The Saint Mary women's basketball team continued their winning ways on Wednesday in the Ryan Sports Center. This time the Spires topped Southwestern for their seventh straight win. It is the second consecutive season that the Spires have rattled off a winning streak of seven games or more. Saint Mary won 13 straight in the 2016-2017 season. The Spires are now 15-10 on the season and 12-7 in KCAC play. They now sit in a three way tie with Oklahoma Wesleyan and Bethany for second place in the KCAC Standings.

Southwestern would pull out to an 8-2 lead in the opening minutes of the game, but Saint Mary had the game tied at 10 with 6:40 left in the first quarter. The teams would reamin deadlocked at 16 headed into the second quarter. The Spires would outscore the Moundbuilders 26-11 in the second quarter to take a 15 point lead into halftime. A strong third quarter from Saint Mary extended the lead to 23 headed into the fourth, and the Spires would eventually take the 18 point victory.

Janae Barnes and Sienna Brown paced the offense with 12 points each. Kelsey Switzer finished with 10 points and just missed a double-double as she led the Spires in rebounds with nine. Candy De Los Reyes added 10 points. Ashley Hinkle did a little bit of everything for Saint Mary scoring eight points, pulling down seven rebounds, and dishing out seven assists. De Los Reyes and Switzer each had four steals as well.

With both teams being nearly equal in shooting percentage from the floor, three point range, and the free throw line, offensive rebounds were key in the Spires win. The Spires pulled down 18 rebounds on the offensive end compared to nine for Southwestern which led Saint Mary taking 20 more shots in the game than the Moundbuilders. The Spires nearly doubled the Moundbuilders in total assists (15-8). Saint Mary also had 11 less turnovers than Southwestern.

The womens' basketball team will be back in action on Saturday at Bethany. The game will begin at 5pm. The Swedes are tied with the Spires in second place of the KCAC at 12-7 records in conference play. Bethany upended the Saint Mary 64-60 in the Ryan Sports Center earlier this season.