ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — Head down the key stretch of road in the MIAC season, the Saint Mary's University women's basketball team entered Wednesday's game with one eye on host Bethel, and the other on Saturday's key MIAC showdown with Gustavus.

And the Cardinals almost learned the hard way the importance of keeping both eyes on the road.

Jamie Rattunde (Rollingstone, Minn.) netted her second-straight double-double and Ashley Luehmann (Lewiston, Minn.) chipped in 17 points, but the win did not come easy as the Cardinals escaped with a 68-59 win.

"This was a good team win," said SMU coach Dan Messmann, whose team improved to 9-5 in the MIAC and 13-5 overall. "This was a tough game — (Bethel) had a lot riding on this game and they came out and played like it."

Rattunde, who has scored 24 points in each of her last two games, was 8-for-12 from the field and a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line, while also adding 13 defensive rebounds and a pair of offense boards in notching her sixth double-double of the year. Luehmann, meanwhile, was 6 of 12 from the field, including a pair of threes, and her 17 points left her three shy of 1,000 for her career.

"I don't think we were really looking past (Bethel), but everyone on this team knows how big Saturday's game is," said Messmann, whose team is tied with the Gusties for the No. 4 spot in the MIAC standings — a spot that includes home court for the opening round of the MIAC playoffs. "We're really starting to come together now. Hopefully that will continue Saturday."