Box Score  | GameDay Preview

LA CROSSE, Wis. — The final game before the semester break ended in much the same way the first game did … or the second … or the third … or the fourth … or the fifth … or the seventh.

With a Saint Mary's University women's basketball victory.

The Cardinals — fueled by a 10-7 run to end the first half and a 10-5 burst to start the second — cruised to their seventh win in eight contests Wednesday, knocking off UW-La Crosse 56-45 at Mitchell Hall.

The Eagles had the upper hand early, using three 3-point baskets to build a four-point, 13-9 advantage. The two teams then traded 4-0 runs — SMU's capped by a Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) basket to knot the game at 13-13, while UW-L's gave the Eagles a 17-13 cushion with 7:13 remaining.

From there, however, the Cardinals took control, using an 8-0 run to take a 21-17 lead and then using a pair of 3-pointers from Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) and Sara Schoenthaler (Hugo, Minn.) to cap a half-ending 10-7 burst that gave SMU a 31-24 lead heading into the locker room at the half.

And the Cardinals were just getting warmed up.

SMU outscored the Eagles 10-5 — including five straight points by Brittany Begrowicz (Des Plaines, Ill.) — to build its biggest lead of the game, 41-29, with 11:31 remaining. The Eagles would get no closer than eight the rest of the way, as the Cardinals picked up their second straight win — and their seventh in their first eight games this season.

Courtney Euerle (Litchfield, Minn.) led the way for the Cardinals, scoring 14 points, while also adding nine rebounds. Stefely and Thone each chipped in eight points for SMU, while Taylor Van Dusseldorp netted 11 points in the losing effort for UW-La Crosse.

The Cardinals (7-1 overall) are now off until Jan. 2, when they return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play, heading to St. Peter, Minn., for a 7:30 p.m. contest against Gustavus.