COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - McMurry used another strong first half to defeat St. Olaf College Saturday afternoon 59-46 on the campus of Colorado College. Tarra Richardson scored 15 points, Maigen Sawyer had 14 and Dominique Brown had a game-high eight assists to help No. 10 McMurry move to 2-0.

McMurry shot 48 percent in the first half and held St. Olaf to 25 percent in the opening period and led 29-18 at halftime. Even when St. Olaf shot 50 percent in the second half, the team was outscored by McMurry 30-28 in the second period. McMurry was able to take advantage of 33 turnovers by the Oles, however, McMurry turned the ball over 21 times as well.

Elyse Erickson led the Oles off the bench with a double-double. She had 14 points and 10 rebounds in just 20 minutes of play. Kelsey Oja was the only other player in double figures for St. Olaf with 11 points.

Sawyer, who normally is an outside threat, was 0 for 4 from 3-point land. However, she was sharp inside and was 6 for 7 from the field inside the arc. Richardson hit 7 of her 14 shots. Ashley Stephens came off the bench to score a career-high nine points. The junior from Dayton had McMurry's only 3-point bucket of the game and she added two rebounds.

McMurry finished the game at 41.1 percent shooting to the Oles' 37.5 percent performance. McMurry will conclude its non-conference schedule next weekend in Maryville, Tenn. The team is scheduled to play Birmingham Southern Friday and Greensboro College Saturday.

American Southwest Conference play begins Dec. 1 where McMurry will play host to its first home game of the season against East Texas Baptist.