ST. PAUL, Minn. -- St. Kate's record fell to 2-3 (2-2 in the MIAC) on Saturday afternoon as the Bethel Royals defeated the Wildcats at the Butler Center. 

Bethel had a 15-7 advantage with under three minutes left in the first quarter, when the Wildcats went on a 5-0 run to cut the deficit to three. Then, with each team scoring a few from the foul line and Sam Orth hitting a jumper in the final seconds of the first quarter, the score was 19-15.

St Kate's turned up the defensive intensity in the second, holding the Royals to just 13 more points that quarter. For the game, the Wildcat's pressure forced 21 turnovers and notched 13 steals (led by Bree Glynn's four steals). But they also struggled to score and finished the half trailing Bethel by six points, 32-26.

Bethel's shooters had a good third quarter in which they extended their lead to 49-35.  But the Wildcats fought back in the fourth, starting the quarter with a 12-5 run and making it a 7-point game with 3:50 remaining.  From there, the Royals took control and pushed the margin to 14 points.

The Wildcats got an impressive 27 points from their bench and had four players with 8 points (Wood, Elliot, Zezza, and Benjamin). They scored 19 of their points from the freethrow line, shooting 79% from the stripe.  Their next game is against Carleton on December 8^th in Northfield.