ST. PAUL, Minn. – St. Catherine University pulled away in the second half and led wire-to-wire in a 71-48 victory over the St. Olaf College women's basketball team in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play on Saturday afternoon at Butler Center.

St. Catherine (9-10, 6-8 MIAC) shot over 58.0 percent in three of the four quarters and finished the game shooting at a 55.8 percent (29-for-52) clip to salve a split of the regular season meetings between the two teams. First year Rachel Kelly scored a team-high 12 points for St. Olaf (8-11, 5-9 MIAC) in the loss.

Despite the loss, the Oles remain in contention for a playoff spot, sitting a game and a half behind Concordia-Moorhead for the sixth and final MIAC Playoff berth.

Eleven Wildcats scored in the game, led by Danica Cambrice's 16 points on an efficient 6-for-8 from the floor. Cambrice added seven rebounds, three assists, three steals and one block. Jackie Radford joined Cambrice in double figures with 11 points.

After being held scoreless in St. Olaf's 58-55 win over St. Kate's on Dec. 9, Radford scored nine of her 11 points in the first quarter to help the Wildcats to a 22-15 lead after one. The hosts opened the game on a 9-1 run over the first 3:22 and shot 8-for-12 (66.7 percent) from the field in the opening 10 minutes.

A three-pointer by senior Ella Skrien and a basket by Gerovac in the first two minutes of the second quarter brought the Oles within two, 22-20. Later in the quarter, St. Olaf got within one, 26-25, on a three-pointer by first year Grace Hegland, but St. Kate's scored the next eight points and went into the locker room up seven, 34-27.

The Wildcats scored the first four points of the second half to push their lead to double figures for the first time in the game and led by at least eight for the rest of the game. St. Kate's closed the third quarter on a 7-0 run to balloon its lead to 17 and led by as many as 25 down the stretch.

St. Olaf entered the game as the top rebounding team in the MIAC, averaging 41.0 rebounds per game, but was outrebounded by a 32-25 margin. St. Catherine held a 48-18 edge in points in the paint in the victory.

The Oles return home to face the College of Saint Benedict on Wednesday, Feb. 5 on Youth Basketball Day presented by Schieck Orthodontics at Skoglund Center. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.