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Game Summary / GameDay Online

NORTHFIELD, Minn. — It took the Saint Mary's University women's basketball team more than a month — 47 days to be exact — to notch their first win of the season.

It took the Cardinals just three days to record win No. 2.

Fresh off their streak-snapping 72-62 nonconference win over Coe on Wednesday,  the Cardinals made it 2-for-2 in 2008 on Saturday, as Jess Weisbrod (Rollingstone, Minn.) scored 18 points to lead a trio of SMU players in double figures and lift Saint Mary's to a 57-54 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory over St. Olaf.

"It's nice to see us start to come together as a team," said SMU coach Mandy Pearson, who earned her first career coaching victory in last Wednesday's victory over Coe. "We're playing with a lot of energy, we're hitting the floor going after loose balls, and we're playing our best basketball for a complete 40 minutes.

"That wasn't the case through our first six games."

After tying the game for the third time in the opening five minutes on a Jess Miller (Carver, Minn.) free throw, the Cardinals pulled away, outscoring St. Olaf 20-9 the rest of the half to take a 27-16 advantage into the locker room at the half.

SMU's 11-point lead was anything but commanding, however, as St. Olaf used a half-opening 18-7 run to tie the game, 34-34, with 12 minutes remaining in regulation. The Oles would tie the game for a fifth time a minute later, then take their first lead since early in the first half, 44-43, on an Elyse Erickson jumper with 6:13 showing on the clock.

Over the game's final six minutes, Weisbrod scored five points, Nicholle Hanson (Owatonna, Minn.) drained a clutch 3-pointer and Miller, Stephanie Ayers (Deer River, Minn.) and Cherie Kulig (Independence, Wis.) all knocked down free throws to keep the Oles at bay.

"We got into foul trouble early and our bench stepped up and really gave us a boost," said Pearson, who got 13 points off the bench from Alyse Coates (West St. Paul, Minn.), while Miller chipped in 12 points and a team-best eight rebounds. "We had players logging a lot of minutes and they did a great job.

"It's nice to finally put a winning streak together, but we've still got a lot of work to do."