St. Ambrose used its defense and a dominating effort inside to power past Lincoln Christian 67-44 Saturday afternoon in Lincoln, Ill.

The Bees held the Lions to just 32 percent shooting and doubled them up on the boards, out-rebounding them 36-18. Thirteen of those rebounds came on the offensive end, allowing SAU to claim an 18-2 edge in second-chance points.

After a back-and-forth opening eight minutes, St. Ambrose took control late in the first quarter.

Leading just 13-11, Kylie Wroblewski started a run with a layup. Abby Lundquist followed with a layup of her own, and after a Bee steal, added two free throws. Madeline Prestegaard closed the period with a layup to cap the 8-0 run and give St. Ambrose a 21-11 lead.

Prestegaard and Shayne Smith combined for the first four points of the second quarter to extend the lead to 25-11. Lincoln Christian ended a nearly-six-minute scoring drought with a free throw, before Wroblewski scored on back-to-back possessions to push the lead to 29-12.

The Bees climbed in front by as many as 22 points in the third quarter and coasted to the win.

Jaynee Prestegaard led St. Ambrose with 19 points. Wroblewski also reached double figures, netting 15. She also pulled down a game-best 12 rebounds.

Madeline Prestegaard scored eight points, Smith had seven, Lundquist added six, and Maddy Cash and Anna Plumer each finished with five points.

Lincoln Christian shot less than 39 percent in each of the four quarters, including a 22-percent mark in the final frame. The Lions finished 16-of-50 from the floor.

St. Ambrose, now 11-1 overall, will return to conference play with a CCAC contest against Governors State scheduled for Friday at Lee Lohman Arena.