By
MEAGHAN UPDIKE
Saint Mary's Sports Information Intern
WINONA, Minn. — Thanks to their 71-56 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over St. Catherine Wednesday evening, the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team's playoff picture got a lot clearer.
With their 15-point win over the Wildcats — an outcome that was not decided until the Cardinals' decisive 46-32 scoring advantage over the game's final two quarters — Saint Mary's heads into its final regular-season game Saturday against league-leading St. Thomas clinging to the sixth and final playoff spot, one game ahead of Hamline.
A Saint Mary's win Saturday — or a Hamline loss to Bethel — and the Cardinals will be in the MIAC post-season dance for a seventh time in the last eight years. A Saint Mary's loss and a Hamline win over the Royals, however, and the Cardinals will be left on the outside looking in, since the Pipers hold the tiebreaker with their 67-66 win over SMU on Jan. 2
The Cardinals surrendered the game's first two points to the Wildcats, but the first quarter would be dominated by the Cardinals, who had doubled the Wildcats' score by the end of the game's opening 10 minutes, leading 18-9.
The second quarter, however, was a different story.
The Cardinals maintained a comfortable lead through the first eight minutes of play, only to surrendered seven unanswered points to bring the Wildcats within one, 25-24, at the half.
St. Catherine picked up where it left off to open the third quarter, scoring the first six points to take a 30-25 advantage. The Cardinals chipped away at the Wildcats' advantage, finally regaining the lead, 40-38 on a pair of
Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) free throws.
Saint Mary's would not lose the lead for the rest of the game.
The Cardinals, who led 46-40 after three quarters, started the fourth quarter on a 6-3 run, thanks to a pair of baskets by Blattner and and another by
Ewelina Schlomann (New Berlin, Wis.) to push the Saint Mayr's lead to nine, 52-43.
After a jumper by St. Catherine's Danica Cambrice, Saint Mary's went on another 6-0 run, courtesy of a
Kirsten Keefe (Chatfield, Minn.) 3-pointer and three free throws from Blattner and Schlomann, respectively, to make it a 13-point Saint Mary's advantage, 58-45.
The Saint Mary's lead never fell below nine over the final three minutes, as the Cardinals put an end to their season-high three-game losing streak — and kept those playoff hopes alive.
Blattner led the Cardinals with 16 points, including one 3-pointer, and finished 7 of 8 from the free throw line. seven free throws on eight attempts.
Hallie Schmeling (Onalaska, Wis.) also scored in double figures for the Cardinals, finishing with 10 points.
The Cardinals (9-8 MIAC, 13-11 overall) are back in action on Saturday, entertaining the league-leading Tommies in a 1 p.m. conference showdown at the Saint Mary's Gym.
