NEW ULM, Minn. – The Macalester College women's basketball team went on the road and battled Martin Luther College in a non-conference game, falling 71-67 despite 23 points from first year guard Faith Accardo (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Oaks Christian) Monday night in the Luther Student Center. The Scots are now 0-4 on the season, while the Knights improve to 2-1.

Macalester got off to a fast start in the first quarter, using a 14-2 run over the final 4:35 of the period to take an 18-6 lead. Six different players scored in the run that included a conventional three-point play by sophomore forward Cady Davis (Minneapolis, Minn./Roosevelt). Martin Luther responded in the second quarter with a 15-3 run of its own to tie the score at 21-21 with under four minutes left in the half. The score was still knotted at 27-27 in the final minute when sophomore forward Samantha Smith (Piedmont, Calif./Piedmont) drained a three-pointer and Accardo made a free throw around two free throws by Ava Walz to make the halftime score 31-29 Macalester. First year guard Megan Matthews (Boulder, Colo./Boulder) led the Scots with eight points in the first half.

The Knights took control of the game in the third quarter, building a 51-39 advantage with 2:34 remaining in the quarter. Four points by junior guard Mary Daley (Cumberland, R.I./Bishop Feehan) and free throws from Accardo and Davis cut the deficit to six, 51-45 heading into the final quarter. Martin Luther pushed the lead back up to 11, 58-47 before an 11-4 run by the Scots, capped by a three from Accardo, made it a four-point game, 62-58 with 2:25 to play.

Again the Knights answered, extending their advantage to 67-60 before Accardo hit a three and was fouled. She completed the four-point play to pull Macalester to within 67-64 with 32 seconds remaining. After MLC made 2-of-4 from the line, Accardo buried another three-pointer, her fourth of the game, to make the score 69-67 with 13 seconds left. This time Mya Morris made both free throws after being fouled, and one final three-point attempt by Accardo was off mark, giving the Knights the win.

Accardo tallied 15 of her career-high 23 points in the fourth quarter, shooting 4-of-6 from deep over the final 10 minutes. Junior guard Sydney Smith (Gainesville, Va./Patriot) scored 11 points, while Daley registered seven points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals. Davis led the Scots with nine rebounds. Morris paced Martin Luther with 23 points and 11 rebounds.

Macalester returns home to host the University of Northwestern on Saturday, Nov. 22. The game starts at 1:00 p.m. in the Leonard Center.