NORTHFIELD, Minn. - The Martin Luther College women's basketball team played strong defense, but was unable to come up with enough offense in a 69-55 defeat at St. Olaf on Tuesday.

The Knights held the Oles to 38.3 percent from the field with a mixture of zone and man-to-man defense, but were unable to get going on the offensive end. MLC shot 27.5 percent from the field, and went just 2-18 from beyond the three-point arc. The Knights also committed 23 turnovers in the game.

The teams went back and forth in a low-scoring first half until the Oles took control with a 13-2 run late in the second quarter to take a 29-23 lead into the half.

MLC battled in the third quarter, outscoring the Oles 12-11 to cut the deficit to five heading into the fourth quarter, but ran out of gas in the final period, allowing STO to score 29 points in the final ten minutes to secure the win.

Jade St. Germaine struggled from the field, but went 10-12 from the free throw line to give her a team-best 17 points to go with nine rebounds and four steals. The Knights finished the game 25-34 at the line, and outscored the Oles 25-18 from the charity stripe for the game.

Grace Schultz added 13 points along with six rebounds and three steals. As a team, MLC finished with a season-high 18 steals, and five Knights finished the game with at least three steals.

MLC fell to 1-8 on the season in defeat, while the Oles improved to 4-6 with the win.

The Knights will return to action on Friday, December 16, when they host St. Scholastica in a game scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m.