Game Summary

WINONA, Minn. — As the saying goes, better late than never — and Jaimie Lee (Eden Prairie, Minn.) proved there's truth to that old adage as her basket with seven seconds remaining in regulation carried the Saint Mary's University women's basketball team to a 64-63 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory over Carleton Wednesday evening at the SMU gym.

The Cardinals, who trailed by four, 36-32, at the half, shot 41 percent from the floor (12 of 29) and nailed 7 of 12 free throws over the game's final 20 minutes en route to their third straight victory.

"This was a huge night for us," said SMU coach Kim Fierke, whose team improved to 7-2 in the MIAC and 9-3 overall . "As a team, we know we are capable of playing with the best teams in the conference — and tonight, we proved it."

Carleton (7-3 MIAC, 9-3 overall), an NCAA Division III national tournament participant a year ago and winners of their last eight straight heading into Wednesday's game, had one last chance to pull out the win in the final seconds, but Cara Jones turned the ball over as time ran out.

SMU's Stacy Hammel (Manitowoc, Wis.) scored a team-high 15 points — all in the first half — before dislocating her shoulder in the second half. Jamie Rattunde (Rollingstone, Minn.) chipped in 14 points and Amy Burns (Winona, Minn.) added 11.

Renee Willette netted a game-high 19 points and Bethany Koehler tallied 14 in the losing effort for Carleton.