By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director

LA CROSSE, Wis. — Getting off to a quick start has not been part of the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team's repertoire this season.
 
In fact, on more than one occasion, the Cardinals have found themselves staring up out of deep, game-opening holes.
 
After Saturday's performance against Viterbo, however, Saint Mary's might want to consider adopting that quick-start approach more often.
 
The Cardinals scored the game's first seven points and never relinquished the lead en route to their second straight win, a 76-65 nonconference decision over the V-Hawks at R.W. Beggs Sr. Gymnasium.
 
Saint Mary's, fueled by that 7-0 start, grabbed a 20-13 lead after the game's opening 10 minutes, and—after surrendering five unanswered points to see its lead trimmed to just two, 20-18—closed out the half on a 13-8 run to push the lead to seven, 33-26 at the break.
 
 The V-Hawks whittled the Cardinals' lead down to four, 45-41, with 2:51 remaining in the third quarter, but a 13-3, quarter-ending burst pushed Saint Mary's lead to a then-game-high 14, 58-44, heading into the game's final 10 minutes.
 
And the Cardinals picked up right where they left off, scoring the first six points of the fourth quarter to push their lead to a game-high 20, 64-44, with 7:08 remaining. Viterbo scored 14 of the next 18 points to claw within 10, 68-58, with 1:24 to go on the clock.
 
The V-Hawks narrowed the Saint Mary's lead to nine, 73-64 on a 3-pointer by Payton Curry, but that was as close as they would get.
 
Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) led the offensive charge for the Cardinals, scoring 15 points and adding nine rebounds, while Kristen Keefe (Chatfield, Minn.) chipped in 13 points—10 in the first half—Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn.) added 10, and Abby Winter (Winona, Minn.) delivered nine points and eight rebounds.
 
Brynn Bozich netted a team-best 13 points, with Kassi Hofschild adding 12 and Curry 10, in the losing effort for Viterbo.
 
The Cardinals (6-4 overall) return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, traveling to St. Catherine's Butler Center in St. Paul, Minn., for a 7 p.m. matchup with the Wildcats.