WINONA, Minn. — Ashley Luehmann (Lewiston, Minn.) and Jamie Rattunde (Rollingstone, Minn.) led the Saint Mary's University women's basketball team in scoring — for the seventh straight game Wednesday evening against Bethel.

It's beginning to sound a lot like a broken record — but the tune has certainly been music to the Cardinals' ears.

Luehmann scored a game-high 23 points and Rattunde chipped in 22 — the fifth straight game of 20 or more points for the reigning MIAC Player of the Week — as the Cardinals posted their third straight win with an 84-77 victory over the Royals.

“We struggled a bit early (falling behind 10-2), but once we got on track, I thought we played pretty well,” said SMU coach Dan Messmann. “It was another solid game for us.”

The Cardinals raced out to a 47-33 halftime advantage, shooting 60 percent from the field (15-for-25). Luehmann scored 17 of her 23 points in the game's opening 20 minutes, nailing 6 of 10 field goals, as well as a pair of free throws. Rattunde, meanwhile, added 12 first-half points, sinking 4 of 7 field goals and adding a perfect 4-for-4 effort from the free-throw line.

Things cooled off a bit for the Cardinals in the second half, as SMU made just 16 of 32 field goals, but the end result was never in doubt, as SMU pushed its lead to 16, 66-50, with eight minutes remaining. The Royals got as close as five, 82-77, down the stretch, but a pair of free throws from Rattunde with 21 seconds remaining ice the win for the SMU (10-4 MIAC, 11-6 overall).

Megan Moran (Burlington, Wis.) chipped in 15 points for the Cardinals, while Anna Cunningham's 20 points were a team-high for Bethel (5-9 MIAC, 7-10).

“Looking at our schedule, we knew that those last three games were important,” said Messmann of SMU’s recent wins over Hamline, St. Olaf and Bethel. “Getting those three wins sets us up pretty well for the next couple of weeks.”

A couple of weeks that include games vs. all the MIAC’s top teams — including today’s rematch with St. Thomas.

“We’re going to have our work cut out for us — St. Thomas is going to be gunning for us,” said Messmann, whose team snapped a 38-game losing streak vs. the Tommies with a 71-49 rout in the teams’ first meeting. “We can’t afford to be overconfident. (St. Thomas) is a different team than the first time we faced them — we’re going to need to be at our best, no question about that.”