St. Ambrose closed the game on an 11-0 run to claim a season-opening 70-56 win over Mount Mercy Saturday night in Lee Lohman Arena.

The Bee defense wore down the Mustangs down the stretch. St. Ambrose would hold Mount Mercy scoreless over the final 4:33 after the Mustangs had scored to close to within 59-56. Over that stretch, MMU went 0-for-6 from the floor, 0-of-2 from the line and committed a turnover.

SAU, meanwhile, had five different players combine for those final 11 points. Shayne Smith knocked down a jumper to give the Bees a little breathing room with a 61-56 lead. Mel Stewart drove for a layup. Madeline Prestegaard snagged an offensive rebound and score. Maddy Cash drilled a 3-pointer. And Kylie Wroblewski ended the scoring with a jumper inside the final minute.

It was that kind of game for the Bees as seven different players each scored at least six points.

St. Ambrose led throughout but Mount Mercy (0-1) stayed within striking distance nearly the entire way.

SAU relied on its defense. The Mustangs shot better than 35 percent from the floor in only one of the four quarters, and even in that third period, the Bees outscored the Mustangs 16-15.

MMU finished 24-of-70 (34.3 percent) from the field and 3-of-22 (13.6 percent) from beyond the arc.

St. Ambrose appeared poised to break things open early after closing the third quarter with eight straight points for a 52-43 advantage. But Mount Mercy clawed back to get within 56-54 midway through the period and stayed close until the Bees' final surge.

Stewart led the balanced scoring attack with 14 points. She was joined in double figures by Smith (13 points) and Wroblewski (11).

Jaynee Prestegaard netted nine points, Anna Plumer dropped in eight, Cash finished with seven and Madeline Prestegaard chipped in with six.

Wroblewski narrowly missed a double-double after coming down with nine rebounds in the win. Smith pulled down seven boards and added a team-high four assists.

After just a single tuneup, the Bees will open CCAC play at home against No. 20 Olivet Nazarene next Tuesday.

Videos below courtesy SAUtv

Jaynee Prestegaard gets the scoring started to give the Bees an early 2-0 lead

Anna Plumer finds Kylie Wroblewski to build a 50-43 lead

Shayne Smith's steal leads to a Jaynee Prestegaard three-point play and a 59-54 lead

Shayne Smith knocks down a jumper for a 61-56 lead

Mel Stewart drives to extend the lead to 63-56

Madeline Prestegaard grabs the offensive board and converts for a 65-56 lead