NORTHFIELD, Minn. — With 10 seconds remaining in Wednesday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game against St. Olaf, it appeared the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team was on its ways to a key conference victory.
 
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, things aren't always as they appear.
 
St. Olaf's Betsy Daly scored on a driving layup with 1.6 seconds remaining in regulation, erasing a one-point Cardinal lead and lifting the Oles to a 66-65 victory over Saint Mary's at Skoglund Center.
 
In a game that saw six lead changes and seven ties, the Cardinals got a pair of Molly O'Toole (Plymouth, Minn.) free throws with 10 seconds remaining to give Saint Mary's a 65-64 advantage.
 
After a St. Olaf timeout, the Oles got the ball in Daly's hands, and the sophomore forward did the rest, laying the ball in with just seconds on the clock. The Cardinals had one last chance, but Micaela Meredith's (Bloomington, Minn.) desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer fell just short.
 
The Oles led by as many as six in the first half, and surrendered the lead for the first time with 1:10 remaining on a basket by Meredith. St. Olaf's Afton Wolter, however, drilled a 3-pointer with less than a minute remaining to give the Oles a 33-32 lead at the break.
 
It was more of the same in the second half, as St. Olaf continued to play with the lead—building that cushion to as many as nine, 50-41, with 11:40 left on the clock—before Saint Mary's grabbed its first lead of the half, 63-61 on a 3-pointer by Shelby Auseth (Wanamingo, Minn.) with 2:35 still to play.
 
St. Olaf regained the advantage, 64-63 on a Daly 3-pointer, only to have O'Toole drain a pair of free throws to give the Cardinals their final lead, 65-64—and set up Daly's last-second heroics.
 
Auseth finished with a team-leading 22 points—marking the second time this season the junior has eclipsed the 20-point barrier. She was 4-for-10 from the field with a pair of 3-pointers, while going 12-for-12 from the free throw line. Bridget Pethke (New London, Wis.) also scored in double figures, netting 11 points for the Cardinals—who were 17-for-48 from the field, including nine 3-pointers, and drained 22 of 23 free throws.
 
Daly and Kari Keough each tossed in 14 points for the Oles (2-3 MIAC, 5-7 overall), who have had their last three games decided by a combined four points.
 
 The Cardinals (2-3 MIAC, 8-4 overall) are back in action on Saturday, when they return home to the Saint Mary's Gym for a 1 p.m. conference game against Gustavus.