Game Summary

NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The second-half struggles continued — but fortunately for the Saint Mary's University women's basketball team, the losing didn't.

The Cardinals managed just 22 points in the second half of Wednesday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game against St. Olaf, but — thanks to a stellar first-half showing — it didn't matter as SMU snapped a five-game losing streak with a 56-46 victory over the Oles.

The Cardinals led by as many as 15 points in the first half, before settling for a commanding, 34-21 advantage heading into the locker room at the half. SMU shot 54 percent from the field (12-for-22) in the opening 20 minutes — including a 5-for-9 performance from beyond the 3-point line.

Unfortunately, as has become their trademark, things cooled down for the Cardinals in the second half, as SMU hit just 7 of 21 field-goal attempts and scored 22 points or less for the fourth straight game.

This time around, however, 22 points was more than enough as St. Olaf could not overcome the large first-half deficit, cutting the Cardinals' gap to seven on two separate occasions in the second half, but the Oles could get no closer.

Ashley Luehmann (Lewiston, Minn.) knocked down a season-high 24 points for the Cardinals, while teammate Sarah Murphy (Belle Plaine, Minn.) chipped in 10 points, as SMU improved to 3-7 in the MIAC and 6-8 overall.

Kristina Stoermer scored eight points in the losing effort for St. Olaf.