MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – It wasn't necessarily a work of art, but it was a win — and for the Saint Mary's University women's basketball team, that's all that matters.

The Cardinals shot just 29 percent from the field (13-for-45) and scored just 16 first-half points, but a 34-point second-half outburst — fueled by a 17-for-24 performance from the free throw line – helped the Caridnals pull away fro Augsburg 50-45.

"It wasn't pretty, but the bottom line is, we got the win," said SMU coach Dan Messmann, whose team has now won two of its last three games. "Defensively, we played very well, but offensively we struggled. We just couldn't seem to put any type of runs together.

"We got good looks, we just didn't hit them."

But when you defense is playing the way the Cardinals' was, you don't need a whole lot of offense.

SMU forced Augsburg into 30 turnovers — including 18 in the first half, when the Cardinals' defensie forced more turnovers than the Auggies scored points (17).

Jamie Rattunde (Rollingstone, Minn.) scored a game-high 19 points for the Cardinals (4-6 MIAC, 4-9 overall), while Angie Arrington (Spring Grove, Minn.) and Jaimie Lee (Eden Prairie, Minn.) each chipped in 12.