By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team matched Saint Benedict point-for-point for three quarters Wednesday evening.
 
Problem was, a six-point first quarter — and 12-point first-quarter deficit — proved to be too much for the Cardinals to overcome.
 
Saint Benedict took advantage of the Cardinals' struggles to find their shooting touch in the game's opening 10 minutes, grabbing an 18-6 lead and never relinquishing it in dealing the Saint Mary's a 62-49 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
Saint Benedict scored the game's first seven points — and 10 of the first 12 — in cruising to its 12-point, 18-6 advantage heading into the second quarter. Saint Mary's had the upper hand in quarter No. 2, outscoring the Bennies 14-11 to whittle the CSB lead to nine, 29-20 at the halftime intermission.
 
Neither team could find their rhythm in the third stanza, each settling for nine third-quarter points, as the Bennies maintained their nine-point advantage, 38-29 with 10 minutes to play. Saint Benedict built its lead to as many as 17, 62-45, before the Cardinals closed out the game with four unanswered points.
 
Brooklyn Paulson (Holmen, Wis.) and Jada Biermeier (Eau Claire, Wis.) each scored 10 pionts to pace the Cardinals, who shot 33 percent from the field (19-for-57) with four 3-pointers, while adding a 7-for-11 effort from the free throw line.
 
The Bennies, who went 26-for-66 from the field (39.4 percent) and 7 of 20 3-pointers, put three players in double figures — Maddie Schmitz (18), Megan Thompson (16), and Sidney Schiffler (12).
 
The Cardinals (1-7 MIAC, 1-12 overall) are right back on their home court on Saturday, playing host to nationally ranked St. Thomas in a 3 p.m. matchup at the Saint Mary's Gym. The Bennies (3-5 MIAC, 7-6 overall), meanwhile, return to action on Saturday, returning home to Claire Lynch Hall in St. Joseph, Minn., for a 3 p.m. conference showdown with Bethel.