ST. PAUL, Minn. – First year
Grace Hegland fell one point shy of her first collegiate double-double as the St. Olaf College women's basketball team was defeated, 67-48, by the No. 20-ranked University of St. Thomas on Wednesday evening at Schoenecker Arena.
Hegland finished with nine points and a career-high 12 rebounds, which were double her previous career-high total, for St. Olaf (8-16, 5-14 MIAC), which got double-digit scoring efforts from seniors
Britta Koenen and
Ella Skrien in the loss. St. Thomas (19-5, 15-4 MIAC) held the Oles to 25 points over the first three quarters to pick up the win.
Koenen scored a team-high 14 points while adding six rebounds and two blocks for St. Olaf, while Skrien added 10 points. The Oles outscored the Tommies by a 23-12 margin in the fourth quarter in the loss.
Shayla Wallin recorded a game-high 16 points and seven rebounds to lead the way for St. Thomas. Noelle Tomes and Amber Darge each provided 12 points off the bench, while Macy Hatlestad added 10 points. The Tommies shot 12-for-28 (42.9 percent) from behind the arc in the win.
St. Olaf held St. Thomas to 3-for-16 (18.8 percent) shooting in the first quarter and held the Tommies scoreless for the final 4:39 of the quarter but trailed 10-0 after 10 minutes. The Oles started the second quarter on a 7-0 run to make it a three-point game and trailed by just one, 13-12, with 6:26 remaining in the quarter after a three-pointer by junior
Keegan Mulvihill.
The Tommies broke the game open by scoring the game's next 14 points to open up a 15-point lead, 27-12, with 2:05 left in the half before St Olaf trimmed the margin to 11, 27-16, by scoring the final four points of the half.
St. Thomas connected on three-pointers on its first three possessions of the third quarter and went 6-for-7 from three-point range in the quarter to take a 55-25 lead after three. The Tommies led by at least 18 the rest of the way despite being outscored, 23-12, in the final 10 minutes.
St. Olaf closes out its season by hosting Macalester on Senior Day on Saturday, Feb. 22. The Oles will recognize their five seniors and their families on the court prior to the 3 p.m. tip-off, which caps a doubleheader at Skoglund Center.
