WINONA, Minn. - The Martin Luther College women's basketball team opened the season with a 61-60 loss at Saint Mary's on Wednesday.

The two teams battled back and forth, but the Cardinals broke a 60-60 tie with three seconds to play with a free throw to earn the one-point win.

Both teams struggled on offense to open the game, but the Cardinals started to surge ahead in the second quarter on the way to a 30-25 halftime lead.

SMU built on that lead to start the third quarter, but a pair of Emily Witkowski three-pointers cut the MLC deficit to 50-48 heading into the fourth quarter.

In the final stanza, the Knights finally knotted up the score at 60-60 thanks to a three-point play by Grace Schultz in the final minute, but were unable to get the go-ahead basket. MLC had a chance in the final seconds after the SMU free throw to take the lead, but was unable to get a shot off at the buzzer.

Jade St. Germaine led MLC with 18 points on 6-10 shooting from the field. Schultz added 15 points to go with team highs in rebounds (10) and steals (seven). Moriah Hackbarth finished with 13 points thanks to four three-pointers, while Witkowski led the MLC bench with nine points.

MLC fell to 0-1 to open the season following the loss, while SMU improved to 1-0 with the win.

The Knights will return to action on Friday, November 17, when they host Augsburg in the home-opener at 7 p.m.