WINONA, Minn. — Katelyn Cruze (Litchfield, Minn.) was a force to be reckon with — at both ends of the court — for the Saint Mary's University women's basketball team Wednesday evening.
 
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, not even the senior's career-high 16 points and season-best 12 rebounds were enough to carry them to a victory.
 
Trailing by 16 points heading into the fourth quarter, the Cardinals clawed their way within nine, only to have the Auggies close the game on a 16-5 run in dealing Saint Mary's a 70-50 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
Saint Mary's would score the game's first basket, fittingly on a jumper by Cruze, but that would be the last time the Cardinals would play with the lead, as Augsburg scored the next six points, and slowly pulled away, building its lead to 13, 24-11, heading into the second quarter.
 
The Cardinals closed to within 11, 26-15, early in the second quarter, but as was the case in the first period, the Auggies had an answer to every SMU run, extending their advantage to 40-23 at the half.
 
The second half proved to be a mirror image of the first, with Augsburg maintaining a commanding double-digit lead through the game's third quarter — and taking a 52-36 cushion into the game's final 10-minute stanza.
 
Saint Mary's made one final push, whittling that 16-point deficit to nine, 54-45 on a Grace Schaffer (Farmington, Minn.) free throw with 7:01 to play in regulation. That, however, would be as close as the Cardinals would get, as Augsburg closed the quarter scoring 16 of the final 21 points to complete its season sweep of SMU.
 
Cruze finished 6 of 11 from the field, and 4-for-6 from the free throw line, en route to her career-high 16 points, while adding 12 boards — seven offensive and six defensive — to complete her third career double-double.
 
As a team, Saint Mary's shot 29.5 percent from the field (18 of 61), with seven 3-pointers, while going 7-for-10 from the free throw line.
 
The Cardinals (0-18 MIAC, 2-21 overall) close out the home portion of their regular-season schedule on Saturday, when they host St. Catherine in a 1 p.m. MIAC matchup at the SMU Gym.
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