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Game Summary / GameDay Online

WINONA, Minn. — Mandy Pearson has been preaching for weeks now that, despite what their record might say, her Saint Mary's University women's basketball team is getting better every single day.

And St. Thomas certainly isn't arguing.

The Cardinals gave  the league-leading Tommies all they could handle Wednesday evening at the SMU Gym, and were it not for Chelsea Wirtz's 3-pointer with six seconds remaining in regulation, the Tommies may have found themselves on the short end of their second straight decision.

Instead, Wirtz's trey sealed a second-half comeback for the Tommies — and drained the spirit of the upset-minded Cardinals, as UST held on for a 55-52 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory.

"It's a tough one to lose, because we played so hard and definitely played well enough to win this game," said Pearson, whose team dropped its fourth straight in falling to 2-10 in the MIAC and 3-12 overall. "I've been staying for a while now that this isn't the same team as the one that took the floor (against St. Thomas) the first time around.

"We've improved 100 percent."

The Tommies, who beat  the Cardinals 78-62 in the teams' conference opener on Nov. 28, netted the game's first basket — a jumper by Dee Prioleau — but that was the last time UST would lead until Becky Theisen drained a pair of free throws with 6:38 remaining in regulation to give St. Thomas a 42-41 advantage.

The Cardinals would tie the game four times over the final three minutes, but they could never regain the lead, and Wirtz put an end to any hopes SMU might have of pulling off the upset when her 3-pointer hit nothing but net with 6.3 seconds on the clock.

"We matched them big shot for big shot down the stretch — we just ran out of time," said Pearson, who got a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds from Jess Weisbrod (Rollingstone, Minn.), not to mention a game-high 15 points from Stephanie Ayers (Deer River, Minn.). "I'm proud of the way this team played — St. Thomas is one of the best teams in the conference and we proved tonight that we can play right with them.

"Hopefully a game like this helps this team realize that, when they set their minds to it, they can play with anybody."