Northfield, Minn. – The Macalester College women's basketball dropped a close game to St. Olaf University by a score of 75-71. The Scots finish the 2021 season with an impressive 3-1 record while St. Olaf falls to 1-2.
 
Junior guard Celine Sabbagh (Eau Claire, Wis./Regis) and senior guard Justine Barraza (Burbank, Calif./Harvard Westlake) led the Scots offensively with 16 points. Sabbagh shot 7-of-15 from the field and grabbed six rebounds. Barraza went 6-of-8 from the charity stripe and corralled seven rebounds. Senior forward Katherine Podoll (San Geronimo, Calif./Sir Francis Drake) also tallied 15 points with a team-leading eight rebounds.
 
St. Olaf jumped out to a 14-6 lead before Macalester pulled to with in two points to make the score 14-12. The Scots and Olies ended the first quarter with St. Olaf being up 21-16. The second quarter started with St. Olaf scoring first and Macalester responding with three points to make the score 23-19 in favor of the Olies.
 
A jumper from senior forward Kayla Togneri (Ventura Calif./Ventura) made the score 23-22 St. Olaf. Both teams continued to trade buckets during the second quarter. A three pointer from Sabbagh and a jumper from senior guard Katie Sowerby (Mill Valley, Calif./Tampalpais) with just over a minute left in the second quarter made the game 34-31 going into halftime.
 
Podoll drained two free-throws coming out of halftime to make the score 34-32 in favor of St. Olaf. Barraza then hit three free-throws after being fouled on a three-point attempt to give the Scots their first lead if the contest. The Olies quickly tied the game at 36 before regaining the lead on a free-throw of their own. St. Olaf took a 55-51 lead into the fourth quarter.
 
Over the course of the fourth quarter, the Olies trailed by as many as 11 points but the Scots continued to chip away. Macalester made a late push but ran out of time. The Scots ultimately fell 75-71 to St. Olaf on the road.