St. Ambrose used a great start to coast to a 79-42 win over Indiana Northwest Wednesday night in Lee Lohman Arena.

All 10 Bees who took the court scored as the team shot better than 47 percent from the floor. They also got it done defensively, limiting the RedHawks to less than 29 percent shooting while forcing 23 turnovers.

The total-team effort was on display over the game's opening six minutes.

St. Ambrose (11-12, 8-7 CCAC) made five of its first nine shots. That included 3-pointers from Olivia Harter and Caitlyn Thole, and a three-point play from Abby Wolter. Jayla Stirgus also scored early.

Indiana Northwest (7-16, 6-9) got off to a 1-for-6 start from the floor. The RedHawks were also harrassed into seven quick turnovers.

That all led to the Bees racing out to a 14-2 lead.

And after leading 22-12 after one quarter, SAU really put the clamps on defensively in the second.

IU Northwest shot just 2-of-15 in the quarter, which included an 0-of-7 mark from beyond the arc. That allowed SAU to build a 37-18 lead at the break.

The Bees followed that up with their best offensive quarter.

SAU shot 9-of-14 from the field in the third. The Bees hit 5-of-7 from distance, aided by Thole knocking down four triples in five attempts. A 25-point period upped the lead to 62-32 entering the fourth.

St. Ambrose continued to pull away, ultimately winning by 37 points.

Thole and Wolter each finished with 20 points. Thole, who connected on five 3-pointers, also added 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals. Wolter just missed a double-double, totaling nine boards, four assists, four steals and two blocked shots in the win.

Mary Gruber hit four threes in scoring 17 points. She also grabbed four rebounds.

Stirgus finished with seven points and three assists. Payton Calouette added five points, six boards and four steals.

Isabella Hutchinson registered four points and three rebounds. Harter scored three points while pulling down four rebounds. Elly Doe dropped in two points. Emma Rutter scored one points and grabbed two boards. And Erin Jolin shared team-high honors with four steals.

The Bees will visit Viterbo Saturday.