ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — Twice was nice for the Saint Mary's University women's basketball team.

But the third time was anything but a charm.

The Cardinals, in the midst of their first two-game winning streak of the came up short in their quest for win No. 3 in a row, as Bethel outscored SMU 33-25 in the second half en route to a 65-56 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory.

SMU, which had defeated Carleton and Augsburg to post its first two-game win streak of the year, fell behind early, as the Royals scored the game's first nine points to take a 9-0 lead with 17:14 remaining. Bethel would push that lead to 10, 12-2, before the Cardinals' offense came to life.

SMU took its first lead of the game, 21-20, on a basket by Jessica Weisbrod (Rollingstone, Minn.), only to have Bethel respond with its second 9-0 run of the half to lead 29-21 with 4:04 left. SMU once again battled back, using a 10-0 run of its own to lead 29-28, before settling for a one-point, 32-31 deficit at the break.

The Royals were red-hot out of the block again to start the second half, outscoring SMU 9-1 in the first five minutes to take a 41-32 advantage — and the Cardinals never recovered. SMU cut the gap to four twice — 44-40 and 53-49 — but each time the Cardinals made a run, the Royals had an answer.

Weisbrod finished with a team-best 17 points, while Kelly Tanke (La Crosse, Wis.) added 12 points, while Annegret Nautsch scored 18 points and added 11 rebounds to lead the Royals.