WINONA, Minn. — Streaks were on the line when the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota and Saint Benedict women's basketball team squared off Wednesday evening at the Saint Mary's Gym.
The Cardinals entered the teams' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown owning a six-game winning streak against the Blazers.
Saint Benedict, meanwhile, boasted a three-game winning streak—including Saturday's 58-49 win over Carleton—entering Wednesday's match.
Thanks to a balanced offense that saw four Cardinals score in double figures, it was Saint Mary's that kept its winning streak in tact, rallying from a two-point halftime deficit to beat Saint Benedict 63-59.
Saint Benedict owned the opening 10 minutes of the first half, using back-to-back 3-pointers by Abby Miller to take a 7-4 lead—a lead the Blazers would not relinquish until the 11:17 mark, when
Molly O'Toole (Plymouth, Minn.) drained a 3-pointer to give Saint Mary's 20-19 advantage.
The Cardinals would build their lead to as many as seven, 28-21, only to have CSB use a half-ending 11-2 run to give the Blazers a two-point, 32-30 cushion heading into the locker room at the half.
It was more of the same in the second half, as the Blazers scored the first six points of the half to push their lead to eight, 38-30, only to have the Cardinals once again gain the momentum—and the lead.
With the score tied 43-43—the eighth deadlock through the game's first 30 minutes—the Cardinals took control, using a 20-11 run over the next nine minutes to grab a commanding 63-54 lead en route to securing their second straight win.
O'Toole led the Cardinals with 15 points, going 6-for-13 from the field and adding a pair of free throws, while
Shelby Auseth (Wanamingo, Minn.),
Kayla Lardy (Fairmont, Minn.), and
Micaela Meredith (Bloomington, Minn.) also finished in double figures—Auseth tallied 11 points, with Lardy and Meredith adding 10.
As a team, the Cardinals went 23-for-61 from the field—including five 3-pointers—while also posting a season-high seven blocks.
Mattie Lueck finished with a game-high 20 points on 8 of 20 shooting to lead the way for Saint Benedict (4-3 MIAC, 7-7 overall).
The Cardinals (4-3 MIAC, 10-4 overall) are back in action on Saturday, when they travel to Macalester's Leonard Center in St. Paul, Minn., for a 1 p.m. conference game against the Scots.
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