WINONA, Minn. — After spending the first two games of the Saint Mary's University women's basketball season playing second fiddle, Cardinal junior Jamie Rattunde (Rollingstone, Minn.) decided it was time to return to the limelight last Wednesday.

Which was good news for the Cardinals, and bad news for Coe College.

Rattunde, who averaged just 8.5 points in SMU's first two games — both losses — recorded her first career triple-double Wednesday, leading SMU to a 78-57 win over the Kohawks in its final nonconference game of the season.

"This was a good win for us," said SMU coach Dan Messmann, whose team opens conference play Wednesday at Hamline. "We hadn't played that poorly in our first two games, but (against Coe) we put it all together and showed what we are really capable of."

And no one made more noise than Rattunde.

An All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference selection as a sophomore a year ago, Rattunde scored 15 points, pulled down 13 rebounds and dished out 12 assists as the Cardinals snapped their season-opening two-game losing streak in impressive fashion.


"The final score really wasn't indicative of the game," said Messmann. "We pretty much dominated from start to finish. Everyone got some experience playing at the collegiate level, and for the most part, I thought everyone did a nice job."

The Cardinals used a 13-0 run over the final three minutes of the first half to break open a close game and give SMU a commanding 42-24 halftime advantage. SMU pushed that lead to as many as 20, before a late 16-3 Kohawk run cut the lead to 11, 66-55. That however, was as close as Coe would come as Rattunde and Co. outscored the host Kohawks 11-2 over the final five minutes to ice the win.

Rattunde may have returned to center stage with her triple-double, but she certainly wasn't alone as all five SMU starters scored in double figures. Beth Walch (Altura, Minn.) netted a game-high 19 points, while Ashley Luehmann (Lewiston, Minn.) tallied 17 and Megan Moran (Burlington, Wis.) and Angie Arrington (Spring Grove, Minn.) chipped in 12 and 10 points, respectively.

SMU shot 51 percent from the field, making 32 of its 62 field goal attempts, while Coe managed just a 19-for-47 effort from the floor.

"We needed to get that first win under our belt heading into Hamline," said Messmann. "A win like this gives everyone a much-needed boost of confidence. Hopefully we can carry that into Wednesday and the entire conference season."