MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team probably waited a little longer than coach Brent Pollari may have liked to take control, but the end result was the same—another Cardinal victory.
 
The Cardinals, trailing by two after three quarters, erupted for 25 fourth-quarter points—while holding host Augsburg to just 10—as Saint Mary's rallied for a 64-51 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory at Si Melby Hall.
 
With the win, the Cardinals pushed their season-opening winning streak to seven straight—one shy of the eight-game win streak they put together to open the season a year ago.
 
The Cardinals appeared to have everything under control early, jumping out to a 16-11 lead after the game's opening 10 minutes. That lead quickly evaporated, however, as the Auggies used a 15-7 second-quarter run to take a 26-23 lead into the locker room at the break.
 
 Saint Mary's cut the deficit to two, 41-39, after the third quarter, before taking complete control with their dominating fourth-quarter performance.
 
Micaela Meredith (Bloomington, Minn.) and Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) led the way for the Cardinals, each scoring 14 point, while Blattner also chipped in a team-best nine boards—one more than Bridget Pethke (New London, Wis.). Pethke also posted a career-best 10 assists.
 
Saint Mary's shot 37 percent from the field (21-for-57), including a 5 of 16 effort from the 3-point line, while going 17-for-18 from the free throw line.
 
Maria Loughlin scored a team-best 11 points in the losing effort for Augsburg, which hit 19 of 58 field goals (33 percent) and was 7-for-8 from the free throw line.
 
Saint Mary's (3-0 MIAC, 7-0 overall) returns to action next Wednesday, hosting Carleton in a 7 p.m. conference matchup at the Saint Mary's Gym.