By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director

ST. JOSEPH, Minn. — Now that's more like it.
 
After a pair of nailbiters to open the season—a one-point, 61-60 win over Martin Luther last Wednesday and an eight-point, 67-59 loss to UW-La Crosse Friday night—the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team took control early and never look back against UM-Morris Saturday afternoon.
 
The Cardinals scored their first 15 points on five 3-pointers—from five different players—and cruised to a convincing 81-57 nonconference win over UM-Morris during the second day of the Saint Benedict Quinlivan & Hughes Tip-Off Tournament at Claire Lynch Hall.
 
Kirsten Keefe (Chatfield, Minn.), Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn.), Abby Winter (Winona, Minn.), Savannah Bleess (Kenyon, Minn.), and Hallie Schmeling (Onalaska, Wis.) all knocked down first-quarter 3-pointers, as the Cardinals grabbed an early 15-9 lead.
 
Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) scored the Cardinals first two-point field goal with 2:17 remaining in the opening quarter—sparking nine straight points from the Cardinal junior—as Saint Mary's pushed its lead to nine, 24-15 early in the second quarter.
 
And Saint Mary's was just getting warmed up.
 
The Cardinals used a 10-3 run to push their lead to 14, 36-21 and took a commanding 39-23 advantage into the locker room at the half.
 
Saint Mary's picked up right where it left off in quarter No. 3, scoring 13 of the first 15 points and pushing its lead to 25, 62-37 heading into the game's final 10 minutes. The Cougars held a 20-19 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter, but by that time, it was far too little, too late.
 
Schmeling poured in a career-high 15 points for the Cardinals, while Huisman also netted 15 and Blattner was close behind with 14. All told, 11 different Cardinals scored in the 24-point win. As a team, the Cardinals shot 38 percent from the field (30-for-76)—including 13 3-pointers—and finished 8 of 14 from the free throw line.
 
Mauren Thiesen netted a team-best 14 points to lead three Cougars in double figures. Elli Stevenson added 11 points and Abby Van Kempen chipped in a double-double of 10 points and 13 rebounds. UM-Morris shot just 31 percent from the field (18-for-58) with 11 3-pointers and a 10 of 16 effort from the free throw line.
 
The Cardinals (1-1 overall) are back on the road on Tuesday, heading to Dubuque, Iowa, for a 5 p.m. nonconference game against the University of Dubuque.