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WINONA, Minn. — It was raining outside — and inside — Saturday afternoon.

While Mother Nature was busy soaking Winona with a November shower, the Saint Mary's University women's basketball team was soaking visiting UW-La Crosse with a barrage of 3-pointers.

The Cardinals knocked down three straight 3-pointers to open the game and never looked back in routing the Eagles 88-55 in the teams' season-opening nonconference game at the SMU Gym.

SMU got off to a flying start, as Darcey Rice (Eagan, Minn.), Shelby Auseth (Wanamingo, Minn.) and Sara Schoenthaler (White Bear Lake, Minn.) all knocked down 3-pointers in the game's first two minutes, as the Cardinals jumped out to a 9-1 advantage. The Cardinals' lead would balloon to 19-3 on yet another trey by Michaela Meredith (Bloomington, Minn.), and SMU kept the pedal to the metal, building the first-half lead to 42-22 at the break.

And it was more of the same in the second half, as SMU — which went 5-for-15 from behind the 3-point line in the game's opening 20 minutes — added two more 3s in the second half and built leads as big as 35 points en route to the lopsided win.

Auseth scored a career-best 16 points to lead the way for the Cardinals, while Courtney Euerle (Hutchinson, Minn.) chipped in 15 points and eight rebounds. The Cardinals shot 40 percent from the field, including 7 of 24 from beyond the arc, en route to its 88 points — SMU's highest offensive output since pouring in 88 in an 88-78 win over Hamline on Jan. 12, 2005.

The Cardinals (1-0 overall) kick off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Thursday, traveling to St. Paul, Minn., for a 7:30 p.m. showdown with Macalester. //