Game Summary

WINONA, Minn. — One down, one two go.

The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's basketball playoff picture is a jumbled mess with less than a week remaining in the regular season, but for the Saint Mary's University women's basketball team the picture could not have been more clear — win two and the season continues.

The Cardinals got the first win out of the way Saturday, as Ashley Luehmann (Lewiston, Minn.) netted a game-high 17 points and led three SMU players in double figures as Saint Mary's snapped a two-game losing streak with a 69-45 victory over Augsburg.

With the win, the Cardinals improved to 10-11 in the MIAC and are currently tied for the sixth and final playoff spot with Concordia.

More importantly, the win sets up a winner-take-all showdown with fifth-place St. Catherine on Wednesday. If the Cardinals win that game, they will hold the tiebreaker over the Wildcats, should the two teams finish in a tie.

SMU started out a bit sluggish against the pesky Auggies, falling behind 4-0 and 8-5, before going on a 18-12 run to take its biggest lead of the first half, 23-14, with five minutes remaining. Augsburg battled back, scoring six straight points to pull within four, 23-19, before SMU settled for a seven-point, 30-23, halftime edge.

The Auggies continued to hang tough, closing the gap to one, 30-29, by scoring the second half's first six points. That was as close as Augsburg would get, however, as SMU used a 27-8 run to put the game out of reach, 53-37, with 10 minutes remaining.

Along with Luehmann's game-high 17 points, SMU also got 14 points from both Jamie Rattunde (Rollingstone, Minn.) and Tessa Stranik (Eatonville, Wash.).

Rosinta Stromquist scored 12 points for the Auggies, who have now lost 13 straight in falling to 3-17 in the MIAC and 4-19 overall.