ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The St. Catherine University basketball team closed out the home portion of their schedule on Wednesday evening in a heart breaker against the College of Saint Benedict Bennies. St. Catherine led for long stretches, but Saint Benedict hit the final shot at the horn to steal a 53–50 MIAC win at the Butler Center.
 
The Wildcats opened with strong energy and owned the second quarter, taking a 30–22 lead into halftime after outscoring the Bennies 16–10 in the period. St. Kate's did a lot of its work inside (26 points in the paint) and on the glass, finishing with a 47–28 rebounding edge and 14 offensive boards to create extra chances.
 
St. Catherine still carried a 43–40 advantage into the fourth, but the final 10 minutes were a grind. The Wildcats got 13 points and nine rebounds from Hattie Fox, 10 points from Elle Covey, and eight points and eight boards from Jordyn Peed. Lily Peper knocked down two threes, including one with 4:01 left to make it 50–44.
 
From there, Saint Benedict closed on a 9–0 run. With the game tied 50–50 in the final seconds, the Bennies got one more look—Alyssa Sadlovsky buried a buzzer-beating three to end it and hand St. Catherine a heartbreaking three-point loss. 

St. Kate's will travel to Bethel University on Saturday to close out the season with a 1 pm game in Arden Hills.