01/21/06

With today's 77-59 home win over Crown College, the Saints have extended their season and UMAC win streak to four games and now stand at 4-2 within the conference and 9-8 overall. The win at the Reif Center marks the first time this season that the Saints have been above the .500 mark.

Behind 50% shooting in the opening half, St. Scholastica broke out to a 40-23 lead entering the break. The Saints took only 7 shots from behind the 3-point line, preferring instead to work the ball inside where Sarah Klocke was making back door cuts and Heather Saralampi scored 6 in the half, almost all of her shots in the paint.

Throughout most of the second half the Saints held nearly a 20 point lead over the Purple Storm. Doing her best to keep the Storm in the game, Jill Stumbo of Crown led a one-dimensional attack for the visitors scoring a game-high 32 while the rest of her team registered only 27 points.

Meanwhile, the Saints were spreading the wealth around as four players finished in double-figures. Klocke led the Saints with 19 points, Erin Niles contributed 14, Whitney Latham finished with 13 and Jen Kne had 11.

Klocke and Kne both had a double-double in the contest as each added 10 rebounds to their double-digit point totals.

Defensively, the Saints had 10 steals, forced 16 turnovers from the Storm, and had 3 blocked shots.

St. Scholastica opened the year with a win but then lost their next three games. They entered the UMAC part of their schedule with a 5-6 record.

Opening the UMAC slate on the road, the Saints lost their first two conference games. Now, though, this weekend's pair of UMAC wins extends the recent win streak and allows the Saints to enter their next game against Northland with a winning record as well as some needed momentum.