Staff photo by Ari Selvey Martin Luther College's Wilhelmina Wenz looks for a driving lane during a nonconference women's basketball game against St. Catherine University Saturday at MLC.

NEW ULM — Martin Luther College put together a well-rounded game for a 63-56 win over St. Catherine University Saturday in a nonconference women’s basketball game.

The defense was especially impressive on the day, as the Wildcats were averaging 76.7 points per game with a 3-0 record coming into the matchup.

“I challenged the team yesterday at the beginning of practice,” MLC head coach Dan Gawrisch said. “Our previous game [a 69-48 loss to Augsburg University on Thursday], we kind of lost our defensive identity in the third quarter in the game before. It’s got to be defense and rebounding. Shots are going to come and go, but we have to establish our defensive and rebounding presence consistently. Tonight I think you saw that for 40 minutes, and it feels really good for them to go out there and play that kind of defense.

“This is a high-powered offense that we just played. They put up almost 90 points the game before and they’ve taken down some good teams. After losing three consistent starters, senior leaders last year, this is a big step for our young team.”

Sophomore Wilhelmina Wenz led the Knights on the day, scoring 21 points off the bench on just 13 shots with four 3-pointers made. Wenz added six rebounds and two steals in 25 minutes played.

“Willy has a motor that doesn’t quit,” Gawrisch said. “I think you saw that tonight. She’s solid with the ball in her hands, and her shooting tonight is no surprise to us. We’ve seen it in practice, and I think we finally saw her in her second year here settle in already in her second game and shoot the way she shoots in practice all the time for us.

“Willy is the kind of player who’s a gym rat. She’s just in the gym all the time, getting shots up all the time. Stays after practice, comes early, just loves the game. I’m really proud of her tonight that she was able to experience that success.”

Also for MLC, Mya Morris had 21 points, while Ava Stein had 8 points and 12 rebounds. Lydia Feidt added 6 points and seven rebounds with four steals.

MLC started the game with a 8-4 lead after a layup and free throw by Wenz. St. Catherine fought back to a 15-14 deficit, but a layup from Feidt put the lead back out to 18-14. The Knights took an 18-17 lead into the second quarter, but the Wildcats fought back to take a 21-19 lead on a putback from Hattie Fox. St. Catherine maintained that small lead throughout the second quarter, taking it out to a 32-28 lead at halftime.

The Wildcats extended that lead to 39-28 with a 7-0 run to start the second half, but the Knights responded with a 9-0 run of their own, starting with a 3-pointer from Morris and ending on a putback from Wenz. MLC tied the game with a driving layup from Ava Walz, then went on a 12-0 run through the quarter break, capped off by a corner 3 from Wenz, to go up 55-45. St. Catherine scored 5 quickly to cut the lead down to 55-50, but a midrange jumper from Morris started an 8-2 run to put the Knights up 63-52 as St. Catherine called a timeout with 2:30 remaining in the game. The Wildcats were only able to manage 4 points in those final minutes, giving the Knights the 63-56 win.

MLC (1-1) hosts Malacaster College on Monday.