01/08/07

Though they battled back from a six point deficit late in regulation to send the game into overtime, the Saints found a lid on their basket in the extra period, missing all nine attempts from the field, and lost to UW-Superior 75-68 Monday night at the Reif Center as the Yellowjackets swept the two-game season series in the twin ports rivalry.

Earlier in the season the two teams battled to a halftime tie only to have the ’Jackets out score the Saints by 17 in the second half in earning a 78-61 home victory.

Act 2 of the season series was close throughout the opening half but the Saints held a six point lead with under four minutes left. UWS fought back with a 14 to 3 run to close out the half, though, and took a five point lead into the locker room.

In the opening minutes of action in the second half, St. Scholastica had trimmed that lead to a single point only to see Superior run off nine consecutive points to grab their first double-digit lead of the game.

Over the next seven minutes, Superior maintained their edge over the Saints by no less than four points but with a little more than four minutes to play, the Saints fought back yet again to tie the score at 61 and then again at 64.

UWS scored the next basket and a series of misses by both teams followed until, with 17 seconds remaining, Whitney Latham was fouled by Superior’s Ashley Laidley then calmly sank both free throws to knot things up at 66. The ’Jackets had a great look at the basket on the final shot in regulation but Beth Haworth’s 3-point attempt with three ticks on the clock spun around the entirety of the inside of the rim before finally spinning out.

St. Scholastica’s only points in the OT period came from another pair of successful free throws by Latham that opened the scoring, but UWS scored nine consecutive points for the second time in the game to seal the win.

Latham led the Saints with 25 points, and Jessie Stenberg added 14 in the losing effort. Superior’s Carissa Nord had a game-high 26 including hitting 7-of-10 from behind the 3-point line.

The loss drops St. Scholastica’s overall record to 4-8 this season while the win improves the ’Jackets to 6-7 on the year.