ST. PAUL, Minn. — It took 20 minutes for the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team to heat up, but once they did, Macalester didn't have a chance.
The Cardinals, who could not shake the pesky Scots in the first half, erupted for 43 second-half points in cruising to a 76-54 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory at Leonard Center.
Macalester gave Saint Mary's all it could handle in the game's opening 20 minutes—neither team led by more than three points and the Cardinals needed a 6-0 half-ending run to take a 33-27 advantage into the locker room at the break.
And in the second half, it was all Saint Mary's, as the Cardinals outscored the Scots 43-27 en route to its third straight victory.
Molly O'Toole (Plymouth, Minn.) and
Micaela Meredith (Bloomington, Minn.) led four Cardinal players in double figures with 17 points each. O'Toole was 8-for-13 from the field with one 3-pointer, while Meredith—who eclipsed her previous career high by two points—was 6-for-15 from the field with three 3-pointers and a 2-for-4 effort from the free throw line.
Emma Schaefer (Falcon Heights, Minn.) chipped in 14 points for Saint Mary's, while
Sara Schoenthaler tallied 11.
Macalester boasted four, three-point leads in the opening half, but the Cardinals broke away from a 27-27 deadlock with six straight points—a three-point play by
Sam Jones (White Bear Lake, Minn.) and a 3-pointer by Schaefer—to grab its six-point halftime lead.
The Scots used a 12-6 run to knot the game at 39-39 with 14:41 remaining, but Saint Mary's answered with an 11-0 run to take a 50-39 lead—and the Cardinals never looked back, building their lead to as many as 22 on two separate occasions, including the game's final score, 76-54.
Fruh Regan scored 15 points and Erin Murray added 12 in the losing effort for Macalester (0-8 MIAC, 3-12 overall).
The Cardinals (5-3 MIAC, 11-4 overall) are back in action on Wednesday, when they return home to the Saint Mary's Gym for a 7 p.m. conference game against St. Catherine.
