WINONA, Minn. — When the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team squared off against Bethel in the first of the teams' three meetings a year ago, the Cardinals entered the game riding a season-opening three-game winning streak—only to have the Royals rain on their season-opening parade with a 78-69 victory.
 
The Cardinals found themselves in a similar position when the two teams met for the first this season Monday at the Saint Mary's Gym, as Saint Mary's entered Monday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown with the Royals a perfect 8-0 on the season.
 
And the Royals were at it again.
 
Bethel outscored Saint Mary's 29-21 in the second half, including scoring the game's final five points, in handing the Cardinals a 51-47 setback—and snapping their eight-game season-opening winning streak.
 
The Cardinals opened by scoring the first five points and did not relinquish the lead over the game's opening 20 minutes. Saint Mary's, fueled by Molly O'Toole's (Plymouth, Minn.) 11 first-half points and nine from Bridget Pethke (New London, Wis.), built leads as big as 10—twice—the latter a 19-9 lead midway through the half.
 
The Royals would not go away, however, using a 13-4 run to cut the gap to one, 23-22, before a Pethke 3-pointer pushed the Cardinals' lead back to four, 26-22, at the half.
 
Bethel scored the first five points of the second half to take its first lead of the game, 27-26, but the Cardinals answered with five unanswered points of their own to regain the lead—a lead they would not relinquish until BU's Hannah Niewald drained a 3-pointer to give the Royals a 42-41 advantage with seven minutes remaining.
 
Neither team would lead by more than three over those final seven minutes, with Saint Mary's clinging to a one-point, 47-46 lead with 1:10 left in regulation.
 
That, however, would be the last time the Cardinals would lead, as Bethel rattled off five straight points to ice the win.
 
O'Toole finished with a game-high 18 points for the Cardinals (2-1 MIAC, 8-1 overall), who shot 28 percent from the field (18-for-63)—hitting on just 3 of 17 3-point attempts—while going 8-for-10 from the free throw line.
 
Kalli Zimmerman scored 11 points and Rachel Parupsky hauled in 10 rebounds for the Royals (2-1 MIAC, 5-1 overall)
 
The Cardinals are now off until Dec. 30, when they travel to Chicago, Ill., for a 2 p.m. nonconference game against North Park.