Notables
-CSS improves to 2-0 all-time over Colorado College
-Both teams combined for 5-of-32 on 3-point attempts
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica women's basketball team came out on top over host Colorado College 61-58 on Friday in a game that featured 10 lead changes in the fourth quarter on the first day of the Rocky Mountain Thanksgiving Classic.
Fourth Quarter
The Saints were out in front for over 33 minutes of the contest and led 16-11 at the end of the first quarter, 30-25 at halftime and 42-33 with 1:27 remaining in the third quarter. However, the Tigers (1-3) closed the quarter on an 8-0 run to make it 42-41.
Colorado College would score the first basket of the fourth quarter to take its first lead since the opening score of the game.
Danielle Cieluch (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS) ended the 10-0 run with a jumper to give CSS the lead back.
CC went up by three with six minutes to go before layups by
Michala Walther (Roseville, Minn./Concordia Academy) and
Sam Brannen (Ramsey, Minn./Anoka HS) gave the Saints the lead back at 52-51. With the Tigers back up by two, the Saints scored five consecutive points to lead 57-54 with 1:40 remaining.
Later, St. Scholastica had possession up by one with less than 40 seconds remaining when CC's Casey Torbet stole the ball and made the layup to give the Tigers a 58-57 lead with 30 seconds to go.
Following a timeout, the Saints went to Cieluch in the post and she converted a layup to give the Saints the lead back at 59-58. Colorado College called timeout to advance the ball to half court. After the timeout,
Rashonna Thomas (Minneapolis, Minn./Columbia Heights HS (Anoka-Ramsey CC)) stepped in front of the inbound pass and took to it the other end to make it 61-58 with 12 seconds left.
The Tigers called another timeout to advance the ball. Again it was the Saints defense disrupting the Colorado College offense, as the Tigers would not even get a game-tying 3-pointer attempted as St. Scholastica prevailed 61-58.
Top Performances for CSS
Walter led the Saints with 11 points. Cieluch added nine points, including five points in the fourth quarter. She also had seven rebounds and two steals.
Holly VanKempen (Elbow Lake, Minn./West Central HS) and
Taylor Nowling (Mora, Minn./Mora HS) each grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Emelia Minor dished out a team-high four assists.
Top Performances for the Opponent
Payton Katich had a game-high 15 points for the Tigers. Jade Odom had seven rebounds off the bench.
Up Next
The Saints (2-1) conclude play at the Rocky Mountain Thanksgiving Classic when they take on Sul Ross State University (Texas) at 3:30 p.m. Mountain Time and 4:30 p.m. local time on Saturday.
