ST. JOSEPH, Minn. — After the opening 20 minutes of Wednesday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game, the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team had Saint Benedict right where they wanted them—in the Cardinals rear-view mirror.
 
Five minutes into the second half, however, and that all changed.
 
The Blazers erupted for 18 unanswered points to open the second half and left the Cardinals in the dust, dealing Saint Mary's a 73-54 conference setback at Claire Lynch Hall.
 
Saint Benedict displayed its quick-striking capabilities right from the get-go, scoring nine of the game's first 11 points. The Cardinals, however, would battle back—grabbing their first lead at 25-24, building that advantage to six, 30-24, before settling for a three-point cushion, 30-27, at the break.
 
Unfortunately, as good as CSB was to open the game, the Blazers were twice as good to kick off the second, using that 18-0 run to transform their three-point deficit into a 45-30 lead with 15 minutes remaining—and the Cardinals never recovered,
 
Emma Schaefer (Falcon Heights, Minn.) scored a team-high 10 points for the Cardinals, who shot 35 percent from the field (21-for-60)—including 3-for-14 from the 3-point line—while going 9 of 18 from the free throw line. Sam Jones (White Bear Lake, Minn.) chipped in nine points and Micaela Meredith (Bloomington, Minn.) added eight for Saint Mary's.
 
Mattie Lueck scored a game-high 23 points and added 11 rebounds for the Blazers, with Annie Dittberner and Abby Miller each chipping in 11 points.
 
With Saint Mary's loss—and Gustavus' 72-59 setback at Concordia Wednesday—the Cardinals find themselves tied with both the Gusties and Cobbers for third place at 9-6, one game in front of both Augsburg and Saint Benedict with three conference games remaining.

The Cardinals (9-6 MIAC, 15-7 overall) are back in action on Saturday, traveling to St. Peter, Minn., for a key conference showdown with Gustavus. Opening tip is slated for 1 p.m.