ST. PAUL, Minn. –  It was a tale of two halves, as the Macalester women's basketball team came out on the wrong end of an 81-57 score line in a non-conference contest with St. Catherine. The Scots are now 8-9 overall, while St. Catherine improves to 11-5 overall.

Junior guard/forward Peyton Starks (St. Louis, Mo./John Burroughs School) got the game started for Macalester and two more baskets from first year guard Sydnee Smith (Gainesville, Va./Patriot) gave the Scots an early 6-2 lead. The Wildcats would retake the lead halfway through the quarter, but the Scots would not let them pull away. Macalester went on a 6-2 run, started by Starks and ended by junior guard Nicole Norton (Brussels, Wis./Southern Door) to tie the game at 12 with 2:33 on the clock. However, the Wildcats were able to pull out a slight 19-14 lead at the end of the quarter. The Scots started off the second quarter strong, sinking back-to-back three-pointers from first year guard Acacia Edmond (Houston, Texas/Shadow Creek) and Starks. Yet St. Catherine was able to pull ahead by at most 10 points, 32-22 with 3:04 left in the half. Macalester ended the quarter on an 8-3 run, with sophomore forward Ellie Corbett (Austin, Texas/James Bowie) making both from the line and first year guard Mary Daley (Cumberland, R.I./Bishop Feehan) and senior guard Andrea Palmen (Kenosha, Wis./The Prairie School) sinking shots from beyond the arc to close out the half down five, 35-30.

For the first half of the third quarter, the Scots went shot for shot with the Wildcats keeping the game close. Norquist, Daley, and Smith led the charge, keeping the game within six points, 46-40 in favor of St. Catherine with 4:26 on the clock. The Wildcats' Sydney Elliott's next three was answered directly by a three from Starks. However, St. Catherine was able to put away another three and bank 6-for-6 free throws, going 8-for-8 in the quarter, to take a 58-46 lead into the fourth. The Scots didn't back down in the fourth, however were limited to 11 points and fell 81-57.

Macalester went 4-for-8 from the line compared to the Wildcats going 20-for-20. The Wildcats also shot 57.9% from the line, which proved difficult to overcome. Starks led Macalester with 15 and Smith grabbed 10. Norquist dished out five assists and two blocks.

Macalester's next game will be Wednesday Jan 24. The Scots head to Moorhead to face Concordia for a conference game. Tipoff is at 5:15 p.m.