and Cardinals were deadlocked 40-40 at the end of the third quarter. Saint Mary's, though, jumped out to a quick 46-40 lead 30 seconds into the fourth thanks to back-to-back three pointers from Alexa Huisman and Claire Patterson. After baskets from Camrbice and Alexis Garcia (Minnetonka, Minn. / Hopkins) cut the lead to two, the Cardinals went on another scoring run, outscoring St. Kate's 6-2 to take a 52-46 lead with six minutes remaining in regulation.
With five minutes left, it was free throw shooting that put the Wildcats back in the lead. Garcia sunk two free throws at 5:05 to cut Saint Mary's lead to 52-48. A few seconds later, Jackie Radford (St. Paul, Minn. / Cretin-Derham Hall) provided the perfect spark to jump start St. Kate's rally. Radford drove to the basket and made a highly contested layup, drawing the foul from Blattner. The sophomore forward sunk her free throw, pulling the Wildcats within one of the Cardinals 52-51 lead.
After the two teams traded baskets, St. Kate's finally took a lead of its own at 3:52. Ashley Fosness (Britton, S.D. / Hecla-Britton) drained a three-pointer from the top of the key, giving the Wildcats their first lead of the quarter at 55-54. Cambrice extended the lead to three points before Meg Clark (Keyon, Minn. / Kenyon-Wanamingo) gave St. Kate's a 59-56 advantage with 2 minutes remaining in regulation.
That's where things got interesting. In the final two minutes of the game, Saint Mary's outscored the Wildcats 5-2 and forced overtime thanks to layup by Abby Winter with seven seconds remaining in regulation. However, St. Kate's was sure to set the tone early in the extra time, as Cambrice banked a jumper on the wing to give the Wildcats an early 63-61 advantage.
Unfortunately, St. Kate's lost Cambrice for good on the Cardinals ensuring possession. The sophomore was called for her fifth foul on the team's next trip down the court, and the Wildcats were forced to play the remaining four minutes without their top scorer. St. Kate's found a way to win thanks to grit and determination. Fosness hit another big three to extend the Wildcats lead to 66-61, while Morgan Kurth (Hutchinson, Minn. / Hutchinson) regained a four point 68-64 lead for St. Kate's after free throws from Blattner cut it back to two points.
Unfortunately, fouls almost doomed the Wildcats in the final two minutes of OT. After Kurth's layup, Saint Mary's scored three consecutive points, all on made free throws by Huisman and Blattner. However, as Blattner's second free throw attempt banked off the back of the rim, Radford jumped up to secure the rebound with 49 seconds left to preserve St. Kate's 68-67 lead.
The Wildcats were unable to score on their following offensive possession, and the Cardinals had the ball with 16 seconds remaining in overtime. After Saint Mary's whittled the clock down to seven seconds, Huisman heaved a three from far downtown, forcing everyone to turn and watch its trajectory. Just like Blattner's free throw, though, the shot banked off the back of the rim and Radford was right there to protectively scoop up the rebound.
Clark was fouled on the inbound play and made one of two free throws to give the Wildcats a 69-67 lead with under a second remaining in the game. When the ball was inbounded, Blattner was too far away for a last second shot, allowing St. Kate's to leave Winona its fifth MIAC win of the season.
Cambrice was the team's leading scorer with 19 points in roughly 40 minutes of play. Radford was the top rebounder. Thanks to her two big free throws in overtime, the sophomore finished the game with seven total rebounds and nine points.
With the win, St. Kate's overall record improved to 9-11 and the team has a 5-8 mark in MIAC play. The Wildcats will return to the court on Saturday when they host the University of St. Thomas at 3 p.m. in the Butler Center Gym.
