Fueled by center Maggie Weiers’ game-high 22 points, the No. 3-ranked St. Thomas women’s basketball team had a strong second half to blow out St. Mary’s 74-51 Wednesday night at Schoenecker Arena.

Weiers was relatively quiet in the first half, recording only 6 points, but caught fire in the game’s second half. She scored 16 points for the Tommies (20-0 overall, 13-0 MIAC), including one stretch where she scored 10 during a 19-1 run. Weiers said halftime adjustments were key to the team’s strong second half.

“Just learning from the first half and adjusting to their inside game and how they were playing it,” Weiers said. “So we really just decided to get it in the post and play low, block more and take advantage of our height and our strength.”

Even with an impressive night from Weiers, the Tommies’ explosive second-half play showed off their depth once again. Forward Anna Smith recorded 13 points on six for 10 shooting, while guard Katie Stone continued her deadly shooting from outside, scoring 13 points.

The two halves of the game were polar opposites of one another. The first half was slow and choppy with a lot of whistles; the teams traded baskets, and the Tommies only led 29-23 at halftime.

The teams continued to trade baskets at the start of the second half, and at the 15:22 mark, the Tommies lead shrank to four. That’s when the Tommies and Weiers got hot, going on a run that extended the team’s lead to a game-high 25 points with 3:29 left in the second half. Coach Ruth Sinn said the second half surge was all about increasing the tempo of the game.

“If you noticed the first half, there was a lot of stops. There was a lot of slow basketball,” Sinn said. “We like to play a little bit faster, quicker basketball, and so one of the things that we tried to do defensively was increase the tempo and then offensively increase the tempo by getting some pushes, and I thought we did a better job of that (in the second half).”

Despite the impressive offense in the second half, St. Thomas places a strong emphasis on defense, and Wednesday was no exception. St. Mary’s scored 51 points, only slightly above the 45.7 points-per-game the Tommies have given up on average this season. Weiers said the Tommies’ focus on the defensive end during the second half led to the team’s success at the other end of the floor.

“I think our team as a whole had a lot more focus in the second half defensively, and a lot of times when we play well on offense it comes from our defense,” Weiers said. “So we were really focused on getting stops and then coming down and just taking advantage of that … So I think our defense is really what made our offense in the second half, and we had a better sense of urgency, and we were really taking the game a lot more seriously and buckled down in the second half.”

St. Thomas will continue its 14-game stretch against MIAC teams when it returns to Schoenecker Arena for Alumni Day at 1 p.m. Saturday against Carleton. The Tommies and Knights met back on Jan. 3., with St. Thomas winning 74-42.

William Faust can be reached at faus5612@stthomas.edu.