Photos of Gustavus game / Click here

WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team found themselves staring at a 13-point, 20-9 hole with eight minutes remaining in the first half of Wednesday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game against Gustavus.,

The Cardinals may have bent, but they didn't break, scoring 11 unanswered points to tie the game, before settling for a three-point, 34-31 halftime deficit.

That bend-but-don't-break attitude didn't work quite so well in the second half as Gustavus scored the period's first 17 points to take a commanding 51-31 advantage en route to a 70-58 win over the Cardinals at the SMU Gym.

Ashley Luehmann (Lewiston, Minn.) scored a team-high 19 points — including 14 in the second half — while Jessica Weisbrod (Rollingstone, Minn.), fueled by a 14-point first half, chipped in 17 points. Jess Vadnais tallied a game-high 23 points and Bri Monahan added 16 for the Gusties (4-2 MIAC, 6-3 overall).

The Cardinals finally got their offense on track in the second half, whittling that 20-point lead down to nine, 65-56, with 2:34 left to play, but the Gusties scored four of the game's final six points to seal the win.