Abby Wolter and Caitlyn Thole each scored 21 points to lead St. Ambrose to a 64-61 win at Judson Saturday afternoon.

The 42 combined points and a strong defensive effort helped the Bees post their first conference win of the season.

St. Ambrose (3-8, 1-3 CCAC) struggled in the opening quarter, falling behind by as many as 10 points, after making just 4-of-15 shots from the floor. But SAU made nearly half of its shots over the final three quarters, connecting on 17-of-35 attempts.

Defensively, SAU limited Judson to 33-percent shooting for the game. The Eagles were also scoreless from beyond the arc, missing all eight of their 3-point attempts.

The Bees entered the fourth quarter nursing a 46-44 lead. And although Judson (3-9, 1-4 CCAC) drew even several times over the final 10 minutes, SAU never trailed.

Olivia Harter knocked down a 3-pointer to give St. Ambrose a 56-50 lead four minutes into the fourth. The lead remained six at 58-52 on a Thole jumper with just over three minutes left.

Two Wolter free throws pushed the advantage to 62-57 with 1:23 on the clock. Judson scored the next four points and had the ball trailing just 62-61. But Harter tipped and intercepted a pass leading to two Wolter free throw attempts. Wolter came up empty from the line, but was able to track down her own rebound. SAU was able to drain the clock until Erica Bostwick was fouled. She made them both with a second left to close out the win.

Wolter finished with her 21 points and nine rebounds. Thole tallied 21 points and seven boards.

Bostwick totaled nine points and Mary Gruber added seven. Harter and Elly Doe each dropped in three.

St. Ambrose will play an exhibition at Illinois-Springfield on Jan. 2 before returning to CCAC play with a game at Governors State on Jan. 4.