Box Score  | GameDay Preview

WINONA, Minn. — When the Saint Mary's University women's basketball team looked across the court at Saint Benedict Saturday afternoon, it was like looking into a mirror.

Both teams headed into Saturday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game boasting 3-1 overall records — and both were coming off their first conference loss of the season last Wednesday.

And those similarities continued once the game began, with each team putting together a rather impressive 20 minutes of basketball.

The Cardinals appeared to have things comfortably under control, outscoring the Blazers 36-19 in the game's opening 20 minutes.

But the Blazers turned the tables after the halftime intermission, erupting for 45 second-half points.

Fortunately for the Cardinals, 45 points was not enough, as SMU used a half-ending 5-1 run to seal a 67-64 victory at the SMU Gym.

The Cardinals were in control from the get-go, scoring the game's first six points — and never trailed the rest of the half. SMU built leads of 15 points twice in the opening 20 minutes, before scoring the final five points of the half to take a 17-point, 36-19, advantage into the locker room at the break.

SMU opened the second half in much the same way they opened the first, pushing that advantage to 20 points, 43-23, with 14:00 remaining in regulation.

From there, however, it was the Blazers who kicked their offense into high gear, using a 14-2 run to cut the Cardinals' lead to eight, 45-37 — and CSB was just warming up.

A pair of free throws by Tish Alexander with 3:34 on the clock pulled Saint Benedict event, 59-59, and, after an SMU miss and a pair of turnovers, the Blazers took their first lead of the game, 61-59, on a basket by Alison Newton with 1:02 left. The two teams traded baskets — SMU's a 3-pointer by Darcey Rice (Eagan, Minn.) and CSB's a layup by Alexander — as the Blazers clung to a 63-62 advantage with 30 seconds on the clock.

Emma Schaefer (Roseville, Minn.) put the Cardinals back in front for good, draining her third 3-pointer of the afternoon — and Courtney Euerle (Litchfield, Minn.) sealed the win with a pair of free throws with just seconds remaining.

Euerle led four SMU players in double figures, scoring 15 points, while Bridget Pethke (New London, Wis.) added 12 — including a perfect 6-for-6 effort from the free throw line — and Schaefer and Mariam Awoniyi (Country Club Hills, Ill.) chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively.

The Cardinals host 45 percent from the field (24-for-53), including six 3-pointers, while going 13-for-18 from the free throw line. Saint Benedict, which knocked down 7 of 11 3-pointers in the second half, finished shooting 42 percent from the field (21-for-50) and 44 percent from the free throw line (13-for-21).

Alexander tossed in a game-high 16 points for Saint Benedict (0-2 MIAC, 3-2 overall), with Morgan Dale and Brianna Barrett each chipping in 15 points, as the trio accounted for 46 of CSB's 64 points.

The Cardinals (2-1 MIAC, 4-1 overall) — who have now beaten Saint Benedict five straight times — return to conference action on Monday, traveling to Northfield, Minn., for a 7:30 p.m. matchup with St. Olaf.