ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College women's basketball team closed out its home schedule with a 61-49 victory over Concordia College in a MIAC game Wednesday night in the Leonard Center. The win evens the Scots' overall record at 12-12 and gives them a 7-10 mark in the conference. The Cobbers fall to 15-9 on the season and 10-7 in the MIAC.
The first quarter remained tight, with neither team leading by more than three points. A three-pointer by sophomore guard
Mary Daley (Cumberland, R.I./Bishop Feehan) with 1:17 left broke a 10-10 tie. Makayla Anderson answered for Concordia with the final basket of the quarter to make the score 13-12 Scots at the end of one. Macalester opened the second quarter with an 11-6 run that included seven points from senior guard
Peyton Starks (St. Louis, Mo./John Burroughs School) for a 24-18 advantage. Starks' first basket in the run gave her 1,622 career points, moving her into second place on Macalester's all-time scoring list.
The lead remained at six before a free throw by Brooklyn Christianson made the halftime score 27-22 Scots. Macalester shot 42.9 percent from the field in the second quarter while holding the Cobbers to 30.0 percent.
Early in the second half, three consecutive baskets by senior forward
Katherine Norquist (Chicago, Ill./Walter Payton College Prep) extended the Scots' lead to 11, 33-22. Concordia brought it down to seven, but a jumper by Starks and a conventional three-point play from Daley pushed the lead back up to 12, 38-26 with five minutes left in the quarter. Those baskets sparked a 12-2 run to give Macalester its largest lead of the game, 45-28 with 2:18 on the clock. The Cobbers tallied the final five points of the quarter to make the score 45-33 Scots heading into the final 10 minutes.
Following a three-pointer by Starks that gave Macalester a 51-38 edge, Concordia scored the next six points to cut the deficit to seven, 51-44. That's as close as the Cobbers would get the rest of the way, as the Scots led by as many as 14 points before clinching the 61-49 victory. Macalester committed just seven turnovers for the game while scoring 14 points off 20 Concordia turnovers.
Starks led the way with 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field. She also grabbed a team-best 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season. Norquist finished with 18 points, four boards, three assists, two steals and a block while making 8-of-10 from the free throw line. Daley made it three Scots in double figures with 12 points to go with seven rebounds. Anderson led Concordia with 10 points.
Macalester completes its season with a MIAC game at Saint Mary's University on Saturday, Feb. 22. The game starts at 1:00 p.m. in Winona, Minn.
