NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College women's basketball team cut a nine-point halftime deficit to two headed to the fourth quarter before going cold over the final 10 minutes of a 67-54 loss to the University of Dubuque to close out the Country Inn & Suites Holiday Classic on Thursday afternoon at Skoglund Center.

St. Olaf (3-6) trailed Dubuque (8-4) by a 33-24 margin at halftime after being held to five points in the second quarter, but turned things around with a 22-point third quarter to get within a pair with 10 minutes remaining. In the fourth quarter, the Oles shot just 3-for-20 (15.0 percent) from the field as the Spartans pulled away for the 13-point win.

Junior Rachel Kelly recorded her third double-double in the last five games with a team-high 17 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for St. Olaf. Fellow junior Grace Hegland came off the bench to add nine points, including sinking both of her three-point attempts, and four rebounds, but the Oles could not overcome 20 turnovers in the loss.

At the conclusion of the tournament, Kelly was one of six student-athletes named to the Country Inn & Suites Holiday Classic All-Classic Team after recording 31 points and 14 rebounds over St. Olaf's two games. She was joined on the team by Most Valuable Player Leah Porath of UW-Oshkosh, Jenna Jorgensen of UW-Oshkosh, Tabria Thomas of Dubuque, Lauren Knight of Carthage, and Karsen Kershner of Dubuque.

Thomas paced Dubuque with 21 points on 7-for-15 from the field and 7-for-10 from the free-throw line while also grabbing nine rebounds and handing out three assists. Kershner was also in double figures with 16 points, eight rebounds, and four blocked shots for the Spartans, who outscored the Oles by a 23-7 margin from the charity stripe in the win.

Dubuque opened up an 11-7 lead midway through the first quarter before Kelly hit back-to-back layups to tie the game for St. Olaf. Later in the quarter, a three-pointer by first year Paige Yagodinski and a bucket by Kelly gave the Oles a 16-13 lead, and St. Olaf took a 19-15 lead into the second thanks to three late points from Hegland.

The Dubuque defense forced 10 St. Olaf turnovers in the second quarter as the Spartans outscored the Oles by an 18-5 margin to claim a 33-24 halftime lead. Thomas accounted for 10 of Dubuque's 18 points in the quarter as part of her 14-point first half.

The two teams combined to make the first seven shots of the third quarter before St. Olaf held Dubuque to just two points during the span of 4:40 as part of a 9-2 run to tie the game at 41-41 with three minutes to go in the third. Both teams shot at least 50.0 percent from the field in the quarter, but a late three-point play by Kershner, who had nine points in the quarter, helped Dubuque maintain a 48-46 lead after three.

Hegland opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer off an assist by Yagodinski to put the Oles ahead, 49-48, before Dubuque held St. Olaf scoreless until a layup by Kelly with 4:49 remaining. The Oles' defense kept them in the game, trailing by just one after Kelly's layup, but the Spartans went on a 7-0 run to stretch their lead to 59-51 with 2:44 to play and held on down the stretch.

St. Olaf returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play with a trip to Concordia-Moorhead on Wednesday, Jan. 5 for a 5 p.m. tip-off.