By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team has been on a roll of late—and the Cardinals weren't about to let St. Olaf mess that up.
 
The Cardinals, coming off three straight wins—including an impressive 80-68 win over Hamline last Saturday that included a 32-point showing by Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn.) and the 1,000^th career point for Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.)—pushed that winning streak to a season-high four in a row with a convincing 68-55 win over the Oles at Skoglund Center.
 
St. Olaf had the upper hand through the first quarter, scoring the game's opening nine points and holding a 13-9 edge after 10 minutes of play.
 
Saint Mary's continued to whittle away at the Oles advantage, taking its first lead, 26-23, on a Shayley Vesel (Austin, Minn.) 3-pointer that capped an 8-0 Cardinal run. The Cardinals push their lead to as many as seven in the second quarter, before settling for a four-point, 34-30 lead at the intermission.
 
The Cardinals put the game out of reach early in the third quarter, using a quarter-opening 14-0 burst to push their lead to 48-30—and they never looked back, outscoring St. Olaf 34-25 in the second half, including 17-9 in the decisive third quarter.
 
Blattner and Huisman led the way for the Cardinals, scoring 16 points each, while Vesel chipped in a career-best 14 points and Hallie Schmeling (Onalaska, Wis.) delivered eight assists.
 
As a team, the Cardinals knocked down 22 of 60 field goals (36 percent)—including 12 3-pointers, one shy of their season-high—and finished 12-for-14 from the free throw line.
 
Samantha Tisa netted a game-high 21 points and Keegan Mulvihill chipped in 13 in the losing effort for St. Olaf, which shot 35 percent from the field (22-for-58) and were just 5 of 17 from behind the 3-point line.
 
 
 
The Cardinals (6-5 MIAC, 11-7 overall) are back in action on Saturday, as Saint Mary's returns home to the Saint Mary's Gym for a 3 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown vs. Augsburg.