Box Score  | GameDay Preview

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Courtney Euerle (Litchfield, Minn.) had so much fun scoring a career-high 20 points in the Saint Mary's University women's basketball team's win over Gustavus Saturday, the Cardinal senior decided to do it again on Monday.

And the Cardinals needed every one of those 20 points, as SMU held off a furious Augsburg rally in the second half to beat the Auggies 54-51 at Si Melby Hall.

With the win, and a little help from St. Olaf — which knocked off Bethel 69-57 Monday — the Cardinals sit all alone atop the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference standings heading into the second time through the conference schedule.

The Cardinals took control of the game's opening 20 minutes early, using an 8-0 run to snap an 8-8 deadlock and give SMU a 16-8 advantage. SMU would push its lead to as many as 13 twice — the first time 29-16 on a pair of free throws by Euerle and the second, 31-18 on a layup by Sara Schoenthaler (White Bear Lake, Minn.) — before settling for an 11-point 31-20 advantage.

And after trading baskets to open the second half, it appeared the Cardinals could put it on cruise control en route to its 10th straight win.

Augsburg, however, had other ideas.

The Auggies used an 18-8 run to cut the SMU lead to one, 41-40, with seven minutes remaining, then got back-to-back baskets by Jessica Lillquist to give Augsburg its first lead since scoring the game's opening basket, 46-44, with 4:20 on the clock.

Euerle made sure that would be the last time Augsburg would lead, as the senior drained a pair of free throws and added a pair of field goals to give SMU a two-point, 50-48 lead with just over a minute left in regulation.

A steal and two free throws from Sarah Schoenthaler (White Bear Lake, Minn.), and free throws from both Darcey Rice (Eagan, Minn.) and Emma Schaefer (Roseville, Minn.), pushed SMU's lead to six, 55-48, and a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Augsburg's Marie Fitzgerald made it a three-point Cardinal victory.

Euerle, who was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field and 2-for-2 from the free throw line en route to 12 first-half points, finished 8-for-14 from the field and 4-4 from the line, while also hauling in six rebounds. Schaefer chipped in a career-best 11 points on 4 of 4 shooting from the field — including a pair of 3-pointers — and a 1-for-2 effort from the charity stripe.
Fitzgerald finished with 15 points to lead three Auggie players in double figures, with Lillquist added 14 points and Jill Tichy chipped in 11.

The Cardinals (10-1 MIAC, 13-1 overall) are back in action on Wednesday, when they return home to face Bethel — the lone team to beat SMU this season — in a 7:30 p.m. MIAC contest at the SMU Gym.