DULUTH, Minn. – The St. Olaf College women's basketball team lost a defensive battle to the College of St. Scholastica, 48-43, in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play on Wednesday night at Reif Gym.

On a night where both teams shot 33.3 percent or lower, St. Olaf (6-6, 0-5 MIAC) cut a 13-point deficit to one midway through the fourth quarter but was unable to tie or take the lead, as St. Scholastica (7-5, 4-1 MIAC) held on for the victory. After the Oles got within a point with 5:13 to go, the Saints held the visitors to three points the rest of the way while closing the game on a 7-1 run.

Senior Sophia Kormann established a career high in scoring for the second game in a row by recording a 22-point, 11-rebound double-double for the first 20/10 game of her career. The senior was 10-for-12 (83.3 percent) at the free-throw line while accounting for over half of St. Olaf's points in the game. Senior Ziling Zhen was the only other Ole with more than four points by providing eight points off the bench while going 2-for-4 from three-point range.

St. Olaf held St. Scholastica to 33.3 percent (18-for-54) shooting in the game but shot just 17.5 percent (11-for-63) in the loss. The Oles were 17-for-24 (70.8 percent) at the free-throw line, compared to 9-for-25 (36.0 percent) for the Saints. St. Scholastica scored 28 of its 48 points in the paint, while St. Olaf grabbed 25 offensive rebounds and held an 18-12 edge in second-chance points.

St. Scholastica shot 7-for-11 (63.6 percent) from the field and held St. Olaf to 3-for-15 (20.0 percent) as a team in the first quarter but led by just two at 14-12. Zhen had five of her eight points in the quarter, while sophomore Chloee Smith hit a three-pointer in the closing seconds to get the Oles within a pair after 10 minutes.

Zhen's second three-pointer of the evening early in the second quarter halved St. Olaf's deficit from six to three, but St. Scholastica took a 28-22 lead into the break after Ava Haus scored the final points of the half with a three-pointer with 1:20 to go. Kormann had 10 of the Oles' 22 first-half points, while the Saints scored 20 of the 28 points in the paint.

The hosts extended their lead to 12 twice midway through the third quarter before opening up their largest lead of the night at 41-28 with 1:48 to go in the third. In the fourth, Kormann scored seven consecutive points before first year Grace Gertner sank back-to-back free throws with 5:13 to go to bring the Oles within a point.

On the ensuing possession, Jada Bierschbach scored St. Scholastica's first points of the quarter on a layup with 4:55 to go. Two split trips to the line for the Saints were the lone points of the game after Bierschbach's layup until sophomore Kyla Elsbury hit a three-pointer after an offensive rebound by Kormann with 26 seconds to go to make it a 45-43 game. After starting the night 6-for-21 (28.6 percent) from the free-throw line, the Saints made 3-of-4 tries in the final 22 seconds to secure the win.

St. Olaf will welcome Concordia-Moorhead to the Skoglund Center for a 3 p.m. start on Saturday, Jan. 11.