WINONA, Minn. — It wasn't a 22-point rout, like their 71-49 win the first time around.

And it may not have had quite the significance of the 38-game streak-ending triumph on Dec. 10.

But last Saturday's 75-68 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory over St. Thomas at the SMU Gym was just as sweet.

If not sweeter.

The Cardinals got a game-high 25 points from Ashley Luehmann (Lewiston, Minn.) and a double-double of 22 points and 13 rebounds from Jamie Rattunde (Rollingstone, Minn.), as SMU completed a season sweep of the Tommies for the first time since the 1984-85 season.

"Ashley's really starting to pick up her game again," said SMU coach Dan Messmann, who watched Luehmann and Rattunde each score 20 or more points for the third straight game. "She was hot for us early in the season, leveled off a bit, and now she's getting her legs again.

"You can see the confidence in her eyes."

That's good news for the Cardinals — and bad news for the opposition.

The Cardinals left little doubt of the outcome early, scoring 13 of the game's first 17 points — and they never looked back, building that lead to 13, 47-34, at halftime.

SMU shot a blistering 65 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes, nailing 17 of 26 field goal attempts — including 6 of 10 from beyond the 3-point line — and added a 7-for-9 performance from the free throw line. Rattunde — who has now scored 20 or more points in six straight games — netted 14 of her 22 points in the first half, while Luehmann tallied 13 of her 25.

Things cooled off a bit for the Cardinals in the second half, as they managed just eight field goals. The Tommies took advantage of SMU's second-half struggles, cutting the Cardinals' lead to two, 57-55, on a basket by Kristi Huegel with 8:19 left, then knotted the game at 60-60 on a free throw by Erica Opdahl.

That was as close as the Cardinals would let St. Thomas get, however, as they scored 15 of the game's final 23 points to seal their fourth straight victory.

Angie Arrington (Spring Grove, Minn.) chipped in 11 points for the Cardinals, who moved to 11-4 in the MIAC and 12-6 overall, while Kate Wiberg's 20 points led the way for the Tommies (8-7 MIAC, 9-9 overall).

"This was a good win for us at a time when we really needed a big win," said Messmann, whose team heads into a stretch in which they play the top four teams in the conference (St. Benedict, Carleton, Concordia and Gustavus) in the next 13 days. "We've proven we can play with the MIAC's best — now it's time to go out and prove to ourselves and everyone else that we can beat them, too."