NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College women's basketball team surged out to a 20-point halftime lead before holding off Saint Mary's University in the fourth quarter of a 74-64 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) victory on Saturday afternoon at Skoglund Center.

St. Olaf (2-4, 1-2 MIAC) held Saint Mary's (2-4, 0-4 MIAC) without a made field goal in the second quarter on its way to a 37-17 halftime lead and led by as many as 22 points early in the third quarter. After trailing by 20 with less than six minutes to go in the fourth quarter, the Cardinals got within seven points twice in the final minute, but it was too little, too late for the visitors.

After recording her first collegiate double-double on Wednesday night, first year Chloee Smith made it two double-doubles in as many games with a team-high 15 points on 7-for-10 shooting and a game-high 17 rebounds. Smith was one of five Oles in double figures in scoring in the victory, as St. Olaf shot a season-best 46.7 percent (28-for-60) from the field as a team.

Senior Cayden Botten neared a double-double with 14 points – the second-highest scoring total of her career – and eight rebounds, as did junior Paige Yagodinski, who finished with 10 points and nine rebounds. Junior Ziling Zhen added 11 points and junior Sarah Tangen contributed 10 points, four rebounds, and three assists.

St. Olaf shot an even 50.0 percent (9-for-18) in the opening quarter to take a 22-13 lead after one despite 10 early points from Grace Schaffer for Saint Mary's. Schaffer scored seven points over the first 2:28 of the game to help the Cardinals to a 10-6 lead before the Oles went on a 12-0 run over a five-minute stretch to take an 18-10 lead. Botten capped a seven-point opening quarter with a jumper on the final possession.

Saint Mary's was 0-for-13 from the field in the second quarter, scoring all four of its points from the free-throw line (4-for-10), as St. Olaf took a 37-17 lead into the halftime break. The Oles scored 10 of their 15 second-quarter points in the paint and held a 29-13 advantage on the glass in the opening half.

St. Olaf led by at least 15 points for the duration of the third quarter before Saint Mary's got its offense going in the fourth quarter. After scoring just 35 points in the first three quarters, the Cardinals exploded for 29 in the fourth but were unable to make a run until the final minutes, as the Oles went 8-for-10 from the free-throw line late to see out the victory.

Next up for St. Olaf is a home game against Hamline University at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 6. The Oles were originally scheduled to face Carleton College at home on Monday, Dec. 4, but the Knights had to cancel their season due to a lack of healthy players last month.