By ALEX NUEHRING
Saint Mary's Sports Information Intern
 
WINONA, Minn. — Saint Mary's University women's basketball coach Brent Pollari knew his Cardinals were in for a tough test when they squared off against eighth-ranked St. Thomas—which entered Wednesday's showdown unbeaten in conference play.
 
Unfortunately, in a back-and-forth contest that went right down to the wire, it was the Tommies who escaped the Saint Mary's Gym with the victory, handing the Cardinals a 68-62 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback.
 
The Cardinals used an early 5-0 run to grab a 13-8 lead with 4:49 left in the opening quarter, only to have St. Thomas answer with five unanswered points of its own—in a 45-second span—to knot the game at 13-13.
 
The Cardinals came right back by scoring five of the next six points, including a 3-pointer by Abby Winter (Winona, Minn.), to take a 18-14 lead, but again, the Tommies had an answer, knocking down a 3-pointer late to trim Saint Mary's lead to one, 18-17 after the game's opening 10 minutes.
 
Saint Mary's took the fight to St. Thomas again to open the second quarter, using a 7-0 run—highlighted by a 3-pointer by Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.)—to push its lead to 25-17. And while the offense was doing its part, the Cardinal's defense was also in prime form, holding the high-powered Tommies to no points in the first four minutes of the second quarter.
 
But even the best defense can only keep St. Thomas down for so long. The Tommies went on a 5-1 run to climb within four points, 26-22, with four minutes left in the first half. Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn.) got red-hot—making two consecutive three-pointers—to fuel Saint Mary's to a 6-2 run to give the Cardinals an eight-point lead, 32-24.
 
The Tommies came roaring back in the final two minutes of the half, scoring the last seven points, to whittle the Cardinals lead to one, 32-31, at the half.
 
With Saint Mary's lead 41-37 five minutes into the third quarter, St. Thomas completely flipped the momentum, rattling off three consecutive 3-pointers to gain a five-point lead, 46-41. Winter converted a last-second lay-up to make it a three-point, 46-43 St. Thomas advantage heading into the four quarter.
 
St. Thomas kept the pressure on Saint Mary's, scoring six of the first nine points in the fourth quarter to grab a 52-46 lead. A 3-pointer by Keefe and a pair of free throws by Winter made it a one-point game, 57-56, with less than two minutes remaining.
 
The Tommies, however, got a huge 3-pointer by Lucia Reinkoff to make it 60-56 with 1:10 on the clock. Winter made one of two free throws to cut the gap to 60-57.
 
Forced to foul, however, the Cardinals sent St. Thomas to the line four times in the final 15 seconds—and the Tommies made all eight free throws to seal the win.
 
Huisman led the way for Saint Mary's, scoring 16 points—including 13 in the first half—while Blattner added 13 points and eight rebounds, and Winter chipped in 12 points.
 
Renikoff led all scorers, scoring 22 points for the Tommies, with Lauren Fischer chipping in 11 points and six rebounds.
 
Saint Mary's will honor Huisman—their lone senior—before their regular-season finale Saturday. The Cardinals host Hamline in a 3 p.m. conference matchup at the Saint Mary's Gym.