ST. PAUL, Minn. — St. Catherine improved to 11-5 overall and 8-5 in the MIAC by defeating host Macalester 66-45 Monday night. Ashley Busch led a very balanced Wildcat attack with 11 points to go along with four steals. Rachel Berglund and Brooke Hakanson added eight points each.

Macalester drops to 5-11 overall, 3-10 in MIAC play. The Scots were led by Trina PaStarr with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Danielle Johnson contributed 11 points, six boards and four steals, while Elise Pagel scored 10 points. For PaStarr, it was her second straight double-double.

St. Catherine shot 46%, compared to 32% for Mac. The Wildcats knocked down nine three-pointers at a 53% clip (9-for-17).

The Scots led for much of the first 12 minutes and were up 17-16 before the Wildcats took the lead for good with a basket at 7:30 of the first half to go up 18-17. That began an 8-0 CSC rally which led to a 31-25 lead at halftime.

Mac netted the first two points of the second half. St. Catherine, however, out-scored the home team 22-4 over the next 10 minutes to boost the margin to a safe 22 points at 53-31 with 8:58 to play.

Macalester returns to action Wednesday (Jan. 24) with a home game against St. Mary’s. The Wildcats play Wednesday at Augsburg.

St. Catherine vs Macalester
1/22/07 7:30 p.m. at St. Paul, Minn. (Macalester Gymnasium)
At St. Paul, Minn. (Macalester Gymnasium)
ST. CATHERINE 66, MACALESTER 45
ST. CATHERINE (11-5 / 8-5 MIAC)
Ashley Busch 4-8 1-1 11; Brooke Hakanson 3-6 0-0 8; Rachel Berglund 3-8 0-0
8; Erin Petrich 3-6 0-0 7; Chelsie Kurtenbach 3-4 1-2 7; Teresa Meiners 2-3
0-0 5; Sarah Schneider 1-5 3-3 5; Katie Fink 2-2 0-0 4; Emily Wigfield 2-2
0-0 4; Michel Weinhagen 1-3 0-0 3; Chelsea Wand 1-1 0-2 2; Trisha Johnson
0-4 2-2 2; Sara Schafhauser 0-2 0-0 0; Samantha Studwell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals
25-54 7-10 66.
MACALESTER (5-11 / 3-10 MIAC)
Trina PaStarr 5-11 3-4 13; Danielle Johnson 4-11 2-3 11; Elise Pagel 5-14
0-2 10; Chelsea Stinson 2-3 1-2 5; Annie Borton 1-1 2-2 4; Jenny Lee 0-0 2-2
2; Grace Wilson 0-1 0-0 0; Lara Avery 0-7 0-0 0; Sarah Tisel 0-2 0-0 0;
Callie PaStarr 0-4 0-2 0. Totals 17-54 10-17 45.
St. Catherine.................   31   35  -   66
Macalester....................   25   20  -   45
3-point goals-St. Catherine 9-17 (Brooke Hakanson 2-5; Ashley Busch 2-2;
Rachel Berglund 2-5; Erin Petrich 1-1; Teresa Meiners 1-1; Michel Weinhagen
1-2; Sara Schafhauser 0-1), Macalester 1-8 (Danielle Johnson 1-5; Elise
Pagel 0-1; Grace Wilson 0-1; Lara Avery 0-1). Fouled out--St.
Catherine-None, Macalester-None. Rebounds-St. Catherine 35 (Emily Wigfield
6; Trisha Johnson 6), Macalester 38 (Trina PaStarr 11). Assists-St.
Catherine 11 (Emily Wigfield 3), Macalester 6 (Danielle Johnson 2; Callie
PaStarr 2). Total fouls-St. Catherine 18, Macalester 9. A-125