Coming off a big win the night before the Saints were unable to get their offense in gear on Saturday afternoon, shooting 27 percent from the field for only 22 points in the second half as they fell 59-52 at home in a conference match-up with the visiting Bethany Lutheran Vikings.

 

St. Scholastica (5-11, 2-5 UMAC) kept within striking distance throughout the game but were unable to comeback completely as they lead only twice the entire game, both times coming within the first four minutes of play. Over the long haul, the Saints were unable to compete with the Bethany Lutheran (4-3, 9-7) post game and were outscored 32-14 in the paint.

 

What offense the Saints generated came from a balanced scoring attack as four players reached double figures to keep them the game close. Led by Kirsten Haukom (Marshall, Minn./Marshall HS)'s 12 first half points the Saints went into the break trailing by six, 36-30.

 

In the second half the Saints chipped away at the lead and were down four with 10:23 remaining but a scoring drought of over five minutes proved to be the difference maker as Bethany Lutheran built a 10 point lead that the Saints were unable to overcome.

 

The up tempo style the Vikings used created 17 points off of turnovers and put them in bonus early as the Saints where whistled for 10 fouls in the second half. Bethany was led by a pair of post players who each recorded double-doubles. Leslie Bremer led her team with 15 points and 16 rebounds while Eva Voss added 11 points and 10 boards.

 

Saints senior co-captain Ashley Lubbers (Little Falls, Minn./Little Falls Community HS) scored a season best 11 points and pulled down nine rebounds while junior Katie Cross (Hutchinson, Minn./Hutchinson HS) added 11 rebounds to counter the interior presence of the Vikings. Cross also added six assists to aid the offensive effort.

 

Playing behind most of the game the Saints could not find their stroke from the outside as they were successful on only 18 percent (3-for-17) of their three point attempts. Another problem for the Saints was that they attempted only four foul shots as opposed to the Vikings' 14.

 

For the first time in four games the Saints trailed at halftime it was not a successful measure for the Saints as they were unable to battle back for a conference victory.

 

St. Scholastica was led by Nichols (13 points), Haukom (12points), Alexa Leighton (Superior, Wis./Superior HS) (12 points) and Ashley Lubbers (Little Falls, Minn./Little Falls Community HS) (11 points).