WINONA, Minn. — Unfortunately for Saint Mary's University women's basketball coach Mandy Pearson, her team's shooting percentage Monday night against St. Thomas was as cold as the frigid air outside.

A tough first half for Cardinals — one where they shot only 24 percent from the field — enabled the Tommies to pull ahead and never let SMU back into the game en route to a 69-55 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win.

"We just had a bad start," said Pearson, whose Cardinals fall to 2-3 in the conference and 4-4 overall. "We had a poor first half with too many turnovers, and we couldn't finish shots, either."

St. Thomas (6-2 overall, 5-0 in the MIAC) was led by junior guard Ali Johnson, who boasted team-highs in scoring (15) and rebounding (7). Post players Sarah Smith and Rachel Booth poured in 14 and 11 points, respectively.

After trading a pair of baskets early in the first half, the Tommies pulled away and built their lead to 21 points, 39-18, at the half. Much of their offensive output came off of turnovers produced by their high-pressure defense.

"That's how they play," said Pearson, who inserted point guard Renee Pecarina (Winona, Minn.) off of the bench to try to break the press. "There were just too many turnovers."

Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) had 15 points for the Cardinals, with Brittany Begrowicz (Des Plaines, Ill.) contributing eight of her own. Four other SMU players scored six points, including bench players Emily DeWitt (Lino Lakes, Minn.) and Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.).

"Stefely played well," said Pearson. "Along with her baskets, she had some huge rebounds. DeWitt came in and had two big three-pointers; hopefully that gives her some more shooting confidence in future games."

Saint Mary's resumes play on Wednesday, traveling to Northfield, Minn., for a 7:30 p.m. conference contest against St. Olaf.