NEW ULM, Minn. – The St. Olaf College women's basketball team was unable to get its offense going in a 59-40 non-conference loss to Martin Luther College on Tuesday evening at Luther Student Center.

St. Olaf (3-2) held a 21-19 lead after a low-scoring first half before Martin Luther (4-2) outscored the Oles by a 49-10 margin in the second half. The victory was the Knights' first over the Oles since Nov. 22, 1994, snapping a string of 11 consecutive St. Olaf wins in the series.

First years Erin Schauer and Hallie Koltz had eight points apiece to lead St. Olaf, which got seven points apiece from junior Bree Wilkerson and sophomore Elise Hahn. The Oles shot 34.8 percent (16-for-46) from the field and were outscored by a 44-24 margin in points in the paint. Martin Luther also turned 23 St. Olaf turnovers into a 16-4 edge in points off turnovers.

After entering the night averaging 9.2 points per game on the season, Lydia Feidt exploded for 24 points, 13 rebounds, and seven steals for the hosts, shooting 11-for-19 from the field on the night. Leading scorer Mya Morris was just 4-for-18 from the field but was in double figures with 12 points, while Wilhelmina Wenz also shot just 3-for-15 on the night but had eight points, 15 rebounds, and five assists. The two teams combined to shoot 2-for-40 on three-pointers, with St. Olaf going 1-for-13 and Martin Luther 1-for-27.

Martin Luther forced St. Olaf into seven turnovers over the first seven minutes of the game in a first quarter that ended with the teams tied at 11-11. After a layup by Schauer 2:36 in, the Oles went scoreless for nearly six minutes until Wilkerson made a pair of free throws with 1:42 remaining. St. Olaf's defense limited Martin Luther to 21.7 percent (5-for-23) shooting in the quarter.

In the second, the Oles held the Knights to 15.8 percent (3-for-19) shooting from the field and eight points to take a 21-19 lead into the locker room. Wilkerson had four of St. Olaf's 10 points in the quarter.

After shooting 19.0 percent (8-for-42) in the opening half, Martin Luther started the third quarter 8-for-13 (61.5 percent) from the field and 7-for-8 (87.5 percent) from the free-throw line to build a 42-29 lead with 2:26 left in the third. The Knights scored 23 points in the third quarter after having just 19 in the first half.

Koltz's three-pointer 11 seconds into the fourth quarter was the first make from behind the arc for either team and made it a 10-point game, but that was as close as St. Olaf got. Feidt scored eight points in the fourth, as Martin Luther was 8-for-14 (57.1 percent) from the field to see out the victory.

The Oles will look to bounce back with a home game against Crown College at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 2.