Notables
-Northwestern has won five of the last six meetings against the Saints
-UNW finished the game with an 8-0 run in the final two minutes
-VanKampen with a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds
ST. PAUL (
csssaints.com)- The St. Scholastica women's basketball team cut an 18-point deficit down to two in the final minutes of the game, but it wasn't enough as it fell to the University of Northwestern 63-53 on Saturday afternoon at the Ericksen Center.
The Action
The Saints scored the first four points of the contest on a
Sam Brannen (Ramsey, Minn./Anoka HS) layup and a
Kayla Swanson (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing HS) layup. However, Northwestern responded with a 15-1 run over the next three minutes to take a 10-point lead. CSS only got within six the rest of the first half and trailed 37-22 at halftime.
Michala Walther (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy) led the Saints with 11 points in the half.
The Eagles extended their lead to as much as 18 points with three minutes to go in the third period. The Saints got that margin down to 12 to begin the fourth quarter. St. Scholastica kept chipping away and got within two on a Walther layup with 2:43 remaining. With the margin still at two with less than two minutes to go, a key play for Northwestern took place as it grabbed an offensive rebound and ultimately converted a 3-point-play to extend the lead to 58-53. The Eagles then recorded back-to-back layups to put the game away 63-53.
Top Performers
Holly VanKempen (Elbow Lake, Minn./West Central HS) recorded her first double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Walther led the Saints with 17 points. Brannen added 12 points and seven rebounds. Swanson had a team-high five assists.
Amy Berglund led the Eagles with 20 points. Tiffany Stubbs added 15 points on five 3-point field goals.
Up Next
The Saints (1-5, 1-1 UMAC) host Finlandia University (Mich.) in a non-conference game on Friday. Game time is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
