WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team found itself in a rather familiar—and comfortable—position after the opening 20 minutes of its nonconference game against UW-Eau Claire Sunday.
In their last two games—against Saint Benedict and UW-La Crosse—the Cardinals headed into the halftime break tied with both the Blazers and the Eagles.
So it should come as no surprise that Saint Mary's would be in another nailbiter after the first two quarters against the Blugolds.
And had it not been for a 3-pointer by UW-EC's Maddie Dunathan at the second-quarter buzzer, Saint Mary's would have once again been deadlocked at the intermission.
And for the third straight time, the second half belonged to the Cardinals, as Saint Mary's outscored UW-Eau Claire 35-27 over the game's final 20 minutes—including 24-14 in the fourth quarter—en route to a 73-68 victory at the Saint Mary's Gym.
Both teams took turns playing with the lead, as the Cardinals led by four twice in the first quarter in grabbing a 17-14 lead, while the Blugolds used a 14-3 second-quarter run to build an eight-point, 28-20 lead with just under seven minutes remaining in the half.
The game would be tied four times over the final 6:51—including 38-38 late—before Dunathan drained her 3-pointer to give UW-Eau Claire the three-point halftime advantage.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by
Emma Schaefer (Roseville, Minn.) and
Bridget Pethke (New London, Wis.) to open the third quarter put the Cardinals back out front, 44-41, but the Blugolds would answer with six unanswered points to take a 47-44 lead and would close the quarter nursing a five-point, 54-49 cushion.
UW-Eau Claire pushed their lead to a game-high nine points, 63-54, midway through the fourth quarter, but the Cardinals were far from finished, scoring 14 straight points to turn that nine-point deficit into a five-point, 68-63 lead—a lead they would not relinquish in winning their fourth straight contest to open the season.
Micaela Meredith (Bloomington, Minn.) scored a game- and career-high 22 points—going 6-for-9 from the field and 8-for-9 from the free throw line—while Schaefer chipped in 17 points and
Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) added her second double-double of the season with 12 points and 19 rebounds.
The Cardinals shot 36 percent from the field (24-for-66)—including a 10-for-23 effort from behind the 3-point line—while adding 15 free throws on 23 attempts.
Erin O'Toole, Dunathan, and Teenie Lichtfuss all scored in double figures for the Blugolds (2-3 overall), scoring 18, 13, and 10 points, respectively.
The Cardinals (4-0 overall) kick off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, hosting Gustavus in a 7 p.m. conference showdown at the Saint Mary's Gym.
