The College of St. Scholastica Saints (1-2) fell to their visiting border rivals from the University of Wisconsin-Superior (2-1) by a score of 59-58 Tuesday evening in the Burns Wellness Commons in Duluth, Minn.

 

The Saints pulled out to an early six-point first half lead, but let it fizzle away as the Yellowjackets pulled ahead before the midway point of the period. The teams traded the lead several times in the closing moments of the first half, but it was St. Scholastica who ended up taking the lead into the locker rooms by a score of 24-22.

 

As the teams returned to the court, the 'Jackets scored seven unanswered points to take a significant lead early in the second half, amassing a nine point advantage before the Saints slowly chipped away, pulling within one point in the closing seconds of the game.

 

Regaining the ball on a UWS turnover with less than 30 seconds remaining on the clock, the Saints, playing for the final shot, weren't able to get a quality look at the basket until the final seconds. Their shot bounced off the rim where Whitney Latham (Clear Lake, Minn./Becker HS) pulled down the rebound for St. Scholastica, but before the senior could get a final desperation shot off the buzzer sounded giving the 'Jackets the one point win.

 

Latham lead the Saints with 15 points, while sophomore Alexa Leighton (Superior, Wis./Superior HS) and junior Megan Downs (Mt. Iron, Minn./Mt. Iron-Buhl HS) contributed 10 points each as well. Five Saints had four boards apiece as the team pulled down 21 rebounds in the defensive end.

 

Juniors Carissa Nord and Amanda Rounsville lead the scoring for the Yellowjackets with 15 and 14 points respectively. Superior went to the free throw line 22 times in the game, connecting on 13 while the Saints only had 14 attempts from the charity stripe, making 10.

 

The Saints go on the road this holiday weekend to a tournament hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Stout, facing off with the host Blue Devils Friday night and then Bemidji State on Saturday afternoon.