Box Score  | GameDay Preview

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team kicked off the new year in grand fashion on Monday, as the Cardinals got double-figure scoring from Courtney Euerle (Hutchinson, Minn.) and Brittany Begrowicz (Des Plaines, Ill.) in cruising to a 69-44 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over St. Catherine.

"It was a good win for us," said SMU coach Mandy Pearson. "It was nice to see everyone contribue and we played hard from start to finish."

Leading by two, 17-15, with nine minutes remaining in the first half, the Cardinals turned up the heat, using a pair of streaks — a 6-0 burst to push their lead to eight, 23-15, followed up by an 11-4 run for a 34-19 advantage — en route to a commanding 39-21 advantage at the break.

Octavia Brown (Broadview, Ill.) opened the second half with a jumper to give SMU a 20-point, 41-21 advantage — and the Cardinals never looked back, leading by as many as 25 on five separate occasions, before building their biggest lead of the game, 66-38, on an Abbie Bauernfeind (Rosemount, Minn.) 3-pointer with 3:18 remaining in regulation.

Euerle knocked down six of her 11 field goal attempts in recording a team-high 12 points, while Begrowicz, playing in just her second game after missing SMU's first seven games with a leg injury, chipped in 11 points. Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) finished with eight points and a team-leading nine rebounds, as the Cardinals evened their conference record at 3-3.

Sarina Baker and Julie Muegge led the way for St. Catherine, scoring 12 and 11 points, respectively, as the Wildcats dropped their eighth straight.

The Cardinals (3-3 MIAC, 3-6 overall) are back in action on Wednesday, returning home to host Gustavus in a 7:30 p.m. contest at the SMU Gym.