PLATTEVILLE, Wis. - The Grinnell College women's basketball team got off to a good start against once-beaten Saint Mary's University Saturday before a big run by the Cardinals led the foe from Minnesota to a 77-49 victory.

Competing at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville Tournament, Grinnell worked its way into a 16-all tie with the Cardinals late in the first period. That's when Saint Mary's caught fire, using an 18-7 run to ignite a surge that led to a 45-25 halftime lead.

Grinnell (2-5) held a 13-12 scoring edge in the third frame, but Saint Mary's finished things off with a 20-11 margin in the fourth.

The Pioneers fell behind 12-7 right off the bat, but fought their way back into contention with a 7-2 run to force a 14-all tie. Nora Lynch '28 and Juniper Schwartzman '27 each had layups in the run and Georgia Patterson '29 added a 3-pointer.

Reese Stephens '27 added a layup a bit later to make it a 16-all game before Saint Mary's (4-1) closed the period with five consecutive points for a 21-16 lead. 

Grinnell was as close as 27-23 in the second period after a 3-pointer from Ava Wu '29 but the Cardinals pulled away for a 20-point halftime edge. 

Lynch led the Pioneers in scoring with 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, while Schwartzman scored nine. Skylar Thomas '26 was tops in rebounds with four and Stephens posted two steals. In the assists department, Thomas, Kelsey Ericksen '26 and Cassidy Pak '28 all had two.

Grinnell meets host UW-Platteville, a team receiving votes for the national rankings, at 5:45 p.m. Sunday. The Pioneers then play their final home contest of the calendar year Tuesday when Cornell College visits for a Midwest Conference test.