A strong defensive effort carried St. Ambrose to its second straight win, a 58-41 home victory over Judson Saturday afternoon at Lee Lohman Arena.

The Bees limited the Eagles to 14-of-52 shooting from the floor, good for 26.9 percent. That included a 4-of-19 performance from beyond the arc.

SAU set the tone early. Judson (1-10, 1-4 CCAC) made just two baskets in the opening quarter, shooting 2-of-13. Leading just 9-7, the Bees made a run over the final three minutes of the first period. A Kashell Daughty layup and five points, including a 3-pointer from Caitlyn Thole, helped St. Ambrose (2-6, 2-3 CCAC) close the quarter on a 7-1 run to open a 16-8 lead.

After the Eagles closed to within 16-10 early in the second, Payton Calouette scored four consecutive points to build a double-digit advantage. A Judson 3-pointer was followed by back-to-back scores from Daughty and Kaitlyn Brunson for a 24-13 lead. A Daughty three gave the Bees their largest lead of the game at 32-15 late in the second.

The Eagles made a push to get back to within nine at 41-32 in the final minutes of the third quarter. An Abby Wolter free throw pushed the lead to 42-32 entering the fourth and Brunson opened the final quarter with a layup, and SAU was not threatened the rest of the way.

The final margin could have been greater but the Bees struggled through an 11-of-23 effort from the line.

Daughty led St. Ambrose with 16 points. Thole finished with 13 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. Wolter narrowly missed a double-double herself, finishing with eight points and 11 boards.

Calouette came off the bench to score six. Brunson added six points, and Aryelle King, Elly Doe and Kania Starks each scored three.

SAU will hit the road to play at Viterbo Tuesday.