ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College women's basketball team used a 19-6 fourth quarter to beat St. Catherine University, 64-57 in a MIAC game Wednesday night in the Leonard Center. The win gives the Scots (10-10 overall, 5-8 MIAC) a sweep of the season series with the Wildcats, who fall to 10-10, 5-8 MIAC.

Early in the first quarter, back-to-back threes by senior guard Peyton Starks (St. Louis, Mo./John Burroughs School) and sophomore guard Kendall Bernbaum (Dallas, Texas/Shelton School) helped Macalester take a 10-4 lead. A basket by sophomore guard Sydnee Smith (Gainesville, Va./Patriot) later in the quarter made the score 12-7 Scots before Greta Schimnowski hit a three at the end of the quarter to cut Macalester's advantage to two, 12-10 heading into the second.

The Wildcats opened the new period with five straight points for a 15-12 lead. A 9-2 Scots' run, buoyed by a three-pointer by Bernbaum, put Macalester back on top, 21-17 with 5:07 on the clock. The lead grew to 28-20 following a three and two free throws from Starks, but St. Catherine tallied the final seven points of the quarter, including a buzzer-beating layup by Jordyn Peed, to make the halftime score 28-27 Scots. Smith and Starks each had eight points in the first half, with Smith grabbing nine rebounds.

The Wildcats scored the first basket of the third quarter to briefly hold the lead, but a three-pointer by Smith sparked a 13-6 run to put Macalester back on top, 41-35 with 5:21 to play in the third quarter. The lead was five, 46-41 with 2:33 on the clock when St. Catherine tallied seven of the next nine points to tie the score at 48-48 at the end of the third. Both teams shot 50.0 percent from the field in the quarter.

Rachel Randleman drained a three-pointer on the Wildcats' first possession of the final quarter to take a 51-48 lead, only to have sophomore guard Mary Daley (Cumberland, R.I./Bishop Feehan) answer with a three to tie the score again. The score was knotted at 53-53 when the Scots reeled off a 9-0 run, including five points from Starks and four from Daley, to take their largest lead of the game, 62-53 with 2:05 to play. St. Catherine never came closer than five points the rest of the way, as Macalester earned a sweep in the season series with the Wildcats.

Starks and Daley each had 17 points and six rebounds in the win, with Daley adding three assists to go with her career-best scoring performance. Smith registered a double-double with 13 points and 11 boards, while Bernbaum finished with nine points on 3-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc. Peed led St. Catherine with 16 points.

Next up for Macalester is a conference game at Hamline on Saturday, Feb. 8. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m. in St. Paul.