WINONA, Minn. — It was a night of career highs for the Saint Mary's University women's basketball team.
Cherie Kulig (Independence, Wis.) tossed in a career-best 24 points, while
Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) recorded career bests in points (16) and rebounds (16) — not to mention a career-first double-double — as the pair helped lead the Cardinals to a 77-69 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory over Hamline Wednesday evening at the SMU Gym.
“It was one of those nights where Cherie had that look in her eye — she just wasn't going to be denied,” said SMU coach
Mandy Pearson, whose Cardinals bounced back from a heartbreaking 80-70 overtime loss to Carleton on Monday, while also snapping a four-game losing streak. “We played a good half of basketball (on Monday night) and tonight we built on that and played pretty solid the entire way.”
Kulig got the Cardinals rolling, scoring the Cardinals' first five points — and SMU never let up, building first half leads as big as 12 points, before settling for an eight-point, 40-32 halftime advantage.
Hamline made things interesting over the game's final 20 minutes, getting as close as two points — 68-66 and 70-68 — but each time the Pipers threatened, Kulig would put out the fire, as the SMU junior put the finishing touches on her 24-point performance with six free throws in the game's final two minutes to help seal the win.
Along with Kulig's 24 points and Stefely's double-double of 16 and 16, the Cardinals — who were 20-for-23 from the free throw line — got 15 points from
Jess Miller (Carver, Minn.), while Mary Wilkowski's 24 points and 11 rebounds led the way for Hamline (3-4 MIAC, 5-5 overall).
The Cardinals (2-5 MIAC, 3-7 overall) are back in action on Saturday, traveling to St. Catherine for a 3 p.m. conference matchup.
