CHICAGO, Ill. — The start was better — and the finish was, too.
The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team, which struggled to find its shooting touch in falling to the University of Chicago in the opening round of the Midwest Classic on Saturday — found its rhythm Sunday, racing out to a 40-27 halftime lead, then holding off a late Elmhurst rally to beat the Bluejays 61-59.
“It was like night and day,” said SMU coach
Mandy Pearson, whose team snapped a season-opening two-game losing streak with the victory. “We were definitely a different team today — we played confident, scrappy, we were boxing out … .
“We did all the little things, and we did them well.”
After managing just 10 first-half points in Saturday's loss to the host Maroons, SMU knocked down 16 of its 30 field-goal attempts vs. Elmhurst to take what seemed to be a commanding 13-point, 40-27 lead at the break.
The first 10 minutes of the second half, however, was all Elmhurst, as the Bluejays used a 25-9 run to take a 52-49 advantage with 8:22 remaining in regulation.
A four-point play by
Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) pulled the Cardinals even at 57-57, and the Cardinals would sandwich a layup by
Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) and a pair of free throws by
Cherie Kulig (Independence, Wis.) around a basket by Elmhurst's Lyndsie Long to seal the win.
“This team plays hard all the time — they never give up,” said Pearson. “They could have easily thrown in the towel after (Saturday's loss), but they didn't. They came out and did all the little things and that carried us to the win.”
Thone — who earned Midway Classic All-Tournament honors — finished with a career-best 12 points to lead the way for SMU (1-2 overall), while
Jess Miller (Carver, Minn.) chipped in 10 points and
Renee Pecarina (Winona, Minn.) added nine.
Sarah Adie (Chanhassen, Minn.) also pulled down a team-leading eight rebounds for the Cardinals, who are back in action on Dec. 2, when they opening Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play at home against Macalester.
