By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. PETER, Minn. — Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball coach Brent Pollari knew his team was going to have its hands full when the Cardinals took the floor against Gustavus Wednesday evening.
 
Twentieth-ranked Gustavus, winners of three straight—all by 20 or more points.
 
And no matter what the Cardinals tried, they could not slow down Gustavus' high-powered offense, as the Gusties raced out to a 35-15 halftime lead and never took their foot off the accelerator in dealing Saint Mary's a 65-38 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at Gus Young Court.
 
Gustavus scored eight of the game's first 10 points and the Cardinals never recovered, trailing by 11, 14-3 with 2:22 remaining in the quarter—and were staring at a 10-point, 17-7 deficit after the game's opening 10 minutes.
 
The Gusties maintained its double-figure lead throughout the second quarter, owning a 21-10 advantage with 6:09 left in the opening half, and outscoring Saint Mary's 14-5 the rest of the way in taking a 35-15 lead into the locker room at the break.
 
The third quarter proved more of the same for the Cardinals, who got as close as 15, 41-26 on a pair of free throws by Kirsten Keefe (Chatfield, Minn.) and another by Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.), only to have GAC score five of the quarter's final eight points for a 46-29 lead heading into the game's final 10-minute quarter.
 
GAC turned up the offensive heat in the fourth quarter, building its lead to a game-high 27, 58-31 with five minutes remaining in cruising to its fourth straight lopsided victory.
 
Blattner led the way for the Cardinals, scoring nine points and adding nine rebounds, while Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn.) chipped in seven points. Saint Mary's struggled to find its shooting touch all evening, making just 14 of 45 field goal attempts (31 percent)—including a 3 of 15 effort from behind the 3-point line and a 7-for-18 showing from the free throw line.
 
The Gusties—ranked No. 20 in both the WBCA Division III and the D3hoops.com Top 25—put three players in double figures, led by Kendall Thompson with 15 points. Miranda Rice and Mikayla Miller each chipped in 12 points for Gustavus, which shot 44 percent from the field (25-for-57) and drained six 3-opinters.
 
The Cardinals (2-5 MIAC, 7-7 overall) return to conference play on Saturday, as Saint Mary's entertains Macalester in a 3 p.m. matchup at the Saint Mary's Gym.