MOORHEAD, Minn. – The Macalester College women's basketball team came within one point twice in the final 1:47 but could not overcome Concordia College on its home court in a 64-59 defeat Wednesday evening at Memorial Auditorium. The Scots drop to 8-8 overall and 3-6 in the conference, while the Cobbers are now 11-5 on the season and 6-3 in the MIAC.

In the first quarter, Macalester used an 11-5 run over the final five minutes to take a 15-13 edge after 10 minutes of play. Sophomore guard Mary Daley (Cumberland, R.I./Bishop Feehan) scored six points to lead the Scots, with senior guard Nicole Norton (Brussels, Wis./Southern Door) capping the run with a three. Macalester led by as many as four points in the second quarter and was up 22-18 when the Cobbers tallied the next 11 points for a 29-22 advantage. Concordia eventually took a 33-24 lead into halftime after holding the Scots to 26.7 percent shooting in the second quarter.

Senior guard Peyton Starks (St. Louis, Mo./John Burroughs School), who leads the MIAC in scoring at 18.9 points per game, did not score in the first half but quickly made up for it in the second half. She scored Macalester's first eight points to bring the Scots to within six, 38-32 with 6:27 left in the third quarter. First year guard Samantha Smith (Piedmont, Calif./Piedmont) drained a three to make it a three-point game, 38-35. After Concordia's Carlee Sieben registered five points around a basket by Starks, two more Starks' buckets made the score 43-31 late in the quarter. The Cobbers tallied the final basket of the quarter to lead, 45-41 heading into the fourth quarter.

After Concordia pushed its lead to eight, 51-43 two minutes into the quarter, a basket by Daley and two baskets from Starks pulled Macalester to within two, 51-49 with six minutes left. The teams exchanged baskets over the next four minutes until Daley made 1-of-2 from the line to make the score 57-54 Cobbers. A defensive stop and a basket by sophomore guard Sydney Smith (Gainesville, Va./Patriot) brought the Scots to within one, 57-56 at the 1:47 mark. After three more Concordia points, Norton responded with a three-pointer to cut the deficit back to one, 60-59 with 42 seconds left. With time running down, Macalester fouled Sieben, who hit both free throws. A missed three by the Scots and two more Cobber free throws iced the game for the hosts, 64-59.

Macalester shot 48.4 percent from the field in the second half but made 3-of-6 from the line compared to 8-of-9 for Concordia. Starks scored all of her game-high 20 points after halftime while registering three steals. Norton finished with a season-best 10 points, while Daley recorded nine points, four rebounds, five assists and two steals. Senior forward Katherine Norquist (Chicago, Ill./Walter Payton College Prep) matched her career high with 13 rebounds to go with four points and three assists. Sieben paced the Cobbers with 16 points and six assists.

The Scots host Augsburg University in a MIAC game Saturday, Jan. 25. Game time is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. in the Leonard Center.