ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College women's basketball team hosted Buena Vista University in a non-conference game Friday evening and came up short, 73-51 in the Leonard Center. The Scots are now 0-3 on the season, while the Beavers improve to 2-1.

Macalester struggled from the field in the first quarter but managed to trail by only five, 14-9, with sophomore forward Samantha Smith (Piedmont, Calif./Piedmont) making a three-pointer to end the quarter. After Buena Vista pushed the lead back up to eight in the second quarter, threes from sophomore guard Emma Karlin (Rockville, Md./Richard Montgomery) and junior guard Kendall Bernbaum (Dallas, Texas/Shelton School) helped the Scots come within three, 22-19 with 7:09 on the clock. The Beavers responded with a basket, only to have Macalester reel off eight straight points, including six from first year guard Faith Accardo (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Oaks Christian) on three free throws and a three-pointer, to give the Scots the lead, 27-24. But BVU tallied the final nine points of the half to regain the upper hand, 31-27 at the break.

Early in the third quarter, five points from sophomore forward Cady Davis (Minneapolis, Minn./Roosevelt) brought Macalester to within three, 35-32. After the Beavers used another 9-0 run to lead 44-32, junior guard Mary Daley (Cumberland, R.I./Bishop Feehan) scored six points in an 8-3 run for Macalester to make the score 47-40 BVU. Again the Beavers finished strong, closing the period with a 10-3 run to take a 57-43 advantage into the fourth quarter.

The Scots never came closer than 15 points in the final quarter, with Buena Vista leading by as many as 24 points before senior forward Ellie Corbett (Austin, Texas/James Bowie) scored the last basket of the game. The Beavers shot 48.4 percent from the field in the second half compared to 25.0 percent for Macalester. For the game BVU outscored the Scots 42-22 in the paint.

Daley led the Scots with 15 points to go with five rebounds and four assists. Davis grabbed a career-best 10 rebounds to go with seven points and two steals, while first year guard Megan Matthews (Boulder, Colo./Boulder) swiped three steals and had four points and six boards. Mary Walker led all players with 21 points for Buena Vista.

Macalester continues non-conference play with a game at Martin Luther College on Monday, Nov. 17. The game is scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m. in New Ulm, Minn.