CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Catalina Quintana hit the go-ahead bucket with 1:02 left and Shanda Novak converted a pair of clinching free throws to save Mt. Mercy College's Senior Day in the regular-season finale against the Ashford University women's basketball team on Saturday, 64-61.

The Saints (8-20, 2-14 MCC) dropped their seventh consecutive game before heading into the Midwest Collegiate Conference tournament. Senior forward Bethany Mahmens of Goose Lake led Ashford with 12 points.

Ashford drew the No. 9 seed and will travel to eighth-seeded Viterbo University on Monday at 7 p.m. in La Crosse, Wis., to begin postseason play. The Saints split the regular-season series with the V-Hawks.

"This was a game where we did a lot of good things, especially in the first half," AU Head Coach Chris Powers said. "But we couldn't close it out and we'll have to if we're going to advance far in the postseason."

Fittingly for the Mt. Mercy faithful, the Mustangs' two seniors carried their team back in contention despite Ashford dictating the tempo of the game.

Ashford controlled the first half, leading by as many as 13 and erased all memories of a 39-point blowout suffered in the first meeting between the two schools.

Junior guard Kayla Crist of Stanwood caught fire early on, hitting a pair of back-to-back treys that highlighted a 13-2 run. Senior Jessie Rosenow of Erie, Ill., stuffed a Novak layup attempt on one end and cashed in with a trey on the ensuing possession.

Sophomore Whitney Miller of Clinton also hit a double-clutch layup for a three-point opportunity.

Crist scored all of her 11 points in the first half.

The Saints were scrappy, hustled and frustrated the perimeter-oriented Mustangs in the first half. AU limited outside looks that led to a number of illegal screens called against Mt. Mercy.

But it took the Saints a while to get acclimated in the second half, a trend that doesn't bode well for Ashford in recent history. Mt. Mercy started on a 6-0 run and trimmed the double-digit deficit to three with 14:25 left after a layup by Tonya Davis.

Mt. Mercy took its first lead after a trey by Novak with under seven minutes left, but Ashford wouldn't go away, adding a six-point cushion after two of senior Kelly Fisher's 10 points.

Quintana went glass to hit a running layup and Davis made another layup before Quintana, a two-time MCC Player of the Week this year, hit the go-ahead bucket with a minute left.

Ashford had a chance to reclaim the lead on the next possession, but gave the ball away on a turnover. Senior Kim Fabry of Oconto Falls, Wis., stole the ball back, but a close shot attempt by junior Jordan Davis of Delmar fell short.

Davis secured the rebound and made both free throws at the other end.

The Saints travel to Viterbo tomorrow for the opening-round MCC Tournament clash against the V-Hawks. The winner will advance to face top-seeded Iowa Wesleyan College on Thursday.