WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team entered Saturday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown with St. Catherine boasting a 3-2 conference record, a 9-3 overall mark, a three-game winning streak—and the Cardinals were coming off a four-point, 56-52 victory over Macalester on Wednesday.
 
The Wildcats, meanwhile, took the court sporting a nearly identical resume: A 3-2 conference record, a 9-3 overall mark, and four-game winning streak—and they were coming off a three-point, 65-62 victory over Carleton on Wednesday.
 
In other words, the Cardinals and Wildcats were virtual mirror images of each other.
 
Thanks to a red-hot offensive performance, the Cardinals shattered that mirror.
 
Saint Mary's boasted five players in double figures, led by Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) with 19 points, as the Cardinals picked up their fourth straight win—and snapped the Wildcats' four-game run—beating St. Catherine 80-73.
 
The Cardinals were in complete control over the game's first two quarters, grabbing a 22-15 lead after the opening 10 minutes, while outscored the Wildcats 16-13 in the second quarter to take a 10-point, 38-28 halftime advantage.
 
St. Catherine made things interesting in the third quarter, using a late 8-2 run to cut the Cardinal lead to three, 49-46 with 2:46 remaining. Over that final 2:46, however, Saint Mary's answered by scoring 11 of the quarter's final 13 points to push the lead back to 12, 60-48 heading into the game's final 10 minutes.
 
Saint Mary's pushed its lead to as many as 19 twice, and was never threatened the rest of the way, with the Wildcats scoring the game's last five points to make it a seven-point Cardinal victory.
 
Blattner went 7-for-13 from the field—including a pair of 3-pointers—and was a perfect 3-for-3 from the line en route to her team-best 19-point showing. Emma Schaefer (Roseville, Minn.) chipped in 17 points, while Sam Jones (White Bear Lake, Minn. / 16), Alex Huisman (Adrian, Minn. / 13), and Brigette Audette (Big Lake, Minn. / 10) also scored in double figures.
 
Saint Mary's shot 54 percent from the field (29-for-54)—including a season-high 11 3-pointers—and added an 11-for-20 showing from the free throw line. St. Catherine hit on 25 of 55 attempts from the field (45 percent), but managed just 3 of 16 3-pointers.
 
LaShay Holt equaled Blattner's 19-point effort to pace the Wildcats, while Kennedy Jennings finished with 15 points, and Audra Clark and Danica Cambrice each chipped in 12.
 
The Cardinals (4-2 MIAC, 10-3 overall) are back in action on Wednesday, heading to Augsburg's Si Melby Hall in Minneapolis, Minn., for a 7 p.m. conference matchup against the Auggies