Box Score  | GameDay Preview

MOORHEAD, Minn. — If the Saint Mary's University women's basketball team proved anything Wednesday evening, it's never — ever — count the Cardinals out.

Trailing by 15 points at the half, the Cardinals put together a second-half comeback for the ages, as SMU used a 27-10 run in the first 13 minutes to take a 54-52 lead, then held a two-point, 61-59 advantage with 1:49 remaining in regulation.

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the Cobbers rained on their second-half parade, getting a game-winning layup from Emily Thesing with five seconds on the clock to break a 61-61 tie and hand SMU a heartbreaking 63-61 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at Memorial Auditorium.

"Concordia is a tough place to play, and we came out flat in the first half and played tenative — but in the second half we came out and really got after it," said SMU coach Mandy Pearson. "We played tough defense and ran the floor well. We did a great job to put ourselves in position to win.

"We just missed a few opportunities down the stretch and Concordia capitalized."

After struggling to find their shooting touch in the first half, SMU caught fire over the game's final 20 minutes — while also taking advantage of 21 trips to the free throw line.

The Cardinals, who did not lead once in the first half, grabbed their first lead 13 minutes into the second half, as Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) drained a pair of free throws to give SMU a 54-52 advantage.

Over those final seven minutes, the game was tied three times and neither team led by more than two points — with the Cardinals holding advantages of 59-57 and 61-59, the latter with 1:49 left on the clock.

It was the Cobbers' Thesing, however, who stole the show in the game's waning minutes, scoring CC's final six points — including a jumper to tie the game 61-61 and the game-winning layup with five seconds remaining.

Thone, who scored 10 of the Cardinals' first 16 points and netted 12 points over the game's opening 20 minutes, picked up right where she left off in the second half, going 3-for-6 from the field to finish with a season-high 23 points. Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) chipped in her second double-double of the season with 12 points and 13 rebounds, while Courtney Euerle (Litchfield, Minn.) chipped in 13 points — all in the second half — and eight boards.

Alexandra Lippert led a trio of Cobbers in double figures with 17 points, while Tricia Sorenson and Thesing finished with 15 and 11 points, respectively.

The Cardinals, who fall to 2-2 in the MIAC and 2-3 overall, return to action on Saturday, hosting Bethel in a 3 p.m. conference game at the SMU Gym.