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WINONA, Minn.- The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team is beginning to make a habit of playing close games at SMU Gym.

For the last three home games, the Cardinals and their opponent have found themselves in one-possession games late in the second half.

Unlike the last two games, however, SMU couldn't quite hold on Saturday afternoon, as they fell to Hamline 70-57 in MIAC play.

The Cardinals simply had no answer for Hamline's Mary Wilkowski. The 6-foot-1 senior scored a game-high 32 points and pulled down 16 rebounds.

“She's tough,” SMU coach Mandy Pearson. “The key to stopping her is not letting her touch the ball. Wherever she gets the ball she finds a way to score.”

The Cardinals trailed 33-24 at half, and the Pipers built up a 14-point lead right out of the break.

But SMU was far from out of it. Saint Mary's went on a 13-2 run to get back in the game, getting threes from Cherie Kulig (Independence, Wis.), Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.), and Courtney Euerle (Litchfield, Minn.).

“We really locked down defensively during that run,” Pearson said. “We forced them into some mistakes and that was key for us to get some good looks offensively.”

The Cardinals got the lead down to two with just over four minutes left, but the Pipers went on a 14-4 run to close it out.

The loss makes things a little more interesting in the race for the MIAC playoffs, as Hamline is now just a half game behind the Cardinals. SMfU enters the final five conference games at 6-9 in MIAC play (10-10 overall), while Hamline moves to 8-10 in the MIAC and 9-12 overall.

“Right now we're just focused on one game at a time,” Pearson said. “I'm sure the players might be looking at it, but I just want them focused on one possession at a time. All our games left are winnable.”