Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – After a furious three games in three days stretch against perennial national powers, the 19^th ranked St. Thomas women's basketball team can take a breather for the Christmas Holiday with an 11-1 overall record and the only loss coming to the third ranked team in the country.
 
Following a home win over MidAmerica Nazarene (no. 11 in NAIA Division I) on Monday night, the Bobcats went on to split a pair of back-to-back games at the Cruzin' Classic in Ft. Lauderdale.
 
On Tuesday in Ft. Lauderdale, St. Thomas faced Siena Heights, a consistently strong team from Michigan.  Trailing at the half, the Bobcats rallied to shoot 58% from the field in the second half to defeat the Saints, 79-67 giving STU its 11^th straight win.   Senior forward Constina Cousins led all scorers with 22 points on 10-of-15 shooting to go along with three steals and two blocks on the defensive end. 
 
All five Bobcat starters scored in double figures with Dannisha Pierce (18 pts.), Berna Miranda (13), Jasmin Sakers (11) and Shainka Brooks (11) all scoring 11 or more points in addition to Cousins.  On the glass, Pierce and Sakers led the way with nine rebounds each. 
 
On Wednesday night, St. Thomas would face its toughest opponent of the season in Morningside (Iowa) winners of three national championships and currently ranked no. 3 in the nation.  The Bobcats would fall behind in the first half, victims to a 20-4 Morningside run over the last 5:45 of the half.  Trailing 41-19 at the break, the Bobcats would rally with a 12-0 run in the second half, punctuated by a fast break layup by Antonella Marino to cut the lead to seven points with 11:11 to play.  Morningside built their lead back to double digits, before free throws by Marino and a Jessica Montalvo jumper cut the lead to seven again with three minutes remaining.  The Bobcats would get no closer than seven however as the Mustangs pulled away for the 80-69 win.
 
St. Thomas outscored Morningside 50-39 in the second half shooting 58% from the field and 88% from the free throw line.  For the game, Marino scored 17 points to go along with a team-high seven rebounds.  Brooks hit five three-pointers in the second half to score 17 as well.  Pierce scored 13 points, recorded a game-high eight steals and matched her career high with seven assists.  Montalvo finished with eight points and two assists off the bench.
 
The Bobcats return to action on Friday, December 28 and Saturday, December 29 as they head up to West Palm Beach for a two-game invitational hosted by fellow Sun Conference member Northwood.  STU then returns home to the Fernandez Center on Tuesday, Jan. 1 with a non-conference game vs. Daemen (N.Y.).