Game Summary

WINONA, Minn. —— Dan Messmann had a simple agenda for his Saint Mary's University women's basketball team heading into Wednesday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game against Hamline — win.

It didn't have to be pretty, it didn't have to be anything fancy — but it had to be a win.

And it was.

Jamie Rattunde (Rollingstone, Minn.) scored 20 points and Ashley Luehmann (Lewiston, Minn.) added 19 as the Cardinals extended their winning streak to four straight with a 75-62 win over the Pipers at the SMU Gym.

"You talk to any sports psychologist and they always say that when your team is forced to play at a high, high level for long periods of times, there's always a good chance there's going to be a letdown," said Messmann, whose team was coming off a pair of emotionally draining victories — a 61-55 triumph over Gustavus last Saturday, and a 61-54 triumph over St. Benedict Monday that snapped a 35-game losing streak against the Blazers. "After those two games, this game (against Hamline) scared the heck out of me."

The Cardinals, on the other hand, weren't fazed in the least.

SMU shot 44 percent from the field (22-for-50) and knocked down 10 of 28 3-pointers in completing their season sweep of the Pipers. Along with Rattunde — who missed her fifth straight double-double by one rebound — and Luehmann, SMU also got double-figure scoring from Sarah Murphy (Belle Plaine, Minn.) and Angie Arrington (Spring Grove, Minn.), who finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

"We did what we had to do — it wasn't our best performance, but the bottom line is, it was a win," said Messmann, whose team moved to 12-5 in the MIAC and 16-5 overall — and closed in on that elusive home game in the first round of the conference playoffs. "I really didn't know what to expect — I figured we'd come out a little flat after Monday's big win."

Fortunately for the Messmann, the team thought otherwise.