WINONA, Minn. - Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball coach Brent Pollari got his first real look at his Cardinals Saturday evening.

And the first-year head coach had to like what he saw.

At least for the first half.

The Cardinals gave 16th-ranked Winona State all it could handle through the game's first 20 minutes, but the high-powered Warriors wore them down in the second half, outscoring Saint Mary's 46-27 to pull away for a 90-68 exhibition win at McCown Gymnasium.

Winona State had the upper hand through most of the first half-leading 29-19 after the first quarter, and holding an 11-point, 42-31 advantage with 4:57 remaining in the opening half.

Over those final five minutes, however, the Cardinals made things interesting, outscoring WSU 13-2 to cut the deficit to three, 44-41 at the half.

Winona State dominated the game's final 20 minutes, however, outscoring Saint Mary's 30-17 in the third quarter and 16-10 in the fourth to collect the win.

Saint Mary's finished with three players in double figures, led by Emma Schaefer (Roseville, Minn.) with 17. Brigette Audette (Big Lake, Minn.) chipped in 16 points and Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn.) added 14.

The Cardinals will officially kick off their 2015-16 season on Nov. 21, heading to St. Joseph, Minn., for a 3 p.m. nonconference contest against Crown. Saint Mary's will then square off against Saint Benedict in a 3 p.m. nonconference matchup a day later, also in St. Joseph, Minn.