WINONA, Minn. — It was probably a little to close for coach Brent Pollari's liking, but the bottom line suited the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team just fine.
 
The Cardinals got a free throw from Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) with 2.2 seconds remaining to break a 60-60 deadlock, and lift Saint Mary's to a season-opening 61-60 nonconference victory over Martin Luther Wednesday at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
After a see-saw opening half—in which Martin Luther held a 10-8 first-quarter lead, while the Cardinal boasted a five-point, 30-35 halftime advantage—Saint Mary's appeared to have things under control in the third quarter, building its lead to as many as 12, only to have Martin Luther 45-33 close the period on a 15-5 run to cut the gap to two, 50-48 heading into the game's final 10 minutes.
 
The Cardinals' lead fluctuated from three to six points through most of the final quarter, only to have Martin Luther pull even when Grace Schultz scored on a put-back, was fouled, and converted the free throw to knot the game at 60-60 with 1:32 remaining.
 
Both teams came up empty on their next two trips down the court, and, after Kirsten Keefe (Chatfield, Minn.) missed a pair of free throws with 6.7 seconds remaining, Blattner came up big, hauling in the second of Keefe's misses, got fouled, and knocked down the game-winning free throw with 2.2 seconds on the clock.
 
Martin Luther had one final shot, but turned over the inbound pass to give Saint Mary's the one-point win.
 
Blattner kicked off the season in impressive fashion, scoring a game-high 22 points, while adding 11 rebounds. Savannah Bleess chipped in seven points, while Abby Winter (Winona, Minn.) delivered six points and 11 boards.
 
The Cardinals shot 39 percent from the field (19-for-49)—including hitting 8 of 19 3-pointers—and added a 15-for-24 showing from the free throw line.
 
Martin Luther—which got 18 points from Jade St. Germaine and a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds from Schultz—also dropped 19 field goals (19-for-55), but were just 8 of 22 from behind the arc.
 
The Cardinals (1-0 overall) hit the road this weekend, heading to St. Joseph, Minn., to take part in the Saint Benedict Quinlivan & Hughes Tip-Off Tournament. Saint Mary's faces UW-La Crosse in a 6 p.m. nonconference contest on Friday, before squaring off against UM-Morris at 1 p.m. the following day.