ST. PAUL, Minn.- The Macalester women's basketball team beat Saint Mary's University today in a comeback win, 66-57. With three players tallying double-digit points, the Scots overcame a 17-point deficit at halftime to beat the Cardinals.

The Scots started off the game with a jumper from junior Tyana Loiselle (Bloomer, Wis./Chippewa Falls). But Macalester was unable to finish at their own end for most of the period and was out shot 16-8 in the quarter. Loiselle finished the game with 14 points and six assists.

The Cardinals offensive push and the Scots poor shooting continued in the second quarter. Out scored 18-9, Macalester went into halftime down 34-17.

But into the second half Macalester began their comeback as sophomore Justine Barraza (Burbank, Calif./Harvard-Westlake) hit a three-pointer. The Scots then forced the Cardinals first four turnovers of the game and shot 52.9 percent from the field in the third quarter. With less than four minutes in the period, Macalester cut the Cardinals lead down to seven points with a jumper from Loiselle.

The Cardinals were up 11 points with one minute left. But first year Celine Sabbagh (Eau Claire, Wis./Regis) hit a three-pointer with 13 seconds left in the quarter to bring the score to 46-39 in favor of the Cardinals. In the third, Macalester outscored the Cardinals 22-12.

On the defensive end, Macalester continued to push the Cardinals and forced three more turnovers in the fourth quarter. The Scots shooting continued to improve as the shot 58.8 percent from the field, 75 percent from the line.

The Cardinals extended their lead to 12 points in the first minute of the fourth. But the top shooter for the Scots on the day, sophomore Katherine Podoll (San Geronimo, Calif./Sir Francis Drake), made a layup to jump start the Scots comeback. Podoll had 18 points for the Scots.

The Cardinals continued to miss and sophomore Kayla Togneri (Ventura, Calif./Ventura) drove for a layup to make the gap just nine points with eight minutes left.

A turnover by the Cardinals turned into a three-pointer from Barraza.  Another three-pointer by junior Holly Hull (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley Northwest) cut the Cardinals lead to one point. With three minutes to go Barraza hit her final three-pointer of the day to make the score 57-54. The Scots did not look back and finished off the Cardinals 66-57.

It was also senior day for the Scots. Senior Addy Perkins (St. Louis Park, Minn./St. Louis Park) was honored by the home fans before the game. 



The Scots go on the road Wednesday, Feb. 13, against Augsburg University at 7:00 p.m. in Minneapolis, Minn.