RIVER FALLS, Wis. (uwrfsports.com) - The Falcons had two chances to send the game to overtime in the closing seconds on Saturday afternoon, but they couldn't get the shot they needed in a 57-54 loss to St. Kate's at the UWRF Tournament. Taylor Paulsrud and Crystal Pearson both had three point attempts in the final six seconds after falling behind by three points. Paulsrud hit a three pointer with only 36 seconds remaining to give UW-River Falls their first lead of the fourth quarter, but Audra Clark responded with a layup to put the Wildcats up one point with under 20 seconds remaining. Jenna Zeman had her pass stolen by Jackie Redford when Pearson fell on the ensuing inbounds play, and Sam Orth rebounded Redford's shot and put it in to secure a three-point victory for St. Kate's. 

Zeman had an excellent shooting performance on Saturday as the freshman guard went 4-6 on three pointers. She added 7 rebounds and 4 assists to her team-high 12 points. Pearson and Paulsrud also had 11 points each, and freshman Brianna Leahy continued her strong start to the season with 9 point and 9 rebounds off the bench. The Falcons trailed by as much as 51-42 before consecutive shots from Pearson and three pointers from Leahy and Paulsrud gave them their final lead at 54-53. 

The Falcons took an early lead into the second quarter at 17-14, but struggled to score in the second quarter to go into halftime trailing by one-point after a buzzer-beating three by Ashley Fossness in the second quarter. UWRF took the lead by six points in the third quarter but entered the fourth quarter tied. Orth finished the game as the leading scorer with 16 points for the Wildcats, while Clark added 14 points and 7 rebounds for St. Kate's.

UWRF shot a strong 39 percent from the three point line but only shot 34 percent overall. St. Kate's increased their shooting percent from 27 to 37 in the second half and shot 85 percent on free throws.

The Falcons are now 3-2 after the loss to St. Kate's. They will face their fifth MIAC opponent of the season when they travel to Arden Hills to face Bethel on Tuesday at 5:45 p.m.