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ST. JOSEPH, Minn. — The years 1985-86 probably didn't mean much to the members of the Saint Mary's University women's basketball team — after all, none of them were even born yet.

After Wednesday's 55-50 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory over Saint Benedict, however, that year may mean a little bit more.

Fueled by the play of Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.), Courtney Euerle (Litchfield, Minn.), and Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.), the Cardinals put an end to a 26-game losing streak on the Blazers' home court — dating back to a 59-42 win on Jan. 24, 1986 — while also sweeping the conference series with CSB for the first time since that same 1985-86 season.

"It was a nice win," understated SMU coach Mandy Pearson. "We played very well — especially in the second half. We had some people step up and knock down some big shots. It was a great team win."

As has become the Cardinals' calling card this season, SMU went into the locker room staring at a halftime deficit, this time a six-pointer, 27-21.

The Blazers pushed their advantage to 11, 34-23, in the first three minutes of the second, which did nothing more than make SMU mad — and CSB learned first-hand, you don't want to ruffle the Cardinals' feathers.

SMU used an 11-0 run to pull even at 34-34 with 13:51 remaining in regulation. The game would be tied three more times, the final at 48-48 with 2:18 on the clock. Over those final two minutes, SMU would get a 3-pointer from Thone and knock down 4 of 6 free throws to seal the streak-snapping win.

Thone finished with a team-high 15 points, while Euerle recorded her third double-double of the season, netting 14 points and adding 13 rebounds, while Stefely chipped in 10 points.

After making just 10 of 26 field goal attempts in the opening half, SMU shot a blistering 52 percent (12-for-23) from the field over the game's final 20 minutes, while also draining 8 of 17 second-half free throws.

Sam Larsen scored a game-high 15 points and Whitney Canton tallied 14 in the losing effort for Saint Benedict.

The Cardinals, who moved into a third-place tie with Concordia in the MIAC standings at 9-5, are back in action on Saturday, traveling to Northfield, Minn., for a 1 p.m. conference game against St. Olaf.