St. Paul, Minn. - After two consecutive comeback wins on the road the Blazers made it a little easier on themselves today (Feb. 2) at St. Catherine, defeating the Wildcats 66-45 and never trailing in the game.
The win is the Blazers eighth straight since defeating then-No. 3 ranked St. Thomas in Claire Lynch Hall on Jan. 12.
Defense dominated for the Blazers (16-4, 14-3 MIAC) in the first half. They held the Wildcats (2-18, 1-16 MIAC) to just 21 first half points, while struggling to find the basket offensively, converting just 13-of-34 (38%) from the floor and 1-of-9 (11%) from beyond the arc. With three minutes to play however, the Blazers found their stroke, going on a 10-to-2 run to close out the first half with a 33-21 lead.
The Blazers were not any better from three-point-land in the second half (1-10), but their quick defense kept them out of trouble for most of the way. Wildcat guard Sarina Baker's three-pointer with 13 minutes left to play cut the Blazer lead to eight at 39-31. That was as close as they would get. The Blazers outscored the Wildcats 27-14 to finish the game with a 66-45 victory.
The Blazers shot 41% (26-63) from the floor while holding the Wildcats to just 29% (13-44). They were also plus-nine (40-31) in the rebounding margin. Key to their defense was a total of just nine team fouls. With limited opportunities from the free-throw line the Blazers doomed the Wildcats chance of comeback.
Brianna Barrett led the Blazers' scoring, surpassing the 20-point mark for the second consecutive game. Those 20 points improves her points-per-game to 15.0 during conference games this year, which also vaults her into second place on the MIAC leaderboard.
Another bright spot for the Blazers was
Mattie Lueck. She recorded the first double-double of her young career, leading the Blazers with 10 rebounds and adding 11 points. She joins
Whitney Canton and
Morgan Dale as the only Blazers to earn a double-double this year. Since
Jamie Wollin's injury thrust Lueck into the starting lineup three games ago ,she has covered the position splendidly, averaging 10.3 points and 6.8 rebounds over that span.
Whitney Canton added 13 points, her eighth straight game in double-digit figures.
The Blazers will return to action on Monday (Feb. 4) when the Augsburg Auggies will visit Claire Lynch Hall. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
