SUPERIOR, Wis. – St. Catherine used a big third quarter to defeat the UW-Superior women's basketball team, 69-47, in the Superior Shootout Holiday Classic on Friday at Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium.
 
The Wildcats outscored UWS, 17-5, in the period, holding the Yellowjackets scoreless for over seven minutes, to improve to 5-2 on the season. The game marked the return of former Superior head coach Don Mulhern, who won a program-record 147 games during an 11-year career from 2006-17. Mulhern is in his seventh season leading the Wildcats.
 
St. Kate's shot over 50 percent from the field, connecting on 28-of-55 attempts as a team, getting a game-high 24 points and nine rebounds from Sam Orth. SCU outrebounded the 'Jackets, 40-25, and turned 20 UWS miscues into 23 points.
 
UWS fell to 4-5 with the loss despite a tight first half that saw the host hang with St. Kate's. Sophomore Katie Dobson (Black River Falls, Wis./Black River Falls) sunk a jumper following a steal with 3:41 left in the first quarter for a 12-9 lead. From there, the Wildcats engineered an 11-2 run that gave them a 19-14 edge. Junior Bryton Kukowski (Duluth, Minn./Hermantown) scored the 'Jackets' final three points of the quarter to close to withing 19-17 after 10 minutes.
 
Kukowski then knotted the game at 21-21 a minute into the second quarter with a jumper in transition, and junior Erika Mattson (Ely, Minn./Ely Memorial) later hit a 3-pointer after a steal by Dobson to cut the deficit to 25-24 midway through the stanza. Greta Schimnowski hit a trey with 50 seconds remaining in the half that gave St. Kate's its first double-digit lead of the night at 36-26, but Kukowski banked home a running triple at the buzzer that sent Superior into the locker room down, 38-29.
 
UWS never really got going in the second half, though, as St. Catherine held the 'Jackets off the scoreboard for 7:01 in the third and fourth quarters until senior Kaelyn Christian (St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville Senior) halted the drought with a three-point play with 9:04 on the clock that made it 55-37.
 
Kukowski was the only UWS player in double figures with 12 points, while Dobson had eight – all of which came in the first half. Senior Mady Sanders (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) tallied five points and a team-high eight rebounds, and Christian also scored five, adding four assists.
 
The Yellowjackets return to action Saturday at 3:30 p.m., closing the tournament against UW-River Falls, a 61-49 winner over Finlandia in the first game of the day.