Game Summary
NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team had defending conference champion Carleton right where they wanted them for the first 10 minutes of Wednesday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game.
The Cardinals sizzled form outside, knocking down four of the first five 3-pointers they attempted in grabbing a 16-12 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining in the first half.
Over the final 30 minutes, however, the Cardinals' shooting touch mysteriously vanished — and never returned — as Carleton outscored SMU 54-24 en route to an easy 58-40 victory.
A victory that officially eliminated the Cardinals from MIAC playoff contention.
"We played hard, we just weren't able to knock down the shots when we needed it most," said SMU coach Dan Messmann. "Carleton is a well-oiled machine — we just couldn't shut them down."
After grabbing that four-point lead midway through the opening half, the Cardinals managed just five points — baskets by Alyse Coates (West St. Paul, Minn.) and Alissa Banttari (Forest Lake, Minn.) and a free throw by Amy Saufferer (Morristown, Minn.) — the rest of the half, while the Knights erupted for 26 in taking a commanding 38-21 halftime advantage.
And things just went from bad to worse, as the Cardinals managed just 19 second-half points — shooting 24 percent from the field (6-for-25), with just one 3-pointer in eight tries — as Carleton padded its lead to as many as 38 en route to its 10th straight win over the Cardinals.
"We started so strong, but once (Carleton) started to make their (first-half) run, we just didn't have an answer," said Messmann, whose team closes out its season at home on Saturday against St. Olaf. "We hung in there pretty good, but over the last eight or nine minutes (of the first half) we just let things get away from us.
"I'm happy with the effort we put forth," continued Messmann, whose team was led by the eight points of senior Ashley Luehmann (Lewiston, Minn.). "We just didn't have enough weapons to keep up with (Carleton)."
