02/10/07

St. Scholastica won their third game in a row, and fifth of their last sixth, with a 58-47 win on Saturday afternoon over Northwestern College at the Ericksen Center in St. Paul.

The win moves the Saints (10-12, 6-5 UMAC) ahead of Northwestern (7-15, 5-6 UMAC) into fifth place in the UMAC standings, only one spot away from a postseason UMAC tournament berth. With the next three teams ahead of the Saints locked in a dead heat with eight wins each, the Saints will have to sweep their remaining three games to gain one of the coveted tournament berths.

Trailing 15-9 early in the game against Northwestern, the Saints reeled off a 20-0 run and never looked back. St. Scholastica never trailed after their run and though the Eagles closed to within six late in the second half, the Saints were able to close the game out with a 5-0 run to cement the win.

Kirsten Haukom led the Saints in scoring with 13 points and had a game-high three steals on the defensive side of the ball.

The Saints out rebounded the Eagles 45 to 40 and were led by Katie Cross who pulled down a game-high nine rebounds.

Both teams shot well from the floor in the opening half, the Saints finishing the first 20 minutes at 42 percent while the Eagles were at 43 percent, but neither team was able to live up to their first half performance in the second half as the Saints dropped to 24 percent and Northwestern to 26 percent.

The road win at Northwestern completes a weekend sweep for the Saints following a crushing 25-point win over Crown College in St. Bonifacius on Friday night.