NORTHFIELD, Minn. - The final margin of victory may have been 11 points, but Saturday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game between the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota and St. Olaf basketball teams was anything but an 11-point contest.
The Cardinals got a 27 points from
Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.)-the Saint Mary's freshman's second straight 27-point performance-and outscored the Oles 13-2 in the game's final six minutes in handing St. Olaf a 57-46 MIAC setback at Skoglund Center.
The Cardinals and Oles both tried to run away from one another all afternoon, but each time they appeared to be in the clear, they were reeled back in.
St. Olaf kicked things by scoring eight of the game's first 12 points to grab an 8-4 lead, but the Cardinals responded by scoring the final 11 points of the quarter to lead 15-8.
Saint Mary's netted the first basket of the second quarter to cap its 13-0 run, only to have the Oles whittle the lead down to three, 24-21, with 3:09 remaining in the half. For the second quarter in a row, however, the Cardinals finished strong, outscoring St. Olaf 6-2 to grab a seven-point, 30-23, advantage at the break.
The Cardinals picked up where they left off to open the third quarter, as
Micaela Meredith (Bloomington, Minn.) jump-started a 10-2 Saint Mary's burst with a 3-pointer.
That early, 15-point third-quarter lead, however, was far from safe, as St. Olaf clawed to within 10, 42-32 heading into the fourth quarter, then opened the final 10-minute period by scoring 12 of the first 14 points-the final two on a pair of free throws that pulled the Oles even, 44-44, with 6:15 remaining in regulation.
Those final six minutes, however, belonged to the Cardinals.
Blattner and
Bridget Pethke (New London, Wis.) knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to push the Cardinal lead to six, 50-44-and this time, the Oles did not have an answer, as Saint Mary's pulled away en route to its sixth straight conference victory.
Blattner-who scored 27 points in the Cardinals' 71-67 victory over St. Catherine three days ago-finished the afternoon 11-for-19 from the field with three, 3-pointers. She also hauled in a team-best 11 rebounds en route to her second straight double-double-and the fifth of her collegiate career.
Meredith also finished in double figures, scoring 14 points as she and Blattner combined for 41 of the team's 57 points.
The Cardinals shot 32 percent from the field (21-for-65)-including 6 of 24 from the 3-point line-while going 9 of 12 from the free throw line. St. Olaf, meanwhile, was 16 of 66 from the field (24 percent)-hitting just 3 of 27 3-point attempts-and added an 11-for-15 effort from the charity stripe.
Afton Wolter was the only Ole to finish in double figures, scoring 14 points, while Betsey Daly hauled in a team-best 11 rebounds.
The Cardinals (6-0 MIAC, 12-1 overall) are back in action on Wednesday, playing host to Concordia in a 7:45 p.m. conference contest at the Saint Mary's Gym.
