By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
NORTHFIELD, Minn. — Coming off their biggest win of the season — a 77-69 win over fifth-ranked Bethel — snapping the Royals' 20-game winning streak — the Saint Mary's University women's basketball team was looking for a repeat performance when they took the court Wednesday against Carleton.
 
The Knights, however, refused to play nice.
 
Carleton outscored the Cardinals 21-12 in the game's opening 10 minutes, and Saint Mary's could not climb out of the first-quarter hole in falling to the Knights 68-58 in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matchup at West Gym.
 
Leading by nine after the first quarter, Carleton extended its lead to 11, 36-25, at the half, and then opened the second half in much the same fashion as the first — outscoring the Cardinals 22-12 in the third quarter, pushing that 11-point advantage to 21, 58-37 with 10 minutes to play.
 
The Cardinals' offense found its rhythm in the game's final 10 minutes, outscoring the Knights, 21-10, but the fourth-quarter rally was not enough.
 
Ewelina Schlomann (New Berlin, Wis.) scored a career-high 19 points on 8 of 10 shooting — including a pair of 3-pointers — to lead the Cardinal offense. Brooklyn Paulson (Holmen, Wis.) also finished in double figures for Saint Mary's, chipping in 11 points.
 
Saint Mary's shot 35.8 percent from the field (24-for-67) — but could not find their range from behind the arc, hitting on just 7 of 31 3-point attempts. Carleton, on the other hand, shot 42.6 percent from the field (26-for-61) with eight treys and an 8 of 11 effort from the free throw line.
 
Katie Chavez scored 18 points to pace the Knights, while Jill Yanai and Samantha Cooke each added 12.
 
The Cardinals (3-14 MIAC, 3-19 overall) return home to the Saint Mary's Gym on Saturday, playing host to Hamline in a 3 p.m. conference contest. The Knights (6-11 MIAC, 9-13 overall), meanwhile, head back to West Gym in Northfield, Minn., for a 3 p.m. MIAC matchup against cross-town rival St. Olaf.