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WINONA, Minn. — If Saint Mary's University women's basketball coach Mandy Pearson had her way, the Cardinals would play all their games on their home court.

The mystique of the SMU Gym continued Saturday afternoon, as the Cardinals improved to 4-0 on their home court this season, and 15-1 over the past two — and knocked off the ninth-ranked team in the country in the process.

Courtney Euerle (Litchfield, Minn.) knocked down a pull-up jumper with six seconds remaining in regulation as the Cardinals held off St. Thomas 56-54 in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown.

With the win, the Cardinals improved to 6-1 in conference play and are now tied with the league-leading Tommies in the loss column, while remaining one game back of league-leading Bethel.

Thanks in large part to the smothering defense of both teams, offense was not at a premium over the game's opening 20 minutes, as the two teams combined for just 14 field goals and 42 points in the opening half.

The Tommies scored the game's first six points, but SMU answered with a 3-pointer from Darcey Rice (Eagan, Minn.) and a field goal and free throw from Octavia Brown (Broadview, Ill.) to knot the game at 6-6. UST would score 15 of the next 24 points en route to its second six-point lead of the half, and held on to take a four-point, 23-19 edge into the locker room at the break.

After failing to score a field goal over the last 9:43 of the first half, the Cardinals heated things up in the second half, knocking down back-to-back 3-pointers by Shelby Auseth (Wanamingo, Minn.) and Bridget Pethke (New London, Wis.) to take their first lead of the game, 27-25 with 17:36 remaining in regulation.

The Cardinals, who shot 57 percent from the field (15-for-26) in the second half, built their lead to five, 32-27, with 16:00 left.

And those final 16 minutes were like a heavyweight title bout — with both opponents standing in the center of the ring, exchanging haymakers.

Neither team would lead by more than three, and the game was tied on three separate occasions, including a final time, 54-54, with 20 seconds remaining.

Setting up Euerle's last-second heroics.

Euerle and Auseth finished with a team-leading 10 points for the Cardinals, who have now won six in a row and improved to 9-1 for the first time since opening the season 19-0 during the 1985-86 season.

The Tommies, who had their 16-game MIAC winning streak snapped with the loss — the second straight regular-season setback at the hands of the Cardinals — had four players account for all of their points. Kelly Brandenburg netted 18, while Maggie Weiers chipped in 16 points and 15 rebounds, and Katie Stone and Taylor Young each added 10 points.

The Cardinals are right back in action on Monday, as they host Carleton in a 7:30 p.m. conference game at the SMU Gym.