ELMHURST, Ill. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team could not have asked for a better start to its nonconference game against Elmhurst Friday, scoring six of the game's first eight points.
 
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, Elmhurst had just two words to say about SMU's red-hot start: "Bombs away."
 
Elmhurst launched 41 3-pointers, connecting on 14 — including seven in the second quarter alone — as the Bluejays erased SMU's early advantage with a 10-0 first-quarter run and never looked back in dealing Saint Mary's a 81-49 setback.
 
Saint Mary's had everything going its way right out of the gate, as Kali Olson (New York Mills, Minn.) scored on SMU's first field goal attempt, and by the time Grace Schaffer (Farmington, Minn.) added a pull-up jumper and Lindsey Lettner (Trempealeau, Wis.) rained in a 3-pointer, the Cardinals found themselves sporting a 6-2 lead.
 
After missing on seven of their first eight field goal attempts — including an 0-for-3 effort from behind the 3-point line — the Bluejays found their rhythm, rattling off 10 unanswered points, including pair of 3s, to grab a 12-6 lead.
 
And Elmhurst was just getting warmed up.
 
The Bluejays closed out the quarter outscoring SMU 8-7 for a 20-13 edge, and extended that advantage to 29 by halftime, outscoring the Cardinals 32-10 — thanks in large part to a 7 of 15 performance from behind the 3-point line.
 
Saint Mary's did not have an answer for the Bluejays first-half 3-point arsenal — which included at least one 3-pointer from four different players, including a 6 of 7 effort from Anna Kleszynski — as the Cardinals managed just one 3-pointer in nine attempts, while Elmhurst closed the half knocking down 11 of 27 treys.
 
The Cardinals started the second half in much the same manner they opened the first, getting back-to-back field goals from Maddie Wall (Cameron, Wis.) and Schaffer, only to have Elmhurst answered with 12 of the next 14 points of the quarter to push its lead to 64-29.
 
Saint Mary's got to within 69-36 heading into the fourth quarter, and outscored the Bluejays 13-12 in the final frame — thanks in part to six unanswered points by Katelyn Cruze (Litchfield, Minn.), who hit four straight free throws and added a layup — but the Cardinals' fate had already been sealed.
 
Fueled by her six-point fourth quarter, Cruze finished with a team-leading 12 points for the Cardinals, who also got 11 points from Schaffer, and a career-high 13 rebounds to go along with six points from Olson.
 
As a team, SMU shot 35.7 percent from the field (20-for-56), but were just 2 of 15 from beyond the arc, and added a 7-for-12 showing from the free throw line. Elmhurst, meanwhile, went 31-for-86 from the field (36.0 %) and amassed 14 3s on 41 attempts, while going 5 of 11 from the line.
 
The Cardinals (2-9 overall) are back in conference play on Wednesday, when they head to Augsburg's Si Melby Hall in Minneapolis, Minn., for a 7 p.m. MIAC matchup against the Auggies.
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