Game Summary
NORTHFIELD, Minn. — Two weeks ago, Dan Messmann was dreading the Saint Mary's University women's basketball team's next five games.
No so much because of who the Cardinals were about to face, but because all five games were on the road — where SMU had not won a game all season.
Those two weeks have come and gone, and Messmann is certainly singing a different tune — a 4-1 record will do that to a coach.
SMU completed that impressive road swing with a hard-earned 61-56 victory over St. Olaf Saturday afternoon — a game in which Jamie Rattunde (Rollingstone, Minn.) recorded her fifth double-double of the season, scoring a game-high 18 points and pulling down 13 rebounds.
"Jamie was really on her game and gave our offense a huge boost," said Messmann, whose team improved to 7-7 in the conference and 7-10 overall with the win — the Cardinals' fourth in its last five games and sixth in its last eight. "This has been a tough stretch for us — to play five straight games on the road, and to win four of them, that's a huge boost. to our confidence"
Not only did their 4-1 road run boost the Cardinals' confidence, but it also boosted their position in the race for the MIAC post-season tournament.
"Obviously, there's still a lot of basketball to be played, but the win over St. Olaf really was a big boost for us in the conference," said Messmann. "Now we get to come back to SMU for a little home cooking."
Hopefully for the Cardinals, home will be as sweet as the road was.
Against the Oles, SMU grabbed a four-point, 26-22 halftime advantage, and outscored the Oles 35-34 over the final 20 minutes — despite hitting just 9 of 17 free throws.
"We didn't shoot particularly well, but we got the job done," said Messmann, whose team will now play six of its final eight games at home, beginning Wednesday against Bethel. "This has been a grueling part of the schedule, and everyone did a great job of staying focused and playing at a high level.
"Now we can't sit back and relax — we put ourselves in a good position (for the post-season), but we've still got a lot of work to do."
