After helping out with the webcast of Bethel's convincing 71-49 win over Carleton in their 1 P.M. clash, I hustled down Snelling and Summit Avenues and eventually over to St. Kate's Butler Center to take in the 3 P.M. tilt between visiting St. Mary's and host St. Kate's. After making good time over there I got inside and settled in at the 6:42 mark of the 1st half with the host 'Cats holding a surprising 15-11 lead.
St. Kate's upped that lead to 17-11; shocking everyone inside Butler Center including yours truly as sophomore forward Sarah Mong connected with a jumper in the lane with 5:37 left. However, the Cardinals would not be fazed by this impressive start by the 'Cats. Although SMU was arguably struggling somewhat early on with the 2-3 zone that St. Kate's was throwing at them and their perimeter shooting reflected that (an icy 23.68% in the first half), they would find a way to make a run and take the momentum away from the 'Cats by the halftime break. With 4:42 left, freshman guard Bridget Pethke knocked down a "3" from the left corner. Then it was sophomore Sara Schoenthaler who cut St. Kate's lead down to a scant point with her lay-up in transition with 4:20 left. Then it was senior post Jamie Stefely, whose offensive rebound and putback with 3:17 left gave SMU a lead they would never relinquish at 18-17. But the Cards were far from finished as SMU got points from more than just one contributor. Speedy sophomore guard Octavia Brown was able to slither inside for a score with 2:47 left and then after senior forward Brittany Begrowicz' free throws with 2:14 left it was junior forward Courtney Euerle displaying her athleticism with a steal and lay-up the other way with 1:54 left for a 24-17 SMU lead. Mong would get two late scores for the 'Cats but this 14-4 run by the Cardinals pretty much sucked the air out of St. Kate's and gave all the momentum to this fast-rising SMU team going into the locker room at the halftime break up 25-21.
SMU would waste no time once the second half got underway to put considerable distance between themselves and their (way too gracious sometimes with turnovers) host. Senior Jessica Thone would get things started getting to the charity stripe to knock down two freebies at the 18:40 mark and then it was Thone again with a jumper near the free throw line off the glass that upped the Cardinal lead to 29-21. Sophomore forward Mary Neumann tried to stem the Cardinal tide with her jumper at the 16:59 mark but then it was Thone and Stefely who ran rampant through that 2-3 zone that St. Kate's was still employing as SMU effectively spread that zone out just far enough that allowed gaping holes down the middle for the Cardinals to exploit. Stefely snared an offensive rebound and got a putback at the 16:43 mark and then it was Thone with a strong drive inside into the paint with a lay-up down the middle at the 15:54 mark. Then Stefely used her 6'1" frame to score inside at the 15:21 mark and then Stefely finished off a lay-up in transition just seconds later off of a Begrowicz rebound on the other end that prompted St. Kate's Head Coach Sean Pinkerton to call a quick 30-second timeout to try and put out the fires this 14-2 SMU run caused.
Unfortunately for the 'Cats, the impromptu timeout had little effect as the Cardinals kept on flying. Euerle was able to make a backcourt steal of an errant Wildcat pass that she converted into an easy lay-up at the 14:16 mark as SMU embarked on another major run of 10-2 that made it a 49-25 ballgame before St. Kate's freshman guard Shauna Horsch got a rare opportunity - that she made good on - to put down three freebies after getting fouled on a shot attempt behind the arc. After Thone connected with a long jumper just inside the three-point line from the left corner with 9:51 left, the 'Cats did try and make some stabs at the Cardinal cushion. Junior forward Madison Pertler scored on a lay-up with 9:33 left and then it was Horsch draining a "3" from the right corner with 8:04 left but the Cardinals were still up 53-35 and nothing was going to stop SMU coming down the stretch. Points in the paint by Begrowicz at the 5:23 and 4:53 marks and then a drive and finish by the senior from Des Plaines, Illinois with 3:51 left made it a 59-36 ballgame. SMU Head Coach Mandy Pearson then began putting in her subs but even they weren't content to not get in on the fun as junior reserve guard Darcey Rice banged home a "3" from the top with 3:07 left and then freshman forward Natalie Larson was able to manuever inside for a score with 2:46 left. With just 1:12 left junior reserve guard Kaitlyn Keefe knocked down a jumper and then with :32.6 freshman guard Makenzie Garibay connected with a lay-up. A missed St. Kate's shot with just :22.7 left got stuck in between the the rim and glass which pretty much summed up the day for the home team as SMU would waltz back down the River with a 68-40 win. This victory, coupled with CSB's narrow win in St. Peter against GAC suddenly has the Cardinals tied with the Blazers for second place in the conference; both just one game behind (now) league-leading Concordia.
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