WINONA, Minn. – The second half has not been kind to the Saint Mary's University women's basketball team this week.
 
Just three days after struggling to find its third-quarter offensive mojo, managing just four points in an 11-point loss to Augsburg, it was the fourth quarter that proved to be the Cardinals' undoing.
 
Tied 34-34 heading into the game's final quarter, Saint Mary's shot just 25 percent from the field, hitting 3 of 12 field goals, as Macalester outscored SMU 14-9 in dealing the Cardinals a 48-43 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
Both teams struggled to find their shooting touch early, with Macalester starting 1-for-9 from the field — the lone basket a game-opening 3-pointer from Acacia Edmond — while SMU came up empty on its first six field goal attempts.
 
Katelyn Cruze (Litchfield, Minn.) and Kali Olson (New York Mills, Minn.) got the Cardinals' offense rolling, each knocking down a pair of field goals to give SMU an 8-5 lead with 2:10 to play. Macalester, however, answered by closing the quarter with five consecutive points to take a 10-8 lead.
 
The Cardinals found their offensive rhythm in the second quarter, building leads of five on two separate occasions —18-13 on a Zoe Fink (Stevens Point, Wis.) 3-pointer and 20-15 on a layup by Maddie Wall (Cameron, Wis.) — and took a two-point, 22-20 lead into the locker room at the half.
 
The Scots came out of the break like they were shot out of a cannon, scoring five unanswered points and nine of the first 11 to grab a 29-24 lead just two minutes into the third quarter. Macalester matched that five-point cushion at 31-26, but a bucket by Grace Schaffer (Farmington, Minn.) and three Cruze free throws got SMU even, 31-31, with less than four minutes to play.
 
The teams each closed out the third with 3-0 runs — SMU's coming via a quarter-ending Cruze free throw and Olson layup — leaving the game deadlocked at 34-34 heading into the game's final 10-minute period.
 
Schaffer opened the final stanza hitting one of two free throws for a 35-34 SMU lead, only to have the Scots respond with six unanswered points to grab a five-point, 40-35 lead.  SMU would cut the deficit to two, 42-40 on a Wall 3-pointer with 1:15 on the clock, but SMU would get no closer, as the Scots knocked down four free throws down the stretch to seal the five-point victory.
 
Wall scored a team-high 10 points and Olson added nine points and 10 rebounds, for the Cardinals, who shot 29.6 percent from the field (16-for-54), but were just 3 of 14 (21.4 %) from behind the arc, while going 8 of 12 from the free throw line. Saint Mary's held Macalester to 30.0 percent from the field (18-for-60), but the Cardinals were hampered by 21 turnovers.
 
Saint Mary's (0-9 MIAC, 2-11 overall) is back in action — and back on their home court — on Wednesday, when they welcome nationally ranked and league-leading Gustavus to the Saint Mary's Gym for a 7 p.m. MIAC matchup.
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