Beyond the first term, the Saints were never truly in the contest as they struggled to contain the Crows classy ball-users.
A suspected fractured fibula to defender Nathan Wright has further soured the loss, after the youngster collided with Jarryn Geary and a couple of Crows and limped from the field in the second term.
Nick Riewoldt was again influential up forward, playing closer to goal than usual and making the most of a fairly limited supply stream.
The St Kilda skipper was his team's only multiple goal-kicker, booting two majors among 22 disposals and 11 marks.
The Saints found it difficult to find the right match-ups for a number of Crows both in the midfield and up forward. Beau Maister, who has spent the majority of his career in attack, finished the game on ex-Cat James Podsiadly, while Jack Steven, Lenny Hayes and Tom Curren all spent time on Rory Sloane, Patrick Dangerfield and Scott Thompson.
The fact there was no hard tag given to a number of Crows ball-winners was a clear indication that Alan Richardson wanted his side to back itself in one-on-one contests, yet for the vast majority of the contest the Crows were able to overlap far better than the home team.
Josh Saunders impressed after he was subbed on, while Luke Dunstan and Farren Ray both continued their prolific run of form.
Dunstan finished with 21 disposals and 4 inside 50s, while Ray got better as the game went on and was one of the few Saints who was able to find space to run and carry.
At two wins and two losses, St Kilda remains in the hunt, but faces a tricky assignment against the Bombers next Saturday night before heading to Wellington for Anzac Day.
Who was St Kilda's best player against the Crows: Vote for your Ozito Saints MVP here.
St Kilda 7.8 (50)
Adelaide 20.16 (136)
Best: Riewoldt, Ray, Dunstan, Dempster, Saunders, Curren, Hayes
Goals: Riewoldt (2), Steven, Stanley, Gwilt, Saunders, Savage
