THE MATCHUP

Saint Mary's vs. St. Benedict vs. Monday, Feb. 7, 2005 SMU Gym 7:30 p.m.

GAMEDAY PLAYER PROFILE

Ashley Luehmann Year Junior Position Guard Hometown Lewiston, Minn.

For the official GameDay Program for today's game pdf / click here (pdf)

WINONA, Minn. — Entering last Saturday's game against Gustavus, Saint Mary's University's Ashley Luehmann (Lewiston, Minn.) needed only three points to eclipse 1,000 points in her collegiate women's basketball career.

And, after a successful 3-pointer with eight minutes left in the first half, Luehmann reached that milestone - becoming just the seventh player in Saint Mary's history to reach 1,000 career points.

Yet, it wasn't the 3-pointer that got her to 1,000 that coach Dan Messmann will remember most - it's the three she nailed with 18 seconds remaining in regulation that clinched the Cardinals' 61-55 win over the Gusties.

"That was a big, big win," said SMU coach Dan Messmann, whose Cardinals (10-5 MIAC, 14-5 overall) are now one game up on the Gusties in the loss column — and have beaten GAC twice this season — as the two teams battle for one of the two remaining MIAC home playoff berths. "It's always tough to go (to St. Peter, Minn.) and play — it's one of the toughest places in the conference to play.

"I'm proud of Ashley, to get 1,000 points as a junior is a great accomplishment," continued Messmann. "Ashley has worked very hard to improve her game and that hard work is paying off. She had a great game (vs. Gustavus) - and came up with the clutch shot when we needed it most.

"There was a lot at stake and everyone was really focused on getting the job done."

And get it done they did.

Gustavus pulled within one point twice in the last five minutes of regulation, but Luehmann's 3-pointer with 18 seconds left - giving her a team-high 20 points - secured the SMU victory.

But the Cardinals’ season-long job is far from done, as SMU returns to action tonight with another crucial MIAC matchup against St. Benedict.

The Blazers enter tonight’s game tied with Concordia for second place in the conference — two games in front of SMU.

“We’ve got to approach this game just like any of the others,” said Messmann, whose team’s first-ever home playoff berth is within its grasp. “(St. Ben’s) is a good team — we’ve just got to go out and play the way we are capable of playing.

“If we hit our shots, we’ll be just fine.”