BRADENTON, Fla. – The St. Catherine University basketball team opened the 2026-27 season with a 58-38 victory over New College of Florida on Friday evening at Bradenton Christian School. The win marked a milestone for first-year head coach Audra Clark '19, who earned her first career victory as a collegiate head coach.
The Wildcats (1-0) set the tone early with a dominant defensive performance, holding New College of Florida (2-1) to just three points in the opening quarter. St. Kate's jumped out to a 17-3 advantage after the first 10 minutes, led by six points from Jordyn Peed and five from Hattie Fox. The Wildcats continued to control the game in the second quarter, carrying a 28-16 lead into halftime.
St. Catherine maintained its momentum coming out of the break, outscoring the Mighty Banyans 16-8 in the third quarter. The Wildcats extended their advantage to 44-24 heading into the final period, limiting New College to just eight points in the quarter. St. Kate's pushed its lead to as many as 23 points in the fourth quarter before securing the 20-point victory.
Peed led the Wildcats with a game-high 20 points, shooting 7-for-12 from the field, including two three-pointers, while adding seven rebounds, four assists, and two blocked shots. Fox finished with 12 points and nine rebounds, narrowly missing a double-double, while contributing three assists. Lily Peper added eight points and six rebounds, and Kate Flicek chipped in five points and four rebounds off the bench. Elle Covey provided a strong presence on the glass, matching Fox with a team-high nine rebounds.
The Wildcats controlled the boards throughout the contest, outrebounding New College of Florida 43-16, including 14 offensive rebounds. St. Catherine also held the Mighty Banyans to 25.5 percent shooting from the field while scoring 26 points in the paint and converting 15 points off turnovers.
The season-opening victory provided a memorable start to the Clark era, as the St. Catherine alumna and 2019 graduate celebrated her first win leading the Wildcats from the sidelines with former teammate Alexis Garcia '18 as her assistant.
Clark and the Wildcats finish out their trip in Florida at Webber International University in Babson Park at 4:30 pm CT.
