Winfield, Kan.—A barrage of 3-pointers from Summer Wieneke and a wire-to-wire defensive effort lifted the University of Saint Mary to a 64-52 road victory over Southwestern on Saturday afternoon in Winfield in their final regular season game of the 2025-26 season.

The Spires seized control with a dominant second quarter and never relinquished the momentum, turning a tight opening 10 minutes into a 33-20 halftime lead. After holding a 14-11 edge following a last-second layup by Cady Huffman off a feed from Saige Grampsas to close the first, the Spires opened up offensively from the perimeter. The Spires then built the margin to double digits in the third quarter and maintained it throughout the fourth, answering each Southwestern push with timely outside shooting and disciplined half-court defense. A 3-pointer from Grampsas early in the frame extended the lead to 17-13, and Saint Mary outscored Southwestern 19-9 in the quarter to create the 13-point halftime separation.

Wieneke led the Spires with 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting, knocking down 6 of 10 attempts from beyond the arc while adding six rebounds in 25 minutes. Her shooting stretch spanned multiple quarters, including a key second-quarter three and another deep make in the third quarter that extended the cushion to 46-34 with 4:55 to play in the period.

USM continued to add to its advantage in the third. A 3-pointer by Keely Barnard with 7:31 on the clock stretched the margin to 41-26, capping another important scoring run. Southwestern responded with its best offensive quarter of the day with 19 points in the third, but the Spires consistently answered to keep the lead in double figures entering the final 10 minutes.

The Moundbuilders made one last push early in the fourth, trimming the deficit to single digits before Wieneke delivered another pivotal sequence. She opened the quarter with a 3-pointer and drew a foul, converting the ensuing free throw to complete a four-point play and move the score to 50-42 with 9:42 remaining. From there, Saint Mary managed the clock and the glass, and Barnard's late layup with 2:09 left pushed the lead to 64-50, effectively sealing the outcome and keeping Southwestern win less in conference play.

Barnard finished with 13 points, hitting 3-of-11 from long range while adding two rebounds and three assists. Grampsas impacted the game across the box score with 6 points, a team-high 10 rebounds, 6 assists and just 2 turnovers in 31 minutes, helping the Spires navigate Southwestern's pressure and control tempo.

As a team, the Spires shot 23-of-67 (34.3%) from the field and relied heavily on the perimeter, going 12-of-40 (30.0%) from 3-point range. USM was highly efficient at the line, connecting on 6-of-7 free throws (85.7%). Defensively, Saint Mary held Southwestern to 21-of-67 (31.3%) shooting overall and just 3-of-32 (9.4%) from deep, limiting second-chance damage despite a 41-37 rebounding edge for the hosts.

Spires finalized their regular season record at 19-9 overall and 16-6 in KCAC play. With this win, the Spires will now host the Bethany College Swedes in the quarterfinal game on Wednesday, February 25^th at 7:00 p.m. in the Ryan Sports Center for a chance to advance to the semifinal round on Saturday, February 28^th.