WINONA, Minn. — Macalester headed into Saturday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown against the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team having played back-to-back overtime games in their last two contests—both wins.
 
There would be no need for overtime Saturday afternoon.
 
The Cardinals made sure of that.
 
Saint Mary's outscored Macalester 31-22 in the second half—including 15-9 in the third quarter—as the Cardinals cruised to their sixth straight win, a 67-52 victory Saturday at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Cardinals scored the game's first five points and never relinquished the lead, building leads as big as seven points in the first quarter and nine in the second en route to a 36-30 cushion at the half.
 
The third quarter belonged to Saint Mary's, as the Cardinals scored the final five points of the half to grab a commanding 51-39 advantage heading into the game's final 10 minutes.
 
And what a 10-minute stretch it was for the Cardinals, who led by as many as 16 on two separate occasions in cruising to their season-opening sixth straight victory.
 
Bridget Pethke (New London, Wis.) led a trio of Cardinals in double dfigures, scoring a team-high 14 points, one more than Micaela Meredith (Bloomington, Minn.), while Brigette Audette (Big Lake, Minn.) added 11 points and Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) had six points and a  team-best 11 rebounds.
 
The Cardinals shot 35 percent from the field (24-for-68) with four three points, while also going 15-for-20 from the free throw line.
 
Erin Murray and Lauren Clamage each scored 11 points for Macalester, which shot 32 percent from the field (21-for-66), but was just 7 of 18 from behind the 3-point line.
 
The Cardinals (2-0 MIAC, 6-0 overall) hit the road on Wednesday, traveling to Minneapolis, Minn., for a 7 p.m. MIAC showdown with Augsburg.