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Game Summary / GameDay Online

ST. PETER, Minn. — Mandy Pearson has seen her team in this position too often of late.

And she's getting a little tired of it.

For the third time in the last five games, the Saint Mary's University women's basketball team found itself in the midst of a down-to-the-wire nailbiter. And for the third time in the last four games, when the final horn sounded, the Cardinals were on the short end of the final score.

On Jan. 23, the Cardinals came up just short in a 55-52 loss to St. Thomas. Three days later, it was a 68-66 setback to Saint Benedict. And Wednesday evening, it was yet another three-point loss, as Gustavus scored the game's final three points in beating the Cardinals 58-55.

"It's tough," said Person, whose team was coming off a streak-snapping, 63-48 victory over St. Olaf on Saturday. "We are playing well enough to win all these close games, we're just not getting the ball to bounce our way down the stretch."

The Cardinals got a game-high 24 points and 12 rebounds from Jess Weisbrod (Rollingstone, Minn.), who notched her seventh double-double of the season and 16th of her career, while Jess Miller (Carver, Minn.) chipped in 15 points and six boards. Jess Vadnais netted a team-best 19 points for the Gusties, who led 28-24 at the half.

SMU held a 49-46 lead with 6:47 remaining, but an 8-0 Gustie run turned that three-point lead into a four-point, 54-49 deficit with 4:14 on the clock. The Cardinals cut the deficit to one, 56-55, on a jumper by Miller, but an SMU turnover and a pair of last-second free throws from Vadnais sealed the Cardinals' fate.

"I thought we did a lot of nice things, especially on the defensive end," said Pearson, whose Cardinals (3-13 MIAC, 4-15 overall) return to action Saturday, traveling to Carleton for a 1 p.m. game. "We're playing hard and putting ourselves in position to win. We just can't seem to get over the hump in the close games."