WINONA, Minn. — The fourth quarter has been the Saint Mary's University women's basketball team's Achilles heel of late.
After dropping a pair of heartbreakers in their last two contests — falling in the closing minutes in losses to both St. Olaf and Hamline — the Cardinals were determined to finish on a higher note Saturday afternoon against Bethel.
Unfortunately, it wasn't the ending that did in the Cardinals — it was the beginning.
Bethel took advantage of runs of 14-2 in the first quarter and 14-0 in the second — while holding Saint Mary's to just 12 first-half points — as BU dealt the Cardinals a 73-45 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the Saint Mary's Gym.
Bethel set the tone early, netting the first five points and led 7-2, before
Zoe Fink (Stevens Point, Wis.) knocked down a 3-pointer to get SMU within two, 7-5, with 7:40 on the clock. Over those final seven-plus minutes, however, Saint Mary's would manage just one field goal — that by
Victoria Marial (Rochester, Minn.) — as the Royals closed the quarter on a 14-2 run to grab a commanding 21-7 advantage.
After a pair of free throws by Emily Erickson opened the second quarter, Saint Mary's
Grace Schaffer (Farmington, Minn.) ended BU's 16-2 run with a layup, only to have Bethel rattle off 14 unanswered points to extend its lead 37-9. SMU's
Riley Schiernbeck (Ida Grove, Iowa) knocked down a free throw and a mid-range jumper in the waning seconds to make it a 39-12 BU advantage at the half.
Kali Olson (New York Mills, Minn.) and
Maddie Wall (Cameron, Wis.) pumped a little life into the Cardinals' offense in the third quarter, with Olson connecting on three consecutive field goals, while Wall chipped in a pair of field goals – including a late-quarter 3-pointer — leaving SMU trailing 62-28 heading into the final quarter.
Saint Mary's saved its best quarter for last, scoring 17 points in the final 10-minute period — including six from
Grace King (Clayton, Wis.) and four from
Katelyn Cruze (Litchfield, Minn.) — but the first half hole was just too deep to climb out of.
Wall finished with a team-high seven points, one more than King, Olson, and Schiernbeck, while Schaffer added four points. As a team, Saint Mary's shot 300 percent from the field (15-for-50, with four 3-pointers, and an 11 of 18 effort from behind the 3-point line.
The Cardinals (0-14 MIAC, 2-17 overall) hit the road on Wednesday, making the trek to Concordia's Memorial Auditorium in Moorhead, Minn., for a 3:30 p.m. showdown against the Cobbers.
