ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College women's basketball team was unable to overcome a slow start in a non-conference loss to UW-Superior, 54-43 Tuesday evening in the Leonard Center. The Scots are now 1-5 on the season, while the Yellowjackets improve to 2-4.

Defense dominated the first half, as the two teams combined to make just 11 field goals over the first 20 minutes of the game. UW-Superior out-scored Macalester, 12-4 in the first quarter and 11-7 in the second to take a 23-11 lead at halftime. The lead grew to 19, as the Yellowjackets went on a 17-10 run in the third quarter to lead, 40-21 heading into the fourth quarter. Junior guard Mary Daley (Cumberland, R.I./Bishop Feehan) tallied eight of the Scots' 10 points in the quarter.

After UW-Superior pushed its lead up to 22, 44-22, Macalester received baskets from Daley, sophomore forwards Samantha Smith (Piedmont, Calif./Piedmont) and Cady Davis (Minneapolis, Minn./Roosevelt) to cut the deficit to 16, 44-28. Colleen Claude pushed the lead back up to 19 with a three-pointer, but the Scots responded with a 12-2 run that made the score 49-40 with 1:25 remaining. Junior guard Kendall Bernbaum (Dallas, Texas/Shelton School) drained a three-pointer after two Yellowjackets' free throws to make it an eight-point game, 51-43 with 42 second left. But that's as close as Macalester would get, as UW-Superior earned a 54-43 win.

The Scots made a season-low three three-pointers on 22 attempts from beyond the arc. Daley registered a team-best 13 points, seven rebounds and four steals, while Davis finished with seven points, five boards and three steals. Megan Schafer led all scorers with 16 points for the Yellowjackets.

Macalester begins conference play on Wednesday, Dec. 3 against Bethel. The MIAC game is set to begin at 7:00 p.m. in the Leonard Center.