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WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team was hoping to give coach Mandy Pearson a belated Christmas present Thursday evening.

UW-Superior, however, still had a bit of Grinch in them, as the Yellowjackets held off a furious SMU second-half rally to hand the Cardinals a 63-56 nonconference setback at the SMU Gym.

The Cardinals, playing for the first time since a Dec. 14 loss to UW-La Crosse, showed a bit of that rust in the first half Thursday, shooting just 26 percent from the field (6-for-23) in falling behind by 12, 32-20, at the break.

“Superior is a very physical team — probably more physical that most of the teams we'll fact in the MIAC,” said SMU coach Mandy Pearson. “They really like to crash the boards and play an aggressive style. Hopefully we can learn from tonight and use that to help prepare us for the rest of the season.”

SMU turned things around in the first 10 minutes of the second half, however, using a 25-12 run to take their first lead of the game, 45-44, on a Brittany Begrowicz put-back with 11:02 remaining in regulation.

The teams would trade baskets over the next three minutes, with Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) scoring from underneath twice to knot the game at 51-51 and 56-56, the latter with 3:33 left on the clock.

Over those final three minutes, however, the Yellowjackets closed out the game on a 7-0 run to seal the win.

Octavia Brown (Broadview, Ill.) led a trio of Cardinals in double figures, scoring 13 points, while Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) added 12 points and nine rebounds — all on the defensive end — and Stefely recorded 11 points.

Sally Linzmeier and Hailey Hart each notched double-doubles to pace the Yellowjackets (6-5 overall), as Linzmeier netted 16 points and added 13 rebounds, with Hart chipping in 12 points and 12 boards.

“I think we got a little tired at the end,” said Pearson. “We hadn't played in quite a while and that showed a bit down the stretch. I was very happy with the way we played in the second half — down by 12 at the half, we gave (UW-Superior) everything they could handle over the final 20 minutes.”

The Cardinals, who fall to 2-6 overall, return to conference play on Monday, traveling to St. Catherine for a 7:30 p.m. game.