By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball coach David Foley wouldn't say what was said in the locker room at the half Wednesday evening, but whatever it was — it worked.
 
The Cardinals, who gave up 23 second-quarter points and were staring at a 38-33 halftime deficit in their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game against Concordia, came out of the break and scored 19 of the third-quarter's 24 points, turning that eight-point deficit into a 52-43 advantage — and an eventual 66-55 conference victory at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Cardinals had the upper hand early, scoring the game's first basket on a jumper by Brooklyn Paulson (Holmen, Wis.) and racing out to a six-point, 16-10 lead later in the first quarter. Concordia cut the deficit to one, 16-15, but Maggie Robertson (Orland Park, Ill.) closed the quarter with a layup to give Saint Mary's an 18-15 advantage.
 
Robertson would score the first two points of the second quarter to push Saint Mary's lead to give, 20-15 — but the lead was anything but safe.
 
The Cobbers rattled off eight unanswered points to grab a 23-20 lead. Two free throws by Paulson, and field goals by Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) and Claire Patterson (Marine, Minn.) put Saint Mary's back in front, 26-25.
 
Saint Mary's would score seven of the next 12 points to push its lead to 33-30, only to have Concordia end the quarter in much the same way it started it — rattling off eight straight points over the final three minutes to take a 38-33 lead into the locker room at the half.
 
And what a break it proved to be.
 
Saint Mary's drained the first two field goals to open the third quarter — including a 3-pointer by Kirsten Keefe (Chatfield, Minn.) to knot the game at 38-38. Concordia would grab two-point leads of 40-38 and 42-41, but by the time the Cobbers' Rachel Hoernemann drained a free throw with 1:43 remaining, the Cardinals had regained the lead 49-43.
 
And Saint Mary's wasn't finished, tacking on a free throw by Caily Landers (Palos Heights, Ill.) and a field goal at the buzzer by Paulson to give the Cardinals a nine-point, 52-43 cushion heading into the fourth quarter.
 
Saint Mary's pushed its lead to as many as 14 — 66-52 — over the final 10 minutes in securing their second straight conference victory.
 
Landers finished with a career-high 12 points on 4 of 7 shooting — including a pair of 3-pointers — to lead a trio of Cardinals in double figures. Michele Remer (Grand Forks, N.D.) chipped in 11 points and Robertson added 10 for the Cardinals, who shot 45 percent from the field (26-for-56) and were 10 of 19 from the free throw line.
 
Mira Eilefson scored a game-high 19 points to pace Concordia, which shot 35 percent from the field (21-for-60) — including a 9 of 24 effort from behind the 3-point line — while hitting 4 of 8 free throws.
 
The Cardinals (2-0 MIAC, 5-2 overall) are back in conference play on Saturday, heading to Gustavus' Gus Young Court in St. Peter, Minn., for a 1 p.m. matchup against the Gusties.