ST. PAUL, Minn. - The St. Catherine University Wildcat basketball team opened the New Year against the No. 4 University of St. Thomas Tommies at Butler Center on Wednesday evening in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) pairing. The Wildcats fell to the Tommies 66-50 on a night dedicated to senior guard Audra Clark recognizing her recent accomplishment of setting a new program record for career assists. 

First-year forward Sam Orth put up 16 points against the Tommies, 11 of which came in the first half. Orth also had 6 boards and 3 steals in her 29 minutes on the court. Midway through the season, Orth ranks second on the team for both points and rebounds with 163 and 91, respectively. 

In the points category, Orth sits behind Clark who has 197 points so far this season averaging 15.2 per game, ranking her 6th in the MIAC. Clark added 11 points for the Wildcats to her season total this evening and 3 more assists to her ever growing record for a total of 352 career assists. Clark ranks 5th in the MIAC with 49 assists this season and 2nd against conference opponents with 30 assists. 

St. Catherine (6-8, 3-4) is home Saturday as they take on conference foe Gustavus Adolphus College (7-7,4-3 MIAC) at 1 PM in Butler Center.