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WINONA, Minn. — When the Saint Mary's University and Concordia women's basketball teams squared off in early January, the Cardinals picked up a nail-biting, 66-57 victory — and put an end to a rather lengthy streak in the process.

The Cardinals snapped an 18-game losing streak against the Cobbers with that nine-point victory — not to mention giving SMU coach Mandy Pearson her first against her alma mater in her seven years at the helm.

When the Cardinals and Cobbers squared off again on Saturday, lengthy streaks — and the top spot in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference standings — were again on the line.

Concordia took to the court riding a season-high eight-game winning streak — matching their eight-game win streak of a year ago and marking the Cobbers' longest since the 2004-05 season, when CC won 15 in a row.

The Cardinals — ranked 21st in both the D3hoops.com and USA TODAY Sports Division III Top 25s — took to the SMU Gym court having won eight straight home games as part of their season-high 13-game winning streak — their longest since winning 19 in a row to open the 1985-86 season.

One way or another, a streak was going to end Saturday.

And thanks to the play of Courtney Euerle (Litchfield, Minn.), Miriam Awoniyi (Country Club Hills, Ill.) and a host of others, the Cardinals left the SMU Gym with their streak still in tact.

Euerle and Awoniyi each posted double-doubles, while Shelby Auseth (Wanamingo, Minn.) and Darcey Rice (Eagan, Minn.) also scored in double figures, as the Cardinals held off the Cobbers 72-69 to complete their season sweep of Concordia — and put SMU two games in front of CC in the conference standings.

Concordia came out smoking, as Greta Walsh drained back-to-back 3-point baskets to give the Cobbers a quick 6-0 advantage. SMU answered with an 8-2 run to knot the game at 8-8. The game would be tied twice more in the first half, the last time at 14-14 with 11:47 left.

From there, the Cardinals took control, using an 11-0 run that spanned seven minutes to build their lead to as many as 12, 32-20, before Concordia scored the final five points of the half to cut the SMU lead to seven, 32-25, at the break.

Awoniyi nearly posted a first-half double-double, scoring eight points and adding 10 rebounds over the game's opening 20 minutes. The freshman forward added two points and three rebounds in the first 10 minutes of the second half, before being sidelined by an injury.

And with Awoniyi out of the line-up, Euerle picked up the slack, as the senior recorded her second straight double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds — including nine points and six boards in the second half.

The Cardinals pushed their second-half lead to as many as 11, 47-36, early in the second half, before the Cobbers decided to make things interesting, grabbing their first lead since early in the game, 52-51, with 7:48 remaining in regulation.

Neither team would lead by more than five the rest of the way, with SMU clinging to a three-point lead in the waning seconds. CC had a chance to tie, but Walsh's 3-point attempt at the buzzer failed to connect.

Along with Euerle and Awoniyi, SMU also got 11 points from Auseth and 10 from Rice, while Emma Peterson scored a team-high 17 points for the Cobbers (12-3 MIAC, 14-4 overall). Alexandra Lippert added 13 points for CC and Walsh and Erika Jossart each finished with 12.

The Cardinals (14-1, 17-1) — who improved to 9-0 on their home floor this season — return to the SMU Gym on Monday, as SMU hosts Macalester in a 7:30 p.m. conference game.