vs.
66		68

Game Summary / GameDay Online

WINONA, Minn. — When Mandy Pearson took over the Saint Mary's University women's basketball head coaching job, the 24-year-old had jet-black hair.

Any more games like Saturday, and she's going to be graying a lot sooner than she would like.

The Cardinals dropped their fifth straight game Saturday afternoon, but it came down to the last second — literally — as Saint Benedict's Ariel Tauer nailed a wide-open jumper with less than a second on the clock to lift the Blazers to a 68-66 victory at the SMU Gym.

After trailing by 13 at the break, the Cardinals began their climb back, pulling even, 60-60, with 2:11 on the clock on a basket by Jess Weisbrod (Rollingstone, Minn.). The game would be tied again at 61-61, before Stephanie Ayers (Deer River, Minn.) hit a three to give the Cardinals a 64-63 advantage with 1:26 remaining in regulation.

Saint Benedict responded with a 3-pointer of its own and a basket by Weisbrod knotted things up at 66-66 with one minute remaining. CSB's Tauer missed a pair of free throws with 33 seconds left that would have given the Blazers the lead, but Weisbrod turned the ball over with 13 ticks on the clock, setting up Tauer's last-second heroics.

Ayers finished with a team-best 16 points for the Cardinals (2-11 MIAC, 3-13 overall), while Weisbrod chipped in 15 and Jess Miller (Carver, Minn.) added 13. Tauer and Mindy Schmidt each scored 17 points for the Blazers (10-3 MIAC, 12-4  overall), who remained in second place in  the MIAC standings, one game behind St. Thomas.