NEW ULM, Minn. - The Martin Luther College women's basketball team battled Saint Mary's University (SMU) from start to finish, but could not overcome a significant difference at the free throw line in an 80-74 loss on Monday.

The Knights scored 10 more baskets and recorded 28 more field goal attempts, but the Cardinals countered with a 28-5 advantage in made free throws on the night. SMU made 28 of their first 30 attempts from the charity stripe (and finished 28-35), while the Knights finished just 5-13 from the line for the game.

The Cardinals jumped out to a fast start, shooting nearly 70 percent from the field on the way to a 27-19 lead after the first quarter.

The Knights played SMU even for the next two quarters to keep the deficit in single digits (64-56) heading into the fourth quarter, and continued to hang around into the final minutes.

Trailing by 10 under one minute to play, a Jordyn Heckendorf four-point play cut the SMU lead to six, but that would be as close as the Knights could get before the final buzzer.

MLC forced 21 SMU turnovers and outscored the Cardinals 36-24 in the paint. Emma Nelson led the frontcourt players down low with a season-high 16 points and nine rebounds, while Anna Treder controlled the glass with a team-high 11 rebounds.

Heckendorf led the Knights with 19 points and four assists. Lauren Paulsen added nine points off the bench.

MLC fell to 1-4 on the season in defeat. SMU improved to 1-1 with the win.

The Knights will return to action on Wednesday, November 17, when they travel to Hamline for a game scheduled to tip off at 5:45 p.m.