Box Score  | GameDay Preview

NORTHFIELD, Minn. — They bent … and bent … and bent.

But the Saint Mary's University women's basketball team would not break, as the Cardinals completed a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference sweep of St. Olaf with a 68-56 victory Wednesday at Skoglund Center.

Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) fueled the Cardinals' offensive attack, scoring a team-best 20 points — including 14 in the second half, as she eclipsed the 20-point barrier for the second time this season and the eighth time in her career.

Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) and Courtney Euerle (Litchfield, Minn.) also scored in double figures for SMU, each chipping in 11 points, while Bridget Pethke (Larsen, Wis.) tallied nine and Octavia Brown (Broadview, Ill.) came off the bench to chip in seven points.

The Cardinals opened a seven-point, 25-18 advantage with 6:10 remaining in the opening half, but just when it appeared SMU was in command, back stormed the Oles, who used a half-ending 9-3 run to cut the Saint Mary's lead to two, 31-29.

And that was just a sign of things to come.

St. Olaf scored eight of the first 13 points in the second half to claim a 37-36 lead. After trading baskets, the Cardinals again appeared to take control, taking advantage of 3-pointers to push their lead to 10, 51-41 midway through the half.

And again, the Oles proved that things are always as they appear, using a 9-0 run of their own — fueled by seven straight points from Mackenzie Wolter — to make it a one-point game, 51-50, with 6:38 showing on the clock.

That, however, would be the last time SMU would bend, as the Cardinals sealed their eighth conference win by going on a 15-2 run — punctuated by a Darcey Rice (Eagan, Minn.) 3-pointer  — to take their biggest lead of the game, 66-52, with less than three minutes remaining in regulation.

Wolter scored a game-high 24 points for the Oles, who had their four-game winning streak snapped with the loss — their third straight loss to the Cardinals, including a 55-52 setback against SMU in the opening round of the MIAC playoffs a year ago.

The Cardinals (8-3 MIAC, 11-3 overall) are back in action on Saturday, when they travel to Minneapolis, Minn., for a 1 p.m. conference game against Augsburg.