WINONA, Minn. – The Macalester College women's basketball team fell to Saint Mary's University, 65-56 in a MIAC game Saturday afternoon at Saint Mary's Gym. The Scots (3-12, 1-7 MIAC), who started and finished the game strong, were unable to overcome a poor second quarter that saw the Cardinals (10-6, 5-3 MIAC) outscore Macalester, 27-12.

A 10-0 run midway through the first quarter, featuring threes from senior guard Addy Perkins (St. Louis Park, Minn./St. Louis Park) and junior forward Caitlyn Burmester (Columbia, Md./Atholton), put Macalester on top, 16-6. Saint Mary's closed out the quarter with nine straight points, including a half-court shot at the buzzer by Brooklyn Paulson, to make the score 16-15.

Early in the second quarter, the game went back and forth until Saint Mary's went on a 21-5 spree over the final six minutes of the period to take a commanding 42-28 advantage at the half. Momentum stayed with the hosts after halftime, as the lead grew to as many as 20 points in the third quarter. Trailing 60-40 with 8:35 remaining in the game, the Scots scored 12 of the next 14 points to cut the deficit to 10, 62-52 with 3:19 remaining. But the comeback fell short, as Saint Mary's held on for the win despite being outscored in the fourth quarter, 16-7.

Nine Scots scored in the game, led by sophomore forward Katherine Podoll (San Geronimo, Calif./Sir Francis Drake) and first year guard Celine Sabbagh (Eau Claire, Wis./Regis) with 10 points each. Sophomore forward Kayala Togneri (Ventura, Calif./Ventura) registered eight points and a career-high 11 rebounds, while junior guard Tyana Loiselle (Bloomer, Wis./Chippewa Falls) had eight points, five assists and two steals. Brandi Blattner led all players with 22 points and 12 rebounds for Saint Mary's.

Macalester returns to action on Wednesday, Jan. 16 with a home game against Gustavus Adolphus. The MIAC match-up starts at 7:00 p.m. in the Leonard Center.