By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — All season long, Shayley Vesel (Austin, Minn.) and Brooklyn Paulson (Holmen, Wis.) have proven to be the Saint Mary's University women's basketball team's one-two offensive punch.
 
In fact, one of the two had led the team in scoring in 18 of the Cardinals' first 22 games heading into Saturday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matchup againsts Hamline.
 
Against the Pipers, however, the dynamic duo managed just 18 points — combined.
 
Enter Maggie Robertson (Orland Park, Ill.).
 
Robertson was unstoppable from everywhere on the court, scoring a career-high 24 points — including hitting 4 of 5 3-pointers and going a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line — in leading the Cardinals to a convincing 79-61 win over Hamline at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Cardinals and Pipers traded baskets for most of the game's opening 10 minutes, with each team settling for 18 first-quarter points. The Cardinals, however, took charge in the second quarter, outscoring Hamline 20-12 to grab an eight-point, 38-30 advantage heading into the halftime break.
 
As dominant as the Cardinals were in the second quarter, the Pipers were even more so in the third, pulling even twice — 49-49 and 51-51, but Saint Mary's would not relinquish the lead and was left clinging to a one-point, 53-52 lead heading into the game's final 10 minutes.
 
And what a 10-minute performance it was.
 
Saint Mary's — leading 58-57 early in the final quarter — went on an 11-0 run to push the lead to 12, 69-57, and the Cardinals never looked back in winning for the second time in the last three games.
 
Robertson — whose previous career-best was a 19-point effort against Carleton on Dec. 1, 2018 — finished the game 8-for-11 from the field with four 3-pointers and chipped in five rebounds, an assist and a block. Paulson and Vesel each chipped in nine points for the Cardinals, who shot 46.0 percent from the field (29-for-63) with nine 3-pointers and went 12-for-14 from the line.
 
Reilly Geistfeld poured in a game-high 24 points for the Pipers, who went 24-for-57 from the field with six treys and a 7 of 14 effort from the charity stripe.
 
The Cardinals (4-14 MIAC, 4-19 overall) return home to the Saint Mary's Gym for one final time this Wednesday, entertaining Gustavus in a 7 p.m. conference matchup. The Pipers (9-9 MIAC, 14-9 overall), meanwhile, are back on their home court at Hutton Arena in St. Paul, Minn., on Wednesday, playing host to Carleton in a 7 p.m. MIAC contest.