Box Score Box Score
ASHLAND, Wis. – The St. Scholastica women's basketball team came from 14 points down in the second half to force overtime, but fell at Northland College 67-61 on Tuesday night in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) opener for both teams.
The Saints (3-8, 0-1 UMAC)) would only lead once in the entire game at 6-4 with 15 minutes to go in the first half. CSS kept it close early as the LumberJills (6-5, 1-0 UMAC) did not have a lead greater than four the first 15 minutes of the game. However, Northland closed the half on a 12-2 run to take a 32-21 lead into halftime.
St. Scholastica shot 44-percent in the first half, while holding the 'Jills to 41-percent shooting. However, the Saints committed 13 turnovers in the half, which led to 13 Northland points.
The margin grew to 14 at the start of the second half. Freshman #Kayla Heisler# kept the Saints in the game, draining three, 3-pointers when the lead got to double-figures to keep CSS within reach. CSS eventually went on a 7-0 run and cut the lead to one following a #Bri Allen# three-point-play with nine minutes to go.
The LumberJills held on to the lead, but would not lead by more than six the rest of the way. The 'Jills led by three with less than 30 seconds play when Heisler hit another 3-pointer to tie the game at 55-55 and send it into overtime.
In overtime, Heisler connected on her sixth, 3-pointer of the night to tie the game for the eighth time at 60-60 with 2:23 to go. However, Northland would close the game on a 7-1 run to win 67-61.
CSS shot 50-percent in the second half and shut down Northland, holding it to 29-percent. However, in overtime, the 'Jills shot 60-percent, while the Saints were 29-percent. Northland went to the free throw line 19 more times and made 14 more free throws than the Saints.
Heisler led all scorers with 22 points. She just missed a double-double with a team-high nine rebounds. #Kelly Cinquegrani# added 14 points and
Bri Allen (West St. Paul, Minn./Henry Sibley HS) chipped in with 13 points. Junior guard #Erin Morstad# also saw her first action of the season, playing 10 minutes. Lulu Seelye led Northland with 18 points.
The Saints will be back at Reif Gym this weekend for a couple of UMAC games. They will open with Bethany Lutheran College on Friday night. The tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. All of the action can be seen live, courtesy of the iFan Sports Network, at csssaints.com.
