CSS women's basketball holds off UWS comeback
Dec. 16—DULUTH — St. Scholastica did just enough in a red-hot first half to get out in front of regional rival Wisconsin-Superior, holding on for a 77-74 nonconference women's basketball victory on Saturday, Dec. 16 at Reif Gym.
The Saints were 16-for-26 (61 percent) from the field in the first half and made 6-of-13 3-point attempts. That led to a 29-point second quarter and a 48-32 halftime lead. A 3 from Hope Carlson (Proctor) just before the halfway mark of the third quarter marked the high-water mark for the Saints, who led 59-41 with five minutes left in the period. CSS made only one field goal in the next four minutes, allowing UWS to close to within nine before two late CSS buckets made it 65-52 at the end of the quarter.
The lead remained double-digits for CSS until points on three straight UWS possessions near the midpoint of the fourth quarter cut the deficit to 70-64. The Yellowjackets kept pushing, and Elise Besonen's jumper with 54 seconds to play made it a one-possession game. UWS's first chance to tie or take the lead ended in a miss by Hannah Hause with three seconds left. After a foul, Kloey Lind split two free throws for the Saints and Besonen's last-ditch effort was off the mark.
Lind, a 6-foot-1 freshman from Pine City, Minnesota, finished with a double-double of 24 points and 11 rebounds, while Jackie Johnson made five treys on the way to 18 points and Carlson scored 10 off the bench. CSS finished 25-for-48 from the floor and their 77 points were their most in a regulation game in more than four years (Dec. 14, 2019 vs. Northwestern, an 80-67 win).
For UWS, Besonen finished with 19 points and six assists, while Erika Mattson scored 15 and MyKenzie Leccia posted 11 points and a team-best eight rebounds.
Both teams are on a Christmas break, with CSS (5-4) returning to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Jan. 3 vs. Bethel and UWS (5-6) off until hosting Marian in the Superior Shootout Holiday Classic on Friday, Dec. 29.
