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WINONA, Minn. — For 33 minutes Wednesday evening, the Saint Mary's University women's basketball team made it look easy against Bethel at the SMU Gym.

For those other seven minutes, the Cardinals' showdown with the Royals was anything but easy.

Fortunately for coach Mandy Pearson, senior Cherie Kulig (Independence, Wis.) put the Cardinals on her shoulders, sparking a game-ending 15-5 run with seven straight points that helped SMU hold off Bethel en route to a 61-47 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory at the SMU Gym.

The Cardinals could do no wrong in the game's opening 20 minutes, taking advantage of 12 Bethel first-half turnovers to race out to a 31-17 advantage heading into the break.

And it was more of the same to open the second half, as the Kulig-led Cardinals pushed their lead to a game-high 18, 42-24, with 13:45 remaining in regulation.

Over the next seven minutes, however, the Cardinals could do no right, as Bethel used an 18-4 to turn that what appeared to be an SMU rout into a real nailbiter.

Enter Kulig.

With SMU clinging to that four-point, 46-42 lead, the Cardinal senior sandwiched a pair of field goals around a 3-pointer, igniting a 12-0 run that put the game out of reach.

Kulig finished with a game- and season-high 19 points, hitting 8 of 15 field goals — including both of her 3-point attempts — while Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) chipped in 12 points and eight rebounds, and Jess Miller (Carver, Minn.) tallied 10 points.

Taylor Sheley netted 15 points and Shana Grejtak added 10 in the losing effort for Bethel (6-7 MIAC, 8-8 overall).

The Cardinals, who improve to 7-6 in conference play and 9-7 overall, are back in action on Saturday, playing host to Macalester in 1 p.m. conference contest at the SMU Gym.