ST. PAUL, Minn. — There were plenty of bright spots for the Saint Mary's University women's basketball team Tuesday evening in its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game against Macalester.
Izzy Goettelman (Winona, Minn.) hit the 20-point barrier for the second time in her collegiate career, and
Katelyn Cruze (Litchfield, Minn.) recorded her first career double-double to highlight the Cardinals' efforts against the Scots.
Unfortunately, the duo's efforts weren't enough to get the Cardinals over the hump, as Macalester pulled away in the second half in dealing Saint Mary's a 72-56 setback at Leonard Center Gym.
The two teams took turns playing with the lead over the game's opening quarter, with Saint Mary's grabbing the upper hand early, leading by four on two separate occasions, while the Scots took control late, outscoring SMU 14-7 to grab a three-point, 18-15 advantage after 10 minutes.
It was more of the same in the second quarter, with Saint Mary's once again owning the early part of the frame, scoring 13 of the first 20 points to take a 28-25 lead with less than three minutes remaining, and hanging on to take a one-point, 30-29 lead into the locker room at the break.
Saint Mary's came out of the intermission picking up right where it left off, scoring five of the first seven points for a 35-31 lead.
That, however, would be the last time the Cardinals would play with the lead, as Macalester would answer with an 18-4 run to grab a 10-point cushion, 49-39, and would lead by seven, 50-43, heading into the fourth quarter.
And the Scots were just getting warmed up, as they built their lead to as many as 15 and outscored Saint Mary's 22-15 over the game's final 10 minutes to seal the win.
Goettelman went 7-for-21 from the field and a perfect 5-for-5 en route to her team-leading 20 points — two shy of her career-high — while Cruze chipped in career-highs in both points (11) and rebounds (10) en route to career double-double No. 1. Alyssa Colman (Matteson, Ill.) also scored in double figures for Saint Mary's, netting 10 points.
As a team, SMU shot 28.6 percent from the field (20-for-70) with a pair of 3-pointers and a 14 of 20 effort from the free throw line. Macalester, meanwhile, was 28-for-59 from the field (47.5 %) with six 3-pointers and a 10-for-14 effort from the line.
The Cardinals (0-2 MIAC, 0-2 overall) are now off until Wednesday, Nov. 30, when they kick off the home portion of their schedule with a 7 p.m. matchup against St. Olaf at the Saint Mary's Gym.
