By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Saturdays and the Saint Mary's University women's basketball team has been a lethal combination of late.
 
After all, in their last two weekend matinees heading into their season-finale against No. 20 St. Thomas, the Cardinals had knocked off then-No. 5 Bethel and Hamline — the Royals the regular-season conference champions and the Pipers also an MIAC Tournament participant — on consecutive Saturdays.
 
Unfortunately, a sluggish first quarter set the tone and the Cardinals were not able to complete the Saturday trifecta, as St. Thomas outscored the Saint Mary's 16-7 in the first quarter and cruised to a 75-59 conference win at Schoenecker Arena.
 
St. Thomas pushed its advantage to 13, 33-20, by outscoring Saint Mary's 17-13 in the second quarter, and held a 42-39 edge over the final two 10-minute periods in sealing the victory.
 
Shayley Vesel (Austin, Minn.) was the only Cardinal to score in double figures against the stingy St. Thomas defense, finished with 19 point on 6 of 13 shooting — including four 3-pointers — and a perfect 4-for-4 effort from the free throw line. Michele Remer (Grand Forks, N.D.) chipped in nine points and Caily Landers () finished with eight for Saint Mary's, which shot 30.3 percent from the field (20-for-66) with five 3-pointers and went 14 of 15 from the line.
 
St. Thomas put three players in double figures, led by Brynne Rolland with 21. Macy Hatlestad added 18 and Shayla Wallin posted 10 for the Tommies, who were 28-for-62 (45.2 percent) from the field — including hitting on 10 of 25 3-pointers — and went 9 of 15 from the charity stripe.
 
The Cardinals closed out the season with a 5-20 overall, including 5-15 in conference play. St. Thomas, meanwhile, will take its 20-5 overall record — which included a 16-4 effort in MIAC action — into Tuesday's conference tournament quarterfinals. Third-seeded UST will host No. 6 St. Catherine at 7 p.m. at Schoenecker Arena.