Box Score Box Score

DULUTH, Minn. – The St. Scholastica women's basketball team officially punched its ticket to the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Postseason Tournament with a 66-60 victory over Bethany Lutheran College tonight at the Reif Gym.

The Saints improve to 9-15 on the season and 6-7 in the UMAC. The Vikings fall to 10-14 overall and 4-9 in league-play. Head Coach Stacy Deadrick needs just two more victories for her 200th of her career.

The Saints got off to a hot start as they scored the first seven points with four points coming from #Laura Amys# (Fr.-South Range, Wis./Superior). The Vikings cut the lead down to two, but five straight points by #Taylor Fellbaum# (Fr.-Minong, Wis./Northwood) upped the lead back to seven. Bethany Lutheran then cut the lead to one, but could not gain the lead. CSS went on another 7-0 run to go up by eight with two minutes to play in the half as the Saints went into the locker room with a 31-26 advantage.

CSS shot 41-percent in the first half, while the Vikings shot 31-percent. The Vikings had seven steals in the half.

The Vikings began the second half on a 7-0 run to take a 35-31 lead. CSS's first field goal of the second half didn't come until seven minutes into the half on a #Kirsten Haukom# (Jr.-Marshall, Minn.) lay-up. That basket started a 9-0 run for St. Scholastica as the Saints regained the lead 42-37 halfway through the half.

After the Vikings took a one-point lead with five minutes to play, the Saints went on a 6-0 run to take a 57-52 lead with 3:28 left in the game. Bethany Lutheran got the lead down to one with 2:25 remaining, but #Alexa Leighton# (Jr.-Superior, Wis.) scored four of CSS's next six points to extend the lead back to seven with 38 seconds left. CSS would go on to win 66-60.
The Saints shot 41-percent for the game, while the Vikings were 34-percent from the field. The CSS bench out-scored the Bethany Lutheran bench 17-11 in the contest.

Kirsten Haukom (Marshall, Minn./Marshall HS) scored 19 points to lead the way for the Saints. #Kelly Cinquegrani# (So.-Buffalo, Minn.) added 11 points and tied with teammate Taylor Fellbaum (Minong, Wis./Northwood HS) for a team-high six rebounds. Eva Voss had a double-double of 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Vikings.

The Saints will host Martin Luther College tomorrow in the regular season finale. The winner of that contest will host a first round UMAC Tournament game on Tuesday. The tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. in Reif Gym.