Notables
-UMAC Game of the Week
-CSS scored only five points in the fourth quarter
-Tied for the lowest scoring game of the season for CSS
-The second period saw only 14 points between the two teams
-Bystrom scored all of CSS' points in the fourth quarter

MANKATO, Minn. (csssaints.com) - The St. Scholastica women's basketball team dropped an Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) contest on Saturday afternoon against Bethany Lutheran College with a final score of 56-38. The last time the Saints failed to break at least 40 points in a game was in November against Gustavus Adolphus College. 

First Half Battle
The first half was a close contest between the two teams. The lead changed six times during the first quarter alone, and the point disparity between the teams was never more than three. The Vikings took the first points of the game, a basket which was quickly answered by CSS' Mel Weisbrick (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing HS (Hibbing CC)). The Saints and Vikings traded points back and forth until two successful free throws by Kayla Swanson (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing HS) made the score 8-7 with just over six minutes left in the quarter, giving the Saints a one point lead that they would hold on to until the start of the second quarter. The Vikings tied the score up twice in the last two minutes of the quarter, but never could regain the lead. 

The second quarter was a defensive battle between the two clubs, as neither was able to get anything rolling offensively. CSS began the quarter ahead of Bethany Lutheran 15-13. The Saints outscored the Vikings eight to six in the quarter. Weisbrick opened up the quarter with a good jumper to bring the lead to four points, the largest the game had seen. The Vikings followed up with six unanswered points, spread out across three minutes of play, to take the lead. The Saints then scored six straight points of their own to finish out the first half, ending with a four point advantage with a score of 23-19.

Second Half, Losing Ground
The second half of the game saw an advantage develop in favor of the Vikings. The Saints held on to the lead for the first six minutes of the third quarter. A jumper by BLC's Rachel Sorensen tied the score at 30, and a pair of good free throws gave the Vikings the lead with just under three minutes left in the quarter. The Saints would manage to tie the score at 32-32 thanks to a jumper by Danielle Cieluch (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS), but the Vikings quickly regained the lead and would not look back, increasing their lead to five before the quarter ended with a score of 38-33. 

The fourth quarter saw a big offensive push by BLC and the Saints were unable to keep up. The Vikings started the final quarter with 13 straight points, making the score 50-33 with just under six minutes left in the game. A 3-pointer by Zoe Bystrom (Cook, Minn./North Woods HS (Hibbing CC)) stopped the Viking's point streak, but BLC went on to score another six in a row, making the score 56-36 with 2:46 left in the game. The Saints finished with another Bystrom basket, making her the only CSS player to score any points during the fourth quarter, with a minute and a half left in the game. No other points would be scored by either team, and the game came to an end with a score of 56-38 in favor of the Vikings.

Notable Performances
Swanson led the offense for the Saints with nine points followed by Weisbrick with eight points of her own. Cieluch collected six points during the game, and seven rebounds. Bystrom recored seven points, five of them coming in the fourth quarter when she was the sole scorer for CSS. 

For the Vikings, Brooke Henning led the way with 20 points and nine rebounds, followed by Dakota Ellinghuysen who scored 16 points and pulled in nine rebounds of her own. Minnie Frederick was the third Vikings player to hit double digit points, scoring 10. 

Up Next
The Saints (3-8, 2-3 UMAC) face St. Olaf College on December 31 for their last contest of the year. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m in Northfield.