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WINONA, Minn. – For the Saint Mary's University women's basketball team, Wednesday night's game at SMU Gym was a game of two halves – a good one, and a not-so-good one.

After leading UW-La Crosse 33-29 after the first 20 minutes, the Cardinals' offense cooled off in the second half and were ultimately defeated 61-49.

“We played a decent first half,” coach Mandy Pearson said. “We shot the ball really well. Defensively, we were pretty good. We played hard.”

The final 20 minutes, however, told a different story, as the Cardinals produced just 16 points.

“La Crosse is a very good team,” Pearson said. “They're strong and physical. And when we were trying to drive to the basket or come off screens, we didn't respond well to that [physical play] in getting to the hoop or anything.

“I think that threw off our field goal percentage. We need to be a little bit stronger, a little bit more confident when we go in and look for shots.”

Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) led the Cardinal offense with 17 points.

The Cardinals – who dropped to 2-5 overall – are off until Dec. 29, when they host UW-Superior in a 6 p.m. nonconference matchup at the SMU Gym.