NORTHFIELD, Minn. — Saint Mary's University women's basketball coach Mandy Pearson had simple instructions for her team heading into Wednesday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game at St. Olaf: Finish every play.

And that's exactly what the Cardinals did, as SMU raced out to a 12-point, 39-27 halftime advantage, then finished what they started by holding off a late Ole run to post a 67-64 victory.

"We played very well," said Pearson, whose team snapped a three-game losing streak with the win. "We talked before the game about finishing every possession, and that's pretty much what we did.

"Our post players did a great job, and our seniors stepped up and really came up with big performances."

Led by those seniors — Jess Miller (Carver, Minn.) and Cherie Kulig (Independence, Wis.) — the Cardinals took control from the opening tip, as Kulig scored the game's first basket, and, after St. Olaf's Sam Zopfl hit a 3-pointer to give the Oles' a short-lived 3-2 lead, Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) answered with a 3-pointer of her own to give the Cardinals the lead for good. The Cardinals then used a 17-5 run to end the half to give SMU its 12-point halftime advantage.

St. Olaf made things interesting late in the second half, trimming the Cardinals' lead to one, 58-57, with 5:30 remaining, but SMU bent but never broke, outscoring the Oles 9-7 the rest of the way to seal the win.

Miller and Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) each finished with a game-high 16 points for the Cardinals, while Kulig chipped in 14. Stefely also added eight rebounds, as SMU improved to 3-3 in the MIAC and 5-4 overall.

Mackenzie Wolter and Zopfl each scored14 points in the losing effort for St. Olaf.

The Cardinals are back in action — and back in Northfield, Minn. — on Saturday, when SMU travels to Carleton for a 1 p.m. conference game against the Knights.