Game Summary
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team closed out its regular-season schedule on a high note evening — a very high note.
The Cardinals, who had already clinched a spot in the MIAC post-season tournament, certainly didn't treat Wednesday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference finale vs. St. Catherine as a meaningless game, as SMU erupted for a school-record 68 first-half points en route to a 95-79 victory.
"We played very, very well," said SMU coach Dan Messmann. "In that first half, we were knocking down threes from all over the place. It was like everything we threw up went in."
Literally, everything.
SMU shot 60 percent form the field in the game's opening 20 minutes, connecting on 24 of 40 field goal attempts — 14 of which came from behind the 3-point line. The Cardinals were so dominating in the first half, according to Messmann, that they did not come away with points on just six first-half possessions.
"We just got into a rhythm and kept it going," said Messmann, whose team won its fourth straight — and eclipsed the 90-point barrier for the second time in five days. "You always want to be playing your best basketball at the end of the season — and we definitely are. It's nice to go into (Monday's MIAC tournament opener at Concordia) on a bit of a roll like this. Everyone is playing with a lot of confidence, and everyone is playing well together."
Together being the key word.
Last week, Jamie Rattunde (Rollingstone, Minn.) led the way for SMU. The junior averaged 17.5 ppg, highlighted by her second career triple-double — while also becoming just the sixth person in SMU history to eclipse 1,000 career points in the process — as she scored 24 points, pulled down 16 rebounds and dished out 10 assists in the Cardinals' 98-73 win over Augsburg last Saturday.
Wednesday, however, Rattunde's 21-point effort was just a subplot to Beth Walch's (Altura, Minn.) career-high 25-point night that included five 3-pointers.
"It's been that way all season — we have had different people step up and lead the way, and (vs. St. Catherine) was no different," said Messmann. "Beth got in a groove and she just kept knocking them down — it was fun to watch."
Now what will be fun for Messmann, is watching his Cardinals beat Concordia for the second time in a week, as SMU travels to Moorhead, Minn., for Monday's MIAC playoff opener.
"It's always tough to go up there and play," admitted Messmann, whose team lost to the Cobbers 80-57 in Moorhead on Jan. 19, but returned the favor with a 71-58 victory on Feb. 15. "But we're coming in with some momentum and we're playing at a very high level right now. We'll be ready, no question about that."
