NORTHFIELD, Minn. —
Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) scored a game-high 15 points and
Jess Miller (Carver, Minn.) chipped in 13, but the Saint Mary's University women's basketball team missed its final seven field goal attempts, as St. Olaf rallied from a four-point halftime deficit to beat the Cardinals 55-52 in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game Wednesday evening.
The Cardinals and Oles took turns playing from in front in the opening 20 minutes, as the two teams traded leads five times, while the game was also tied on four separate occasions. The Cardinals finally put a little space between themselves and St. Olaf in the final two minutes, as Miller drained three field goals and
Kim Kaminski (Milwaukee, Wis.) added a free throw to give SMU a four-point, 30-26, advantage at the intermission.
The see-saw affair continued in the second half, as SMU raced out to its biggest lead of the half, 39-33, only to have St. Olaf respond with nine unanswered points of its own to regain the lead, 42-39, with 9:13 remaining in regulation.
The Cardinals battled back to grab a 49-48 lead with 5:56 on the clock, and, after St. Olaf's Eileen O'Donoghue tossed in a pair of baskets, Thone knotted the game for the eighth and final time, 52-52 with a 3-pointer.
From there, however, the Cardinals' shooting touch turned to ice, as SMU failed to connect on their next seven field goal attempts, allowing St. Olaf to score the game's final three points and seal the win.
Mackenzie Wolter scored 15 points, while Terin Euerle finished with 13 and O'Donoghue added 12 for the Oles.
SMU (4-17 MIAC, 5-19 overall) close out their season Friday, when the Cardinals travel to Augsburg for a 5:45 p.m. conference contest against the Auggies.
