Game Summary / GameDay Preview

ST. PETER, Minn. — Jess Miller (Carver, Minn.) made the most of her final collegiate game, as the Saint Mary's University senior poured in a season-high 25 points Saturday afternoon.

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, Miller's effort was not enough, as Gustavus held off a late SMU rally to post a 77-70 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory.

Miller, who started every game of her collegiate career — a span of 100 consecutive stats — scored 12 of her 25 points in the game's opening 20 minutes, going 5-for-10 with a pair of 3-pointers. Miller added another 5-for-10 effort from the field in the second half, as she eclipsed the 20-point plateau for the eighth time this season and 13th time in her career. The 25 points were just four points shy of the career-best 29-point effort Miller posted against Gustavus on Dec. 7, 2009.

Miller, who closed out her collegiate career with 1,203 points — becoming just the ninth player in program history to reach 1,000 career points — gave the Cardinals a brief, 3-2 lead, when she drained a 3-pointer on her first attempt from the field on SMU's first possession.

From there, however, Gustavus took over, scoring eight straight points to take a 10-3 advantage four minutes into the opening half. GAC led by as many as 11, before settling for a 10-point, 34-24, advantage at the break.

The Cardinals came out fast in the second half, whittling the Gustie lead to four, 51-47, with 10:41 remaining. SMU again cut the Gustavus lead to four, 72-68, with 1:16 on the clock, but that was as close as they would get, as Gustavus outscored the Cardinals 5-2 down the stretch to seal the win.

Along with Miller's 25 points, the Cardinals — who close out their season with an 11-14 record, including a 9-13 mark in conference play — got 12 points from Courtney Euerle (Litchfield, Minn.) and 10 from Cherie Kulig (Independence, Wis.).

Molly Geske netted 22 points to lead four players in double figures for the Gusties, who also got 13 points from Molly Mathiowetz, 12 from Abby Rothenbuehler and 10 from Kelsey Florian.