ST. PAUL, Minn.- The Macalester College women's basketball team lost a tough game at home to Saint Mary's University. The Scots now sit at 1-17 (0-13 MIAC) after tonight's loss while the Cardinals improve to 2-16 (2-11 MIAC). Three Scots scored in the double digits but Saint Mary still found a way to prevail.
Macalester jumped up to a fast start, sophomore guard
Celine Sabbagh (Eau Claire, Wis./Regis) scored the first basket of the game for both sides. Shortly after that, junior guard
Justine Barraza (Burbank, Calif./Harvard Westlake) drained a three pointer to give the Scots a 5-2 lead. Both teams traded baskets for a few minutes until the Scots slowed down offensively. After taking an 8-7 lead, Saint Mary's ended the first quarter by going on a 12-4 run to make the score 20-11.
A slow second quarter stalled the Scots comeback as the offense was outscored 16-8 in the second quarter. That second quarter proved to be the difference maker in the game due to SMU jumping out to a 36-19 lead. Macalester came out of the half and shot 44.4 percent from the field as a team. Junior guard
Luci Swift (Minnetonka, Minn./Hopkins) made a three pointer to give the Scots their first points of the second half. The third quarter was spent with both teams trading blows but the Cardinals ultimately ended up extending their lead to 58-41.
First year guard
Solana Cushing (Minneapolis, Minn./South) made a three pointer for the Scots first points of the third quarter. Senior guard
Holly Hull (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley Northwest) scored on a layup to cut into the Scots deficit. Ultimately, Macalester lost 77-57 to Saint Mary's.
Sabbagh, Hull, and Swift all scored in double digits in tonight's loss to the Cardinals. Sabbagh led the way with 13 points of 4-of-9 shooting from the field. Sabbagh also went a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe. Hull had a strong performance as she recorded a double-double. Hull scored 12 points and tallied 11 rebounds while adding one steal to her stat line. Swift added 10 points on a nearly perfect shooting line, she went 4-0f-6 from the field and drained both of her three point attempts. Macalester also outrebounded Saint Mary's 44-32.
Macalester will resume MIAC action Saturday, February 1 as they take on #6 Bethel University at 3:00 p.m.
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