EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — Winning streaks were on the line when the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota and UW-Eau Claire women's basketball teams squared off Sunday afternoon.
 
The Cardinals headed to Zorn Arena having won back-to-back games against UM-Morris and the University of Dubuque, while the Blugolds were unbeaten in their first four contests.
 
Unfortunately, it was a streak of another kind—a game-opening 10-0 run—that proved to be too much for the Cardinals to overcome, as UW-Eau Claire made Saint Mary's its fifth straight victim to open the season with a 71-57 nonconference victory.
 
Anna Glaaskamp scored the game's first basket—and the Blugolds never relinquished the lead. In fact, by the time Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn.) finally got Saint Mary's on the board with a 3-pointer three minutes into the opening quarter, the Cardinals were staring at a 10-0 deficit—a hole that proved too deep to dig out of.
 
The Cardinals scored 10 of the final 18 points of the first quarter to get within eight, 18-10, but UW-Eau Claire rattled off seven straight points to kick off quarter No. 2 and push its lead to 15, 25-10.
 
A half-ending 11-8 run got Saint Mary's within 12, 33-21, at the half, but UW-Eau Claire outscored Saint Mary's 24-21 in the third quarter to give the Blugolds a 15-point, 57-42 advantage heading into the game's final 10 minutes.
 
But the Cardinals weren't about to throw in the towel just yet.
 
Saint Mary's cut the Blugolds' advantage to five, 62-57 on a three-point play by Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) with 3:27 remaining in regulation, but that would be the last time the Cardinals would score—and UW-Eau Claire knocked down seven free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
 
Blattner and Huisman provided the majority of the Cardinals' offensive attack, combing to scoring 40 of the team's 57 points. Blattner led all scorers with a game-high 22 points, while Huisman chipped in 18—including a 5 of  9 effort from behind the 3-point line. Blattner also hauled in 10 rebounds en route to her fourth double-double of the season.
 
Graaskamp netted 18 points to lead three Blugolds in double figures, with Kelsey Bakken chipping in 15 and Hallee Hoeppner adding 11.
 
The Cardinals (3-2 overall) return home on Wednesday, as Saint Mary's entertains St. Scholastica in a 7 p.m. nonconference game at the Saint Mary's Gym.