WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary’s University women’s basketball team put together a near-perfect performance Wednesday evening, as the Cardinals snapped their season-high seven-game losing streak with a 58-49 victory over Carleton.
And Saturday afternoon against St. Catherine, the Cardinals were in position to put together back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
Jess Miller (Carver, Minn.) drained a 3-pointer with two seconds remaining in the first half to give SMU a 33-30 halftime advantage, and with 13:07 remaining in regulation, the Cardinals boasted their biggest lead of the game, 42-36.
Unfortunately for SMU, it was like someone put a lid on the Cardinals’ basket over those final 13 minutes. SMU managed just four field goals and 15 points, as the Wildcats used a 14-8 run to tie the game at 50-50, then outscored the Cardinals 17-7 over the game’s seven minutes in handing SMU a 67-57 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the SMU Gym.
Cherie Kulig (Independence, Wis.) scored a team-high 14 points — including 12 in the second half when she knocked down all three of her 3-pointers — while
Renee Pecarina (Winona, Minn.) and
Kim Kaminski (Milwaukee, Wis.) chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the Cardinals.
St. Catherine’s Laura Kalbfell scored a game-high 23 points on 8 of 15 shooting — including a pair of 3-pointers — and five free throws to lead all scorers. The Wildcats’ Molly Peterson also scored in double figures, finishing with 15 points.
SMU led by as many as five points on two occasions in the opening 20 minutes, before the Cardinals settled for their three-point lead at the break on Miller’s last-second trey.
The Cardinals, who shot 42 percent from the field (13-for-31) in the opening 20 minutes, managed just nine field goals in the second half, as the Wildcats outscored SMU 37-24 after the intermission.
SMU, which falls to 4-14 in the MIAC and 5-16 overall, is back on action on Wednesday, traveling to Hamline for a 7:30 p.m. conference contest against the Pipers.