ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – Caitlin Navratil scored 27 points but it wasn't enough as the Nebraska Wesleyan women's basketball team dropped an 87-76 contest to Saint Mary's on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 17) at the College of Saint Benedict season opening tournament.
 
Saint Mary's got ahead 28-19 after the 1^st quarter and the Prairie Wolves were never able to recover.  NWU outscored SMU by four points in the 2^nd quarter to cut the lead down to five points at halftime.  In the second half, SMU extended the lead to one point after three quarters then held NWU to just 11 points in the final period.
 
Navratil made a basket to open the 4^th quarter making the score 71-67 with just over nine minutes left in the game.  Unfortunately, the Prairie Wolves went scoreless for the next four minutes as Saint Mary's went on a 7-0 run to get the lead back to double digits.
 
The Prairie Wolves got off to a slow start shooting just 40 percent from the floor in the 1^st quarter going 1-5 from 3-point range.  Saint Mary's was quick out of the gate shooting 52.4 percent making three 3-pointers scoring 28 points in the first ten minutes.
 
NWU had a very quick turnaround having to play a 1 pm game on Saturday after finishing a double overtime marathon game on Friday night that ended well after 10 pm.
 
Three Prairie Wolves ended the game in double figures as they shot 41.9 percent from the field.  NWU was 9-24 from 3-point range.  Navratil scored her 27 points on 10-17 shooting, going 4-5 from 3-point land after struggling shooting on Friday night.
 
Klaire Phillips scored 12 points with five assists, five rebounds and three steals.  Bailey Hallgren Meehan also reached double figures scoring 10 points.
 
Saint Mary's was led by Maggie Robertson and Jade Biermeier who each had 15 points.