Game Summary / Photos / Video / Miller's 1,000th point / Miller talks about 1,000 / Preview

WINONA, Minn. — The final score was a 19-point victory, but there was nothing easy about the Saint Mary's University womens basketball team's 76-57 win over St. Catherine on Wednesday night.

What did look easy, however, was Jess Miller's (Carver, Minn.) scoring effort, as the senior scored 21 — including a turn-around jumper from the paint that gave her career point No. 1,000.

“It felt great,” said Miller. “I was lucky enough to have my teammates passing me the ball tonight. I honestly thought I needed more than (21), so I wasn't really worried about it, and then the closer it got, people kept feeding me the ball.”

Miller, who was held to six points in the first half, caught fire in the second, hitting 6 of 9 field goals and 3 of 4 free throws in becoming the program's ninth 1,000-point scorer.

The first half was a struggle for the Cardinals, who scored the game's first basket, but after a Laura Kalbfell 3-pointer gave the Wildcats a 3-2 advantage, trailed by as many as seven in the game's opening 20 minutes. The game took a swing in SMU's favor as Emily DeWitt (Lino Lakes, Minn.) came off the bench to nail two 3-pointers and Kim Kaminski (Milwaukee, Wis.) had a last-second lay-up to put the Cardinals ahead going into halftime.

“We've been working on time management in practice,” said SMU coach Mandy Pearson, who called a play that perfectly wound down the shot clock until Kaminski's basket. “Cherie Kulig (Independence, Wis.) did a great job setting the play up.”

The Cardinals came out running in the second half, as they improved their shooting percentage by nearly 20 percent. Besides Miller's 21 points, Kulig added 15 points and Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) had 12 to help push SMU to their third straight victory.

The biggest concern for coach Pearson throughout the game was the Minnesota Intercollegiate Conference's second leading scorer — Laura Kalbfell. The senior forward poured in 23 points for St. Catherine off of an efficient 10-for-13 shooting from the field.

“Kalbfell was unbelievable at times,” said Pearson. “Our goal was to keep the ball away from her as much as we could.”

The Cardinals made sure to have the ball in Miller's hand late, as Pearson called for a set play that resulted in Miller's 1,000th point.

“That's a play we typically run for her,” said Pearson. “Jess has been a phenomenal leader for us over the last few years.

“She's very tough to guard with a shooter's touch,” said Pearson. “We've got some good younger players, but it will definitely be tough to fill her shoes next year.”

The Cardinals move on to a 7-4 overall record and 5-3 in the MIAC. Their next game is at Hamline Saturday at 1 p.m.