WINONA, Minn. — The one thing Saint Mary's University women's basketball coach Mandy Pearson wanted to stay away from Monday night was allowing league-leading Saint Benedict get on any extended runs.

Unfortunately for the Cardinals head coach, the first half proved to be one long, extended CSB run, as the Blazers raced out to a 40-16 halftime advantage — and they needed every one of those additional 24 points to hold off the Cardinals down the stretch en route to a 73-61 victory at the SMU Gym.

After struggling to find their shooting touch in the opening 20 half, the Cardinals found their range over the game's final 20 minutes, outscoring the Blazers 45-33. After trailing by as many as 25, 47-22, with 15:17 remaining, it was the Cardinals who put together a late run, outscoring CSB 35-19 to cut the gap to nine, 66-57 with two minutes left in regulation.

That, however, would be as close as the Cardinals would get, as the Blazers were 5-for-5 from the free throw line and knocked down a pair of field goals to seal the win.

Jess Miller (Carver, Minn.) — who was named MIAC Player of the Week earlier in the day — scored a game-high 21 points for the Cardinals. It was the fourth straight game in which the Cardinal senior has scored 20 or more points. Miller was 9-for-18 from the field, and scored 17 of her 21 points in the second half.

Heather Gillund finished with 18 points to lead of trio of Blazers in double figures. Amy Stifter added 14 points and Morgan Dale tallied 11 for CSB, which won its ninth straight to improve to 10-1 in the MIAC and 13-1 overall.

The Cardinals, who move to 5-5 in conference play at 7-6 overall, are back in action on Wednesday, hosting Augsburg in a 7:30 p.m. game at the SMU Gym.