Game Summary

WINONA, Minn. — After going a dismal 4-for-26 from behind the 3-point line in last Wednesday's 58-51 loss to St. Olaf, SMU coach Dan Messmann probably figured his Saint Mary's University women's basketball team would be a little gun-shy when they took the floor against St. Catherine Saturday afternoon.

Yeah, right.

Led by Ashley Luehmann (Lewiston, Minn.), the Cardinals put up four more 3-pointers than they did against the Oles — and, fortunately for Messmann — they also knocked down 12 more, as SMU cruised to an 82-67 MIAC win over the Wildcats at the SMU Gym.

"I could have used a few of those threes Wednesday," joked Messmann, whose team went 14-for-30 from the 3-point line, including an 8-for-12 effort from Luehmann that included a perfect 7 of 7 in the second half. "I don't know what the difference was — we were taking the same shots today that we took against St. Olaf."

The difference? This time around, those shots went in.

And when Luehmann began dropping bombs, the Wildcats didn't have a chance — it just took her a half to get loaded up.

Luehmann netted just three points in the game's opening 20 minutes, dropping in a 3-pointer early in the half.

Unfortunately for St. Catherine, that three was just a sign of things to come as Luehmann was unstoppable over the final 20 minutes, collecting seven of SMU's 10 second-half 3-points as the Cardinals built their lead to as many as 21 in cruising to their seventh MIAC win in 11 contests.

"This was a big win for us — it was good to see us bounce back (from Wednesday's loss and play the way we are capable of playing," said Messmann. "Ashley was unbelievable in the second half, she just kept putting them up and they kept falling — it was an impressive performance."

Overshadowed by Luehmann's long-range marksmanship was the play of Jamie Rattunde (Rollingstone, Minn.), who finished with a game-high 25 points, going 9-for-10 from the field and 6-for-8 from the free-throw line.

Rattunde's inside game and Luehmann's outside game provided the perfect one-two punch to KO the Wildcats.

"We knew this game was going to be a good test for us," said Messmann, who also got 15 points from Angie Arrington (Spring Grove, Minn.). "We came out with more focus and intensity (than Wednesday), and it showed in the end result.

"This was much more like the way we are capable of playing."