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GameDay Preview
ST. PAUL, Minn. — After 20 minutes Wednesday evening, the Saint Mary's University women's basketball team found themselves staring at a two-point, 28-26, deficit.
In other words, the Cardinals had the Pipers right where they wanted them.
SMU used a 19-6 run to open the second half to take a 45-34 advantage, and the Cardinals would never relinquish the lead, beating the Pipers 60-56 at Hutton Arena.
With the win, the Cardinals improve to 13-8 in conference play and are tied with St. Olaf for the No. 4 spot in the conference standings, one game in front of sixth-place Bethel. SMU — which has already locked up its first MIAC playoff appearance since the 2004-05 season — still has a shot at hosting a first-round playoff game next Tuesday, but the Cardinals need a win over regular-season conference champion St. Thomas, and a St. Olaf loss to Carleton, to lock up the No. 4 spot. If SMU and St. Olaf finish tied, the Oles own the tiebreaker, having swept the teams' two-game conference series.
The Cardinals trailed by as many as 11 in the first half, but a half-ending 18-9 SMU run cut the Pipers' lead to two at the break.
It was SMU that appeared to have things well in hand in the second half, leading 45-34 with 12 minutes remaining. But the Pipers made things interesting, pulling even, 54-54 with two minutes remaining in regulation, before the Cardinals drained 6 of 7 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) scored a game-high 18 points and hauled in eight rebounds for the Cardinals, who have won two straight and four of their last five.
Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) chipped in 16 points and eight rebounds, while
Courtney Euerle (Litchfield, Minn.) tallied 14 points.
As a team, the Cardinals shot 35 percent from the field (18-for-52), but were a near-perfect 21-for-22 from the free throw line — led by Euerle (8-for-8), Thone (7-for-7) and Stefely (4-for-4).
Steph Pilgrim scored 16 points and Rachel Usgaard and Jordan Sammons each chipped in 10 in the losing effort for Hamline.
