|
For PDF version / click here |
|
Saturday, January 11, 2003 |
|
(Through Friday, January 10) |
|
SMU snapped its season-high five-game losing streak in convincing fashion, rolling to a 73-43 win over Macalester Wednesday. … Gustavus, meanwhile, extending its season-opening winning streak to 10 straight with a 63-51 win over St. Thomas Wednesday. |
|
Gustavus won all three meetings with SMU in 2001-2002, posting a pair of nail-bitingt regular-season wins — 78-74 and 59-54 — then eliminating the Cardinals from the MIAC post-season tournament with a 78-57 victory. |
|
Beth Walch (Altura, Minn.) led a trio of Cardinals in double figures vs. Macalester, scoring 14 points, while Jamie Rattunde (Rollingstone, Minn.) tallied her fourth double-double of the season, finishing with 12 points and 11 rebounds. … SMU’s 73 points vs. the Scots is its second-highest offensive output of the season. … The Gusties’ 10-0 start is the best in school history. … Gustavus is the third ranked opponent the Cardinals have faced in their last four games. … As a team, SMU is averaging 60.5 ppg, while Gustavus comes in with a 72.3 ppg average. |
vs. 
 |
Sophomore/ Guard Hometown Major |
WINONA, Minn. — After spending the past two games feeling the wrath of two of the best teams in all of NCAA Division III, it was time for the Saint Mary's University women's basketball team to be on the giving, rather than the receiving end of a whipping.
Fresh off humbling losses to nationally ranked St. Benedict (79-57) and Carleton (78-37), the Cardinals did a little role-playing Wednesday evening against Macalester. Rather than receiving the punishment, the Cardinals dished it out, as they erupted for 38 second-half points en route to a 73-43 drubbing of the visiting Scots.
“This was a nice win for us,” said SMU coach Dan Messmann, whose team posted its second-highest offensive output of the season in routing the Scots. “I thought we played very well — at both ends of the floor. We ran the floor well, we made good decisions with the ball, and we shot well.
“Being able to execute like that is a huge boost for the team’s confidence.”
Beth Walch (Altura, Minn.) scored a team-high 14 points to lead the way for the Cardinals, who snapped a season-high five-game losing streak with their second-highest offensive output of the season. Jamie Rattunde (Rollingstone, Minn.) snapped out of her two-game scoring slump with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Angie Arrington (Spring Grove, Minn.) chipped in 12 points.
“I think part of our success (vs. Macalester) can be attributed to finally getting to play a home game again,” said Messmann, whose team had played five straight road games, dating back to Dec. 7, when the Cardinals dropped St. Olaf 60-44 on SMU’s home floor. “There’s something to be said for a little home cooking.
“It’s always a little easier to play at home,” continued Messmann, whose team’s three wins have all come in the friendly confines of the SMU gym. “Obviously you’ve got to find a way to win games on the road, but you also need to make sure to get the job done on your home turf.”
Getting the job done this afternoon won’t be an easy task, as the Cardinals must switch from playing the last-place team in the MIAC to conference-leader Gustavus — the third nationally ranked team SMU has faced in its last four games.
“They are going to be a huge test for us,” Messmann said of the Gusties, who enter today’s game with an unblemished 10-0 record — the best start in school history. “Everyone on this team knows we are going to need our best effort of the season — nothing less will do.”