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WINONA, Minn. — For the first 12 minutes Wednesday evening, St. Catherine gave the Saint Mary's University women's basketball team all it could handle.

Then the Cardinals put their foot on the gas — and never let up, in rolling to a 67-44 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory over the Wildcats at the SMU Gym.

SMU could not shake the pesky Wildcats early on, holding a five-point, 17-12 advantage with 7:52 remaining in the half.

But when Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) hit the accelerator with a put-back layup, there was no stopping the Cardinals, as they scored the final 18 points of the half, grabbing a commanding 38-17 cushion heading into the break.

SMU outscored St. Catherine by just two points, 29-27, over the game's final 20 minutes, but by that time, the damage was done, as the Cardinals improved to 10-7 in the MIAC and 10-10 overall.

Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) led the way for the Cardinals, scoring 13 points and dishing out five assists, while Stefely pitched in 12 points and seven rebounds. 11 of the 14 players of saw action scored at least one point for SMU, which snapped a two-game losing streak with the win.

Sarina Baker finished with 11 points to lead the way for St. Catherine, which fell to 0-17 in the MIAC and 1-19 overall.

The Cardinals are back in action on Saturday, hosting Macalester in a key MIAC game at 1 p.m. at the SMU Gym.