Game Summary

WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team opened its season facing some of the best competition NCAA Division III had to offer — and the Cardinals proved they compete with the nation's best.

After opening with an impressive showing against Luther, SMU took nationally ranked Wartburg and defending conference champion St. Benedict down to the wire in its next two games.

Unfortunately, despite playing some top-notch basketball, the Cardinals were winless. There were moral victories aplenty — but where it counted most, in the standings, they were shut out.

Until Wednesday.

Led by Jamie Rattunde's (Rollingtone, Minn.) game-high 19 points, the Cardinals used a balanced attack to beat Hamline 65-51 at the SMU Gym.

"We played very well in our first three games, but we didn't really have anything to show for our efforts," said SMU coach Dan Messmann, who picked up his first collegiate coaching win with the 14-point triumph. "I think you could say our performance (in those first three games) warranted three moral victories, but it was nice to finally get that first real win under our belts."

And, despite the final score, that first win certainly did not come easy.

The Cardinals had the upper hand early in the first half, but shooting woes allowed the Pipers to hang close. SMU connected on just 13 of 35 attempts from the field in the opening 20 minutes – including just 2 of 7 3-point attempts. Things weren't much better from the line, as the Cardinals made just 3 of 8 free throws.

"We struggled a bit in the first half, we missed some very easy baskets that could have given us a little more comfortable halftime lead," said Messmann, whose team settled for a 31-26 advantage at the break. "We did a much better job in the second half."

Especially from the free throw line.

The Cardinals again shot just over 37 percent in the second half, but a perfect 8-for-8 showing from the charity stripe — and an ice-cold offensive showing from the Pipers (6-for-25 from the field in the second half) — carried SMU to that elusive first win.

"We're happy with the win," said Messmann. "But I don't think we're all that pleased with our performance. We know we can play better."