Box Score Box Score

DULUTH, Minn. – The St. Scholastica women's basketball team was defeated by the University of Minnesota-Morris this afternoon 56-48 at Reif Gym.

The Saints fall to 6-8 overall and 2-2 in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC). The Cougars improve to 6-6 overall and 3-1 in the UMAC. Morris has won 10 straight in the series.

In a close first half that featured nine ties and five lead changes, neither team had a lead larger than three points. Both teams struggled shooting in the first 20 minutes as at one point there wasn't a point scored for about five minutes and just one field goal in almost seven minutes. The score at the half was tied at 25-25.

The Saints shot 28-percent in the half, while the Cougars were 30-percent from the field. Five of the nine field goals for Morris were 3-pointers. The Saints owned the edge on the glass 26-19.

The contest remained tight for the first 10 minutes of the second half with score tied for an 11th time at 32-32. The Cougars went on a 6-0 run to take a 46-39 lead with 5:44 remaining. The Saints got within three with five minutes to go, but Morris answered with a 3-pointer and made free throws late to hold off CSS 56-48.

The Saints shot better than the Cougars in the second half and finished at 30-percent for the game. Morris shot 28-percent for the game. The Cougars shot 20 more free throws than the Saints and made 13 more than CSS. Morris out-scored the Saints 13-5 on second-chance points.

#Kirsten Haukom# (Sr.-Marshall, Minn.) led the Saints with 12 points, while #Alexa Leighton# (Sr.-Superior, Wis.) added 10 points. #Kelly Cinquegrani# (Jr.-Buffalo, Minn.) pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds. Tara Thielke had 12 points to lead the Cougars.

The Saints will finish a three-game home stand on Tuesday when it goes out of conference to face Finlandia University (Mich.). The game is set to begin at 5:30 p.m. The game can be seen live, courtesy of the iFan Sports Network, at csssaints.com.