ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team picked the wrong time to struggle to find its shooting touch.
 
The Cardinals—squaring off against league-leading, unbeaten and third-ranked St. Thomas in the only meeting between the two teams—shot just 33 percent from the field.
 
And the high-powered Tommies took advantage.
 
St. Thomas erupted for 42 second-half points—while holding Saint Mary's to 28—as the Tommies pulled away to hand the Cardinals a 74-51 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback Wednesday at Schoenecker Arena.
 
The Cardinals scored five of the game's first seven points to grab an early 5-2, but the Tommies would answer with a 12-1 run that gave UST a 12-6 lead—a lead they would never relinquish.
 
UST would lead by as many as nine in the game's opening 20 minutes, but a Sara Schoenthaler (White Bear Lake, Minn.) 3-pointer late cut the Tommie lead to six, 29-23 at the break.
 
Shelby Auseth (Wanamingo, Minn.) equaled Schoenthaler's half-ending 3-pointer with a trey of her own to make it a three-point game, 29-26.
 
Unfortunately, an 8-1 run pushed the Tommies' lead back to 10, 37-27, and St. Thomas never took its foot off the gas, building the lead to as many as 25 three times, before settling for the 23-point victory.
 
Kayla Lardy (Fairmont, Minn.) scored a career-high 11 points to pace the Cardinals, who hit 16 of 49 field goal attempts—including a 6-for-17 effort from the 3-point line—and went 13-for-20 from the free throw line. Auseth and Emma Schaefer (Falcon Heights, Minn.) each chipped in nine points and Schoenthaler added eight.
 
Maggie Weiers scored a game-high 22 points to pace three Tommies in double figures. Anna Smith and Katie Stone each chipped in 13 points for St. Thomas, which pushed its season-opening winning streak to 20 straight with the victory.
 
The Cardinals (8-5 MIAC, 14-6 overall) returns to action on Saturday, hosting Concordia in a 1 p.m. conference game at the Saint Mary's Gym.