By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — Bethany Lutheran entered Saturday's nonconference game against the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team riding a season-opening five-game winning streak — including three wins over foes from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
 
And the Vikings were poised to make the Cardinals their fourth MIAC victim — and sixth overall.
 
The Cardinals, however, had other ideas.
 
Fueled by four players in double figures — including a third straight double-double by Rachel Kedl (Lamberton, Minn.) — the Cardinals raced out to a 47-33 halftime lead and never looked back in cruising to an 83-72 nonconference win at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Vikings scored the game's opening basket and held a 7-6 lead on a 3-pointer by by Kenlie Pytleski, but Saint Mary's responded by outscoring BLC 12-4 to take an 18-11 advantage.
 
Bethany Lutheran whittled the Cardinal lead to two, 17-15, but a 3-pointer by Mary Wintroath (Suttern, N.Y.) ignited a quarter-ending 6-2 burst that gave Saint Mary's a 23-17 lead after the game's opening 10 minutes.
 
Saint Mary's continued to carry the hot hand in the second half, shooting 62 percent from the field — knocking down 10 of 16 field goals — as the Cardinals built leads as big as 16, before settling for a 14-point, 47-33 edge at the break.
 
The Cardinals picked up right where they left off in the second half, pushing their lead to as many as 20 — and it appeared as if Saint Mary's home opener would end in a rout
 
Bethany Lutheran made it a 14-point game, 68-54, after three quarters, and cut the gap to eight, 73-65 midway through the fourth quarter, but Saint Mary's — fueled by a pair of Viking technical fouls — scored 10 of the game's final 17 points to secure its third straight win.
 
Kedl — coming off back-to-back 11-point, 10-rebound games — recorded career highs of 16 points and 12 rebounds against the Vikings, while Brooklyn Paulson (Holmen, Wis.) added 14 points, and Wintroath and Michele Remer (Grand Forks, N.D.) each chipped in 10 points.
 
Emilee Gustin netted a game-high 21 points, with Haley Sandin adding 16 and Abby Olson finishing with 12 for the Vikings (5-1 overall).
 
The Cardinals (3-1 overall) are back in action on Thursday, returning to the Saint Mary's Gym for a 7 p.m. nonconference game against UW-Oshkosh.