ST. PAUL, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris women's basketball team fell 75-64 to St. Catherine University on Saturday afternoon in St. Paul, Minn.
Gianna Klarenbeek opened the scoring with a three-pointer on the first shot of the game. The Wildcats answered with the next six points.
Anna Myers tied things up with another three-pointer for the Cougars. Points from
Brooke Ver Steeg and
Maddy Grove kept UMM close early on. The Cougars took a 12-10 lead after a layup by
Grace Perry. St. Catherine would regain the lead, but before the opening quarter ended,
Addison Cihak and Klarenbeek added to the scoring, making it 20-17 in favor of SCU.
The Cougars' first points of the second quarter came from the free-throw line, courtesy of Ver Steeg and Klarenbeek. A run by the Wildcats pushed their advantage to 13. Klarenbeek ended the run with another free throw. Grove scored the final points of the quarter with a jump shot and converted the ensuing free throw, cutting the lead to 11.
Grove scored the first four points of the second half, with Perry following to help chip away at the deficit. Myers went two-for-three at the free-throw line to bring the lead down to six. SCU regained a double-digit advantage down the stretch. Grove scored 16 points in the third quarter.
Claire Stark scored her first points of the game with a layup assisted by Perry. Grove followed with a jumper to bring UMM within five. St. Catherine scored the next 10 points to pull away from the Cougars. Cihak ended the run with a pair of free throws. Myers scored the final points for the Cougars with an and-one, resulting in a 75-64 victory for SCU.
Grove led the scoring with 27 points. Klarenbeek followed with 12, while Myers rounded out the top three with eight. The Cougars shot 33.9 percent from the field, with their best shooting performance coming in the third quarter at 50 percent. UMM was efficient from the free-throw line, going 24-of-29. Perry recorded all three assists for the Cougars.
Defensively, Perry totaled six rebounds. Stark and Cihak followed with four each. Perry and Grove each recorded two steals.
The Cougars will have their home opener on Monday as they host Trinity Bible College at 5 p.m.
