WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team had a bit of a score to settle with Gustavus when the two teams squared off Tuesday evening in the quarterfinals of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Playoffs.
And settle the Cardinals did.
The last time the two teams met, Gustavus erupted for 42 first-half points beating the Cardinals 75-47 in St. Peter, Minn.
Tuesday evening, the Cardinals gave the Gusties a taste of their own medicine—and then some—as Saint Mary's was nearly perfect in the game's opening 20 minutes, pouring in a season-high 48 points and never looking back in routing the Gusties 90-58 to earn a spot in Thursday's conference semifinal against second-seeded Bethel.
Gustavus knocked down the game's first basket—a 3-pointer—but Saint Mary's responded with a trey of its own, and over the next six minutes, GAC would manage just three points, while the Cardinals were draining shots left and right in building a 19-6 advantage with 14 minutes remaining.
Saint Mary's hot hand would continue, as the Cardinals hit 11 of their first 12 field goals—including a perfect 5-for-5 from the 3-point line—and led by 10, 27-17, midway through the half.
Over the final 10 minutes of the first half, the Cardinals would tack on 21 points—and their lead would grow to 18—en route to a 48-30 halftime advantage.
And the halftime break did nothing to slow Saint Mary's down, as the Cardinals, who shot 60.9 percent from the field in the opening half (14-for-23), picked up right where they left off, going 15-for-25 with three more 3-pointers in scoring 42 second-half points—and cruising to a season-high 90-point output.
Emma Schaefer (Falcon Heights, Minn.) was a one-women wrecking crew for the Cardinals, as the sophomore scored a game-, season-, and career-high 26 points—hitting 10 of her 12 field goals, including 4-for-5 from 3-point land.
Shelby Auseth (Wanamingo, Minn.) and
Molly O'Toole (Plymouth, Minn.) also scored in double figures for the Cardinals, tossing in 15 and 14 points, respectively, while
Octavia Brown (Broadview, Ill.) dished out a career-high eight assists to go with seven points and three steals.
Mikayla Miller finished with 15 points and Hannah Howard added 10 for the Gusties, who close out their season at 17-9.
The Cardinals (18-8)—who have now won at least one post-season game in each of their last four conference playoff appearances—head to Arden Hills, Minn., on Thursday, squaring off against Bethel in a 7 p.m. contest.
poured in a season-high 48 first0-h
