DULUTH, Minn. – Macalester women's basketball traveled to Duluth this afternoon, taking on the Saints of St. Scholastica. The Scots went out to an early lead, but the Saints quickly recovered, held off the Scots, and defeated Macalester 73-56. The Scots are now 4-14 (3-12 MIAC) on the season.
The Scots got out to an early 5-0 lead, with sophomore guard/forward
Peyton Starks (St. Louis, Mo./John Burroughs School) making a layup and senior guard
Solana Cushing (Minneapolis, Minn./South) sinking one from beyond the arc. However, the Saints quickly took over the lead with a few three-pointers, 14-7. Starks knocked in a three of her own, but the Scots trailed 18-13 after the first quarter.
Both teams started the second quarter with a three pointer, Macalester's being made by junior guard
Andrea Palmen (Kenosha, Wis./The Prairie School). The Scots continued to put up points. Starks, junior guard
Caitlin Panos (North Andover, Mass./Andover), and first year forward
Ellie Corbett (Austin, Texas/James Bowie) each added a basket, while sophomore guard/forward
Katherine Norquist (Chicago, Ill./Walter Payton College Prep) added three points. The Scots trailed by 12, 37-25 at half.
In the third, Starks quickly started decreasing the Saints' lead by tallying four points, Norquist assisting on one of the baskets. Norquist then added three points of her own. However, the Saints were able to increase their lead to as much as 21, 53-32 with 3:12 left in the quarter. Norquist knocked in two more free throws while Starks and Cushing scored for Macalester in the last minutes of the quarter, but Macalester was still behind 53-38 heading into the fourth.
In the final 10 minutes, it was much more back-and-forth. Starks went on a solo 9-6 run at the beginning of the fourth. Cushing knocked in another three-pointer for the Scots while Starks added four more points to her total. The Scots couldn't overcome the Saints' 43.5% shooting from beyond the arc, and fell 73-56.
Starks had a big night, totaling 26 points, nine rebounds, two assists, a block, and a steal. Norquist totaled 12 points with eight rebounds, three assists, and a block. The Scots shot 70.6% from the line.
Macalester's next game will be on Monday January 30. The Scots host St. Catherine in the Leonard Center at 7:00 p.m.
