ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — Just three days after taking down Gustavus — dealing the Gusties just their third loss in 14 conference contests — the Saint Mary's University women's basketball team once again found itself in the role of David against an MIAC Goliath.
 
Unfortunately, the Cardinals' slingshots must have frozen over in the frigid temperatures outside Robertson Center Gym, as Bethel— sitting deadlocked with Gustavus for third in conference wins with 11 heading into Saturday's action — limited Saint Mary's to just 16 points combined in the final three quarters in dealing SMU a 73-29 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback Saturday afternoon.
 
The Cardinals started strong, scoring the game's first four points on an Ashley Streveler (Colby, Wis.) 3-pointer and a free throw by Katelyn Cruze (Litchfield) for a quick, 4-0 lead. Saint Mary's would play with the advantage through the first nine of the opening quarter, before back-to-back field goals gave BU its first lead of the afternoon, 11-10.
 
Brooklyn Paulson (Holmen, Wis.), coming off a career-high 32-point showing against Gustavus on Wednesday —an outing that included her 1,000th-career point — netted her lone field goal of the day with 37 seconds to play, giving SMU a 13-10 lead head into the second quarter.
 
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the momentum shifted — in a big way — over the game's second 10-minute stanza, as Bethel held Saint Mary's to just one field goal and three points in grabbing a 28-16 lead heading into the halftime intermission.
 
BU netted the first six points of the second quarter, before Izzy Goettelman (Winona, Minn.) hit on a driving layup with six minutes to play. Over those final six minutes, however, Bethel would hold SMU to just a Macy Petron (Royalton, Minn.) free throw with 52 seconds on the clock — outscoring the Cardinals 12-1 en route to the 12-point halftime advantage.
 
The halftime break did nothing to cure the Cardinals' offensive woes, as Saint Mary's managed just five points — a 3-pointer by Streveler in the opening minutes, and a layup by Paulson with just over a minute to play — in the third quarter and eight in the fourth, as Bethel outscored SMU 45-13 over the game's final 20 minutes to secure the victory.
 
Streveler finished with a team-high eight points, going 3-for-6 from the field with a pair of 3-pointers, while Jada Biermeier (Eau Claire, Wis.) chipped in six. As a team, Saint Mary's shot 11-for-53 from the field (20.8 percent) with three 3-pointers and were 4 of 8 from the free throw line.
 
The Cardinals (5-12 MIAC, 6-14 overall) are right back in action on Monday, as they head to St. Olaf's Skoglund Center in Northfield, Minn., for a 7 p.m. conference matchup against the Oles.
 
 
 
  Read Full Article