By
MEAGHAN UPDIKE
Saint Mary's Sports Information Intern
WINONA, Minn. — The end result wasn't quite what Saint Mary's women's basketball coach
David Foley was hoping for, but in the end, the Cardinals still came out with a win — despite the loss.
The Cardinals, who could not keep pace with the third-ranked Tommies — who locked up a perfect 18-0 run through the conference slate and secured the No. 1 seed in upcoming MIAC Playoffs with a 76-55 win over SMU Saturday — still earned the conference's final conference playoff invitation and will head to Bethel on Tuesday for a 5 p.m. opening-round game.
The two teams took turns playing with the lead early, but the Tommies drained a 3-pointer by Kaylie Brazil three mintues into the opening quarter for a 7-4 lead — and UST would never relinquish the lead again.
The Cardinals, who trailed 18-10 after the game's opening 10 minutes, whittled the lead down to five, but could not cool off the red-hot Tommies, who posted their second straight 18-point quarter to push the lead to 13, 36-23, at the halftime intermission.
Saint Mary's put together its best quarter of the game in the third quarter, pouring in 18 points, but the Tommies were even better, recording a 19-point quarter to take a 55-41 lead into the game's final 10 minutes — and the Cardinals could not close the gap.
Graduating seniors
Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.),
Kirsten Keefe (Chatfield, Minn.), and
Mary Wintroath (Suffern, N.Y.) combined to score 30 of the Cardinals' 55 points — Blattner finished with a team-high 20 points, while Keefe chipped in seven and Wintroath added three.
Brooklyn Paulson (Holmen, Wis.) also scored in double figures for Saint Mary's, netting 10 points.
The Cardinals, who close out the regular season 9-9 in conference play and 13-12 overall, will make their seventh MIAC Playoff appearance in the last eight years when they head to Bethel on Tuesday.
