Game Summary

WINONA, Minn. — There nothing like a good halftime tongue-lashing to snap a team out of its first-half funk — not to mention its two-game losing streak.

Dan Messmann's halftime "pep talk" was heard loud and clear by every member of the Saint Mary's University women's basketball team, as the Cardinals shook off a lackluster first-half performance with 38-second half points en route to a 66-44 Minneesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over Macalester Wednesday at the SMU Gym.

The Cardinals, who had dropped back-to-back games to conference leaders St. Benedict (69-64) and Carleton (67-55) heading into Monday's contest, struggled from the field in the first half, connecting on just 8 of 25 field goals and 8 of 14 free throws.

Fortunately for SMU, Macalester was equally as cold, as the Scots shot just 29 percent from the field (5-for-17) in allowing the Cardinals to build a 28-15 halftime advantage.

Then came the "talk."

"We missed a couple of easy shots early in the first half and it just seemed to shoot our confidence," explained Messmann. "We just talked at halftime about the three C's — consistency, composure and confidence. I told them they needed to get back to playing the way they were capable of playing. And in order to do that, they had to just relax and play."

Unfortunately for the Scots, the Cardinals proved to be good listeners, as SMU knocked down 15 of its 27 second-half field goal attempts — and turned that 13-point halftime lead into a 33-point, 56-23 cushion with eight minutes remaining.

Angie Arrington (Spring Grove, Minn.) — fueled by a 4-for-6 performance from beyond the 3-point line — led the way for the Cardinals, scoring 14 points. Megan Moran (Burlington, Wis.) notched her first collegiate double-double, tossing in 13 points and adding a team-high 11 rebounds, while Beth Walch (Altura, Minn.) chipped in 10 points.

Afton Hanson scored a game-high 29 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in the losing effort for Macalester (0-7 MIAC, 0-9 overall).

"We accomplished what we wanted to accomplish," said Messmann, whose team returns to action Saturday, traveling to Guistavus for a 1 p.m. game. "We played with a high energy, we got a lot of people into the flow of the game, and we got a little confidence back heading into the Gustavus game."