MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — With their backs to the wall, the Saint Mary's University women's basketball team came out swinging Wednesday evening.
Trailing by 12 midway through the third quarter, the Cardinals kicked their offense into high gear — and Augsburg never had a chance — as Saint Mary's turned that 12-point deficit into an eight-point 71-63 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory at Si Melby Hall.
The Cardinals came out firing on all cylinders right out of the gate, scoring 12 of the first 20 points to grab a 12-7 lead midway through the first quarter. Augsburg, however, ended the 10-minute period much the same way the Cardinals started it, closing the quarter on an 8-2 run to own a 15-14 lead.
The Auggies picked up right where they left off in the second quarter, building its lead to as many as 10, 34-24, before
Izzy Goettelman (Winona, Minn.) drained a late 3-pointer to get the Cardinals within seven, 34-27, at the intermission.
The halftime break did nothing to cool off the Auggies, who opened the third quarter on an 11-6 run to push their lead to 12, 45-33.
But that 12-point deficit proved to be the perfect wake-up call for the Cardinal offense, as Saint Mary's closed the third quarter on a 10-2 run — getting field goals from four different players, including back-to-back field goals by
Katelyn Cruze (Litchfield, Minn.) — to whittle the Auggie lead to four, 47-43.
And the Cardinals were just getting warmed up.
Cruze registered her third straight basket to open the fourth quarter, and get Saint Mary's within two, 47-45. Augsburg answered with a bucket of its own, to regain a four-point lead, 49-45 — only to have SMU counter by scoring 21 of the next 29 points to claim its largest lead of the game, 66-57.
And Augsburg would get no closer than seven the rest of the way, as the Cardinals locked up their second straight victory.
Brooklyn Paulson (Holmen, Wis.) scored a team-high 19 points, while
Ashley Streveler (Colby, Wis.) and Cruze each chipped in 12 points, and
Grace Schaffer (Farmington, Minn.) added 10. As a team, Saint Mary's shot 43.6 percent from the field (23-for-53), including an 8 of 22 showing from behind the 3-point line, and finished 17-for-23 from the free throw line.
The Cardinals (7-12 MIAC, 8-14 overall) are back in action on Saturday, when they take to the road, heading to Saint Benedict's Claire Lynch Hall in St. Joseph, Minn., for a 3 p.m. showdown against the Bennies.
