ST. PAUL, Minn. – The St. Olaf College women's basketball team outscored Macalester College by a 35-28 margin in the second half but could not overcome a 14-point halftime deficit in a 63-56 loss on Friday evening at the Leonard Center.

Macalester (3-0) built a 35-21 halftime lead after limiting St. Olaf (0-2) to nine made field goals in the opening half and led by at least seven for the entire second half. The Oles were playing their first game in 24 days dating back to a 68-64 loss to St. Catherine on March 16.

Sophomore Rachel Kelly had a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds for St. Olaf, while senior Keegan Mulvihill added 12 points and six boards of her own. Sophomore Cassie Fix contributed nine points and four assists for the Oles, who shot just 28.8 percent (23-for-80) from the floor.

Justine Barraza scored a game-high 17 points to go with seven assists to pace Macalester despite shooting just 5-for-19 from the field. Katherine Podoll had 15 points and six rebounds, while Kayla Togneri pulled down 17 rebounds and had six points for the Scots, who shot 40.4 percent (23-for-57) for the game.

After Kelly opened the game with the first basket, Barraza scored seven points during a 9-0 Macalester run to put the Scots on top by seven early. The Scots led 16-10 after the first quarter before building a double-digit-point lead midway through the second.

A bucket by Kelly 30 seconds into the second quarter brought the Oles within four, but the Scots went on a 10-2 run over the next 3:31 to establish a 26-14 lead with 5:59 left in the first half. Macalester led by as many as 15 in the opening half and took a 35-21 lead into the break.

St. Olaf trimmed an 18-point deficit early in the third quarter to nine midway through the quarter but could not get closer than seven in the second half. A jumper by Fix with 7:59 to go that made it 49-42 was the closest the Oles got.

Macalester and St. Olaf conclude their abbreviated seasons on Tuesday, April 13 at 7 p.m. at Skoglund Center.