Photos of St. Thomas game / Click here

WINONA, Minn. — When the Saint Mary's University women's basketball team traveled to St. Paul, Minn., to take on St. Thomas in the team's first meeting of the season on Jan. 14, a second-half meltdown cost the Cardinals in a 51-39 UST win.

The Cardinals were determined not to let that happen again when the two teams squared off again Saturday afternoon at the SMU Gym.

And they didn't — not by a long shot.

Led by Ashley Luehmann (Lewiston, Minn.) — one of SMU's two graduating seniors honored before the game — the Cardinals bottled up the Tommies from start to finish in cruising to a 61-33 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory.

"That's probably the best all-around game we've played all season," said SMU coach Dan Messmann. "We knew that (St. Thomas') strength was their 3-point shooter, so we made sure they didn't get any good looks.

"Defensively, I was extremely pleased with our performance," continued Messmann, whose team held the Tommies to 25 percent shooting from the field (12-for-48) — including 0-for-17 from behind the 3-point line — and forced 27 UST turnovers. "Offensively we went through a few ups-and-downs, but overall, it was a very good effort."

Luehmann netted a game-high 18 points — including 10 of the Cardinals' first 12 points — in helping the Cardinals snap their three-game losing streak. Calla Swenson (Blooming Prairie, Minn.) chipped in 11 points for SMU (6-12 MIAC, 10-13 overall), while Eric Opdahl's double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds were team highs for the Tommies, who have now lost seven straight in falling to 6-12 in the MIAC and 9-14 overall.

"St. Thomas has always been a big rivalry game for us," said Messmann. "And for us to come out today, on Senior Day, and play like we did, it's great.

"The fact that the win came against St. Thomas just makes it that much sweeter."