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ST. PAUL, Minn. — Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) scored a game-high 18 points Monday evening, but none were bigger than a layup off a steal with 5:53 remaining in the first half of the Saint Mary's University women's basketball team's 62-59 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over Hamline.

Sure, it pulled the Cardinals to within one of the Pipers, 21-20 — but more importantly, it gave the Cardinal senior her 999th and 1,000th career points.

Thone becomes the 10th player in the program's history to eclipse the 1,000-point mark, and, ironically, is the third straight Jess to reach that plateau — following Jessica Weisbrod (1,054, 2004-08) and Jess Miller (1,203, 2007-11).

Thone finished the game hitting 4 of 10 field goals, including one 3-pointer, while adding a 9-for-11 effort from the free throw line, as the Cardinals won for the fifth straight game — the second five-game winning streak of the season.

In a see-saw first half, it was Thone's milestone bucket that sparked the Cardinals.

Trailing 21-18, Thone's 1,000th career point ignited a 13-0 run that put the Cardinals up 29-21 with 2:30 remaining. Hamline would answer by scoring seven of the final nine points in the half, as SMU went into the locker room at the break with a three-point 31-28 advantage.

And it was more of the same in the second half — every time it appeared SMU had things under control, the Pipers would claw back into the game.

SMU led by as many as 13, 53-40, with 5:46 remaining in regulation, but a 19-8 Piper burst over the next five minutes would cut the Cardinals' lead to two, 61-59. A free throw by Octavia Brown (Broadview, Ill.) and a Brown steal in the final eight seconds foiled the Pipers' upset bid and sealed the Cardinals' 10th conference win of the season.

As a team, the Cardinals shot 39 percent from the field (20-for-51) with four three-pointers, while draining 18 of 25 free throw attempts — including 17 of 23 from the charity stripe in the second half.

Jordan Sammons and Kara Poirier each scored 16 points and Sammons added 10 rebounds to lead the way for Hamline (6-7 MIAC, 6-10 overall).

With the win, the Cardinals improved to 10-3 in conference play — and thanks to Concordia's 69-62 win over league-leading St. Thomas Monday, SMU is tied with Gustavus and Saint Benedict for second, just one game back of UST and Concordia in the race for the MIAC regular-season title.

SMU will have a chance to solidify its spot near the top of the conference standings on Wednesday, as the Cardinals (10-3 MIAC, 13-3 overall) entertain 12th-ranked St. Thomas in a 7:30 p.m. contest at the SMU Gym.