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NAPERVILLE, Ill. — Unofficially, the Saint Mary's University women's basketball team kicked off its season with an impressive 74-68 exhibition win over NCAA Division II Winona State on Nov. 10.

Officially, SMU kicked off its 2012-2013 campaign on Friday at the North Central (Ill.) Tip-Off Tournament — and the Cardinals were equally as impressive.

SMU scored the game's first nine points and never looked back in cruising to a 67-36 nonconference victory over the Scots.

Fueled by that game-opening 9-0 run, the Cardinals put the game out of reach early, building their lead to 22 — thanks to a 13-0 run that gave SMU a 30-8 advantage 11:36 remaining.

And SMU was just getting warmed up.

After surrendering back-to-back Scot baskets, the Cardinals scored the final 10 points of the half to take their biggest lead of the opening 20 minutes, 43-14, into the locker room at halftime.

The Cardinals shot 56 percent from the field in the opening half, draining 18 of 32 field goal attempts — including a 5-for-7 effort from behind the 3-point line.

SMU cooled off a bit in the second half, scoring just 24 points, but still outscored the Scots 24-22 in winning their season opener for the second time in the last three years.

Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) scored eight of her 10 points in the first half, while Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) chipped in nine points and Bridget Pethke (Larsen, Wis.) recorded eight in her first collegiate game. Courtney Euerle (Litchfield, Minn.) finished with a team-best eight rebounds, and shared the team lead in assists (3) with Pethke. Seventeen Cardinals saw action Friday, with 12 scoring at least one point.

The Cardinals return to the court on Saturday, as they take on Olivet (Mich.) in a noon tip-off as part of the North Central (Ill.) Tip-Off Tournament.