Game Summary

WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team enjoyed a night of season-bests Monday evening against St. Catherine.

Jessica Weisbrod (Rollingstone, Minn.) scored a season-high 20 points, while Kelly Tanke (La Crosse, Wis.) bettered her season-best effort by one, chipping in 16 points.

And, as a team, the Cardinals equalled their best offensive output of the season, pouring in 56 points against the Wildcats.

Problem was, SMU's best wasn't nearly enough, as St. Catherine rode the hot hands of Sarah Schneider and Rachel Berglund to a 71-56 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win at the SMU Gym.

The Cardinals got on the board first against the Wildcats, as Dusty Benham (Deer River, Minn.) knocked down the first shot of the game to give SMU a 2-0 advantage.

That, however, would be the Cardinals' only lead of the game.

The Wildcats, who lost a heartbreaking, 66-65 decision to MIAC power Carleton on a last-second 3-pointer on Saturday, built leads as big as 11, 36-25, in the opening 20 minutes, before settling for an eight-point, 40-32 halftime cushion.

SMU cut the gap to three, 44-41 on a Benham layup with 15:09 remaining, but the Wildcats responded with a 20-3 run that put CSC in complete control, 61-47, with 5:20 remaining. SMU would get no closer than 10 in the game's final five minutes in dropping their season-high fourth straight.

Weisbrod was held to just six first-half points, but the SMU junior caught fire in the second half, knocking down 5 of 10 field goals, while also going 4-for-7 from the free throw line to complete her 14-point second-half effort. Tanke, meanwhile, did most of her damage in the first half, scoring 12 of her 16 points in the opening 20 minutes.

The Wildcats had the perfect answer to the Cardinals' dynamic duo, as Schneider netted a game-high 24 points, while Berglund chipped in 14.