Game Summary

ST. JOSEPH, Minn. — Talk about a case of bad timing — very bad timing.

The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team entered Wednesday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown with St. Benedict on the heels of a convincing win over Macalester and in the thick of the MIAC title chase.

A win against the Blazers would give SMU victories over two of the three teams ahead of them in the title chase and would keep the Cardinals within striking distance of league-leading St. Thomas.

Then came the opening tip.

St. Benedict scored the game's first 14 points and held SMU to just 17 first-half points en route to a lopsided 84-49 victory.

The Cardinals struggled from the field all night, but especially in the first half, where they hit just 7 of 28 field goal attempts (25 percent). SMU came up two points short of doubling its first-half output over the game's final 20 minutes, scoring 32 points, but it wasn't nearly enough as the Cardinals (8-4 MIAC, 10-5 overall) lost for the second time in three games.

Alissa Erichsen (Spring Valley, Minn.) scored a team-high 14 points for the Cardinals, while Colleen O'Hearn (Champlin, Minn.) pitched in nine points and seven rebounds.

Michelle Barlau and Kim Johnson each tallied 13 points and Danni Hannon finished with 12 for the Blazers (10-2 MIAC, 13-2 overall).