ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College women's basketball team used a dominating fourth quarter to defeat St. Olaf College, 78-57 in a MIAC game Saturday afternoon in the Leonard Center. The win gives the Scots an 11-12 overall record, including a 6-10 mark in conference play. The Oles drop to 7-16 on the season and 1-15 in the MIAC.

Early in the first quarter, Macalester erased an 8-2 deficit with four points from senior guard Peyton Starks (St. Louis, Mo./John Burroughs School) and a basket by senior forward Katherine Norquist (Chicago, Ill./Walter Payton College Prep) that tied the score at 8-8. After a St. Olaf three-pointer, the Scots tallied the next seven points to take a 15-11 lead with 4:14 on the clock. Starks had four points and sophomore guard Sydnee Smith (Gainesville, Va./Patriot) hit a three in the run. Starks added a basket at the end of the quarter to give Macalester a 17-14 edge at the end of one quarter.

St. Olaf battled back in the second quarter to take one-point leads at 22-21 and 25-24 before Norquist made a pair of baskets to put the Scots on top, 28-25 with three minutes left in the half. But the Oles closed the half with a 6-2 run to take a 31-30 lead at the break. St. Olaf shot 50.0 percent from the field in the second quarter compared to 37.5 percent for Macalester.

After Joy Brandenstein made a basket to start the third quarter, the Scots used five points from senior guard Nicole Norton (Brussels, Wis./Southern Door) that included a three, and four points from Starks to regain the upper hand, 39-33 with 7:26 left in the quarter. A three-pointer by sophomore guard Mary Daley (Cumberland, R.I./Bishop Feehan) helped Macalester increase its lead to nine, 44-35, only to have the Oles pull to within four following a three from Brandenstein and a basket by Sophia Korman that made the score 44-40 Scots. Senior guard Jessica Sabbagh (Eau Claire, Wis./Regis) drained her second three of the game for a 47-40 lead. Daley hit another three following a pair of St. Olaf baskets to make the score 50-44 Macalester heading to the fourth quarter.

The lead was seven, 55-48 with eight minutes to play when the Scots took control of the game with a dominating 17-3 run to put the game away, 72-51 with 3:26 remaining. Smith made a pair of threes and Sabbagh hit another in the run that saw Macalester shoot 7-of-8 from the field while holding the Oles to one field goal. The lead grew to as many as 23 before St. Olaf made two free throws in the final minute to make the score 78-57 Scots.

Macalester ended up shooting 60.0 percent from the field in the fourth quarter to make a season-best 50.8 percent of its field goal attempts for the game. Starks led the Scots with 25 points to go with six assists, while Norquist contributed 20 points, five rebounds, seven assists and four steals. Sabbagh notched a career-high nine points on 3-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc, while Smith also scored nine points on three threes. Norton and Daley had three steals apiece, as Macalester swiped 13 steals while committing just six turnovers and dishing out 19 assists in the win. Brandenstein led the Oles with 17 points.

Prior to the game, the Scots honored their seniors Norquist, Norton, Sabbagh, Starks and Camille Samuel (Tampa, Fla./Tampa Preparatory) as a part of Senior Day.

Macalester plays its final home game of the season on Wednesday, Feb. 19 against Concordia College. The MIAC game is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. in the Leonard Center.