Box Score Box Score

MANKATO, Minn. – The St. Scholastica women's basketball team's late rally came up short this evening with a 68-65 defeat at Bethany Lutheran College.

The Saints fall to 11-13 overall and to 6-7 in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC). The Vikings improve to 10-14 overall and 5-8 in the UMAC. With Martin Luther taking down Northland tonight, the Saints drop to a fourth-place tie with the Knights, but just a game back of third-place Northwestern, who fell to Minnesota-Morris. The No. 3 and No. 4 seed get to host the opening round next Tuesday.

CSS went up by three early, following a #Kirsten Haukom# (Sr.-Marshall, Minn.) jumper. The Vikings responded with a 10-1 run to take a 15-9 lead with 11 minutes to go in the half. A three-point-play by #Laura Amys# (So.-South Range, Wis./Superior) and a 3-pointer by Haukom quickly tied the game back up.

Later in the half Bethany Lutheran used a 7-0 run to extend its lead to eight with 2:46 to go before halftime. The Saints scored the final six points before the half and trailed 28-26 at the break.

CSS shot 23-percent from the field in the first half, while the Vikings shot 39-percent. The Saints had a 29-16 edge on the glass.

The Saints continued on their run at the end of the first half and went up by four following a #Katie Christensen# (Sr.-Elk River, Minn.) lay-up to cap off a 12-0 run. The Vikings came back with an 8-0 run to go back up by four and later used a 9-0 run to go up 49-39 with 12:28 remaining.

Bethany Lutheran extended its lead to as high as 13 points with 7:41 to go. From there on out, CSS chipped away at the lead and got it down to two with 46 seconds left. The Vikings got a pair of offensive rebounds on proceeding possession and finally got a put back to fall to make it 66-62 with under 10 seconds to play. Kirsten Haukom (Marshall, Minn./Marshall HS) was then fouled on a 3-point attempt and made all three free throws to cut the lead to one with three seconds left. After a pair of Bethany Lutheran free throws, the Saints had a chance to tie the game with a three as time expired, but it was off the mark as the final was 68-65.

The Saints shot 59-percent in the second half to finish at 40-percent for the game. The Vikings shot 47-percent in the second half to be at 43-percent for the game. The Vikings were 12-for-13 from the free throw line in the second half. The Saints had a 43-31 rebounding advantage, but committed 22 turnovers, which led to 28 Viking points.

Katie Christensen (Elk River, Minn./Elk River Senior HS) matched a career-high with 22 points. Kirsten Haukom (Marshall, Minn./Marshall HS) added 18 points and Laura Amys (South Range, Wis./Superior HS) had a team-high 10 rebounds. Nicole Jones had 21 points to lead Bethany Lutheran.

The Saints and Martin Luther will do battle for home court advantage in the opening round for the second consecutive year tomorrow in the regular season finale in New Ulm. The tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.