WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team struggled to get its offense on track Wednesday evening against Gustavus.
 
And while the Cardinals were unable to shift out of neutral, the Gusties were in high gear from the opening tip, scoring 13 of the game's first 15 points and never taking their foot off the gas in dealing Saint Mary's an 81-51 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Cardinals held the high-powered Gusties to just five second-quarter points. Problem was, GAC was coming off a 27-point opening quarter, as Gustavus took a commanding 16-point, 32-16 lead into the locker room at the break.
 
The two teams traded baskets to open the first quarter, only to have Gustavus rattled off 11 unanswered points for a 13-2 lead. And it didn't get any better for SMU, as the Gusties used another double-digit run — this one 10 points — to push their advantage to 23-4, before setting for a 27-7 lead after 10 minutes of play.
 
GAC would build its lead to as many as 20 in the second quarter, 32-12, before Saint Mary's closed the half with back-to-back field goals by Maggie Robertson (Orland Park, Ill.) to cut the deficit to 32-16 at the break.
 
The 15-minute intermission did nothing to cool off the red-hot Gusties, as they enjoyed their biggest offense quarter in the third, erupting for 29 points to push the lead to 61-31 heading into the game's final 10-minute quarter.
 
Saint Mary's found its rhythm a bit in the final stanza, pouring in 20 points, but it was too little, too late.
 
Ewelina Schlomann (New Berlin, Wis.) scored a team-high 12 points for the Cardinals, while Maggie Robertson (Orland Park, Ill.) chipped in 11. Saint Mary's shot 29.8 percent from the field (17 of 57), but managed just 3 of 22 from behind the 3-point line and finished 14 of 18 from the free throw line.
 
Anna Sanders tossed in a game-high 16 points for the unbeaten Gusties (3-0 MIAC, 3-0 overall), while Marisa Gustafson and Maddy Rice each added 10.
 
The Cardinals (0-3 MIAC, 1-3 overall) are back in action on Saturday, when they travel to Hamline's Hutton Arena in St. Paul, Minn., for a 2 p.m. conference showdown with the Pipers.