ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College women's basketball team tore into the Butler Center on Wednesday night to rout St. Kate's in a 66-52 MIAC road victory. The Scots climb to 8-6 overall and 3-4 in the conference and leave the Wildcats at 7-7 overall and 2-5 in the MIAC.
The game started as a back-and-forth affair, as the teams traded buckets. The lead changed seven times in the first quarter as both teams struggled to gain separation until, with the Scots down 10-9, sophomore guard Mary Daley (Cumberland, R.I./Bishop Feehan) hit senior forward Katherine Norquist (Chicago, Ill./Walter Payton College Prep) inside for a layup plus the foul. A couple plays later, the Scots got out on the run after a St. Kate's miss, and Daley kicked it to sophomore guard Sydnee Smith (Gainesville, Va./Patriot) for the fastbreak three. Norquist and Smith's respective three-point plays to end the opening frame would spark an 11-0 run for the Scots.
From there, Macalester piled up the points, led by senior guard Peyton Starks (St. Louis, Mo./John Burroughs School) who played all but one second of the second quarter and scored eight of her 13 points in that time. Starks also assisted on one of the two threes that sophomore guard Kendall Bernbaum (Dallas, Texas/Shelton School) made that quarter, as Macalester went into halftime with a 35-23 lead. They hit five three-pointers in the first half, compared to just one from St. Kate's.
In the second half, the Wildcats tried to get back into the game, but the Scots rejected their forays. After Macalester scored just two points in the first five minutes of the half, senior guard Camille Samuel (Tampa, Fla./Tampa Preparatory) hid a midranger to reignite the Scot flame. Though St. Kate's cut the lead to seven at one point, the Scots rattled off eight unanswered points to end the third period, capped with yet another three from Bernbaum. For the final frame, the Scots leaned on their top scorers of the night to take them home, as Daley, Starks and Smith combined for 14 of Macalester's 16 fourth quarter points.
Although they turned the ball over six more times than the Wildcats, the Scots shot 25.9 percent from three on the game, compared to St. Kate's 12.5 percent on 11 fewer attempts. Macalester led by as much as 23 points and never trailed after the first quarter.
Daley finished the night with a career-high 14 points to go along with eight rebounds and four assists. Smith put on her best performance of the season with 12 points and a season-high eight boards along with a career-high five steals. Bernbaum had a career-high nine points on three-of-five shooting from three-point land, and Starks registered 13 points and seven rebounds.
The Scots return to action on Saturday, Jan. 18 with a home game against Saint Mary's University. The MIAC contest starts at 3:00 p.m. in the Leonard Center.
