River Bend Times

It wasn't always pretty, but in a game where both teams shot 31 percent from the field, St. Ambrose did enough in the second half to pull out a 62-55 win over Mount Mercy Thursday at Lee Lohman Arena.

The Bees outscored the Mustangs 39-30 in the second half to post their seventh straight win.

SAU led just 47-45 more than two minutes into the fourth quarter. With the team just 1-for-10 from beyond the arc through three periods, Anna Plumer knocked down a big 3-pointer to spark a 7-0 run. Abby Wolter finished the run with straight points to put St. Ambrose in front 54-45. Minutes later, Jaynee Prestegaard's layup gave the Bees their biggest lead of the night at 58-47 with three minutes to play.

Mount Mercy (7-6) made a final push to get within 61-55 with 90 seconds left. The Mustangs got a stop and had a 3-pointer in the air that would have cut the deficit to three, but it was off the mark. Caitlyn Thole tracked down the rebound before hitting 1-of-2 from the line to extend the lead to 62-55 with 32 seconds remaining. MMU came up empty on its next possession, allowing SAU to dribble out the clock.

St. Ambrose shot 50 percent from the floor over the final 10 minutes to climb to 31.3 percent for the game.

The Bees dug themselves a big hole in the opening frame, hitting just 2-of-14 from the field in falling behind 15-7. Thole, Prestegaard, Mel Stewart and Wolter each scored as part of an 8-2 run that opened the second quarter. It came as part of a larger 12-4 spurt capped by a pair of Kaitlyn Brunson free throws that knotted the score at 19-19.

The game remained close from there. Mount Mercy led 25-23 at the half and St. Ambrose held a 43-42 lead entering the final frame.

Wolter, who scored six of the team's seven points in the first quarter, finished with a game-high 19 points. She also grabbed seven rebounds.

Thole scored 14 points to go along with 13 rebounds, four assists and three steals. Prestegaard totaled 11 points and seven boards. Brunson came off the bench to score 10 points. Plumer and Olivia Cantu each scored three, and Stewart finished with two. Caroline Cool was credited with two steals in the win.

Each team shot just 31.3 percent from the field. The Bees were outscored 21-6 from 3-point range, but more than made up for that from the line, outscoring the Mustangs 20-6.

SAU also forced 14 turnovers which led to 12 Bee points. St. Ambrose had just nine turnovers, leading to just five MMU points.

St. Ambrose, now 9-4 overall, including a perfect 7-0 mark at home, will visit No. 8 Clarke Saturday.

Original source can be found here.