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WINONA, Minn. — All season long, Saint Mary's University women's basketball team has raved about her team's tenacious defense.

And the Cardinals were at their tenacious best on Saturday, as SMU forced visiting St. Catherine into 31 turnovers — not to mention 21 percent shooting from the field — en route to a 40-22 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory at the SMU Gym.

The Cardinals, who improve to 4-0 overall, including a 3-0 start to the conference season, knocked down their first two field goal attempts — a layup by Bridget Pethke (Larsen, Wis.) and a 3-pointer from Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn. — and never looked back, scoring 12 of the game's first 14 points and cruising to a 23-9 advantage at the half.

SMU's stifling defense — which forced 15 first-half turnovers and held SCU to just three field goals — was equally impressive in the second half, holding the Wildcats to 5 of 16 shootings and 16 more turnovers in cruising to the win.

Courtney Euerle (Litchfield, Minn.) was the only player in double figures, as the Cardinal junior netted 11 points and added 11 rebounds for her first double-double of the season. Pethke tallied six points, while Thone added five points and six assists.

The Cardinals, who are 4-0 for the first time since the 2004-05 season — when they opened with five straight wins — are back in action on Monday, hosting Hamline in a 7:30 p.m. conference game at the SMU Gym.