Game Summary vs. WSU / GameDay Online

WINONA, Minn. — Mandy Pearson was hoping her Saint Mary's University women's basketball team would get its season off on the right foot, as the Cardinals opened their 2008-09 schedule with a nonconference game at Winona State Saturday.

Unfortunately for Pearson, not only didn't the Cardinals get their season off on the right foot, they didn't even get their first half off on the right foot.

The Warriors — who entered the game with a three exhibition games and a pair of regular-season wins under their belt — scored 10 of the game's first 12 points and never looked back, rolling to a 91-45 victory at McCown Gymnasium.

"Give Winona State a lot of credit, they are a very good basketball team," said SMU coach Mandy Pearson. "They shot the ball very well — at times it was like they couldn't miss — and that made it tough on us.

"We dug ourselves into an early hole, and against a team as talented as (Winona State), you can't afford to do that."

Cherie Kulig (Independence, Wis.) got the Cardinals on the board first, knocking down a pair of free throws 14 seconds into the first half, but it was all WSU after that, as the Warriors scored the next 10 points, held SMU without a basket over the final four minutes of the half, four the Cardinals into 11 first-half turnovers and went into the locker room boasting a 28-point, 48-20 halftime advantage.

And things didn't get any better for the Cardinals in the second half, as WSU opened the second half in much the same way they opened the first, using a 28-12 run to push its lead to 76-32 midway through the second stanza.

Jess Miller (Carver, Minn.) finished with a team-best 15 points for the Cardinals, while Kulig added 13 as the two combined for 28 of the team's 45 points. Ana Wurtz netted a game-high 23 points to lead three WSU players in double figures. Jenny Steffen and Jamie Hajeowicz chipped in 13 and 10 points, respectively, as the Warriors moved to 3-0 overall.

As a team, the Cardinals shot 29 percent from the field (16-for-55) — including a 3-for-9 effort from behind the 3-point line, while the Warriors were 30 of 56 (53 percent) from the field and drained half (13) of their 26 3-point field goal attempts.

"The final score may not show it, but we did some good things out there," said Pearson. "This was our first game of the season and (Winona State's) sixth — and you could tell. Nobody like to lose like we did tonight, but we just need to learn from our mistakes and keep working to get better every day in practice."

The Cardinals return to action Tuesday, traveling to River Falls, WIs., for a nonconference game against UW-River Falls.