By EMILY LOOF
Saint Mary's Sports Information Intern
 
WINONA, Minn. — It was a return to old times Saturday afternoon as the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team hosted Macalester at Saint Mary's Gym.
 
Well, sort of.
 
Macalester's assistant coaches Courtney Euerle and Sara Schoenthaler—both former standout players for the Cardinals—returned to the Saint Mary's Gym, and learned first-hand just how good Saint Mary's can be, as SMU rolled to a 73-45 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over the Scots.
 
Saint Mary's coach Brent Pollari was hoping for a bounce-back kind of win, as the Cardinals entered Saturday's contest mired in a three-game losing streak.
 
And the Cardinal head coach got exactly what he was hoping for.
 
The Cardinals score 10 of the game's first 15 points, and the end of the first quarter saw the
Cardinals up by six, 17-11. The home team kept their foot on the gas, knocking down a staggering 24 second-quarter points—while holding the Scots to just five in the game's second ten minutes.
 
Once again, the Cardinals' one-two punch of Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) and Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn.) was out in full force, as the two were responsible for 19 of their team's 41 first half points to help the Cardinals to a commanding 41-16 lead at the half.
 
The third quarter was the Scots' best, as they poured in 16 points. But the Cardinal lead was never truly threatened, as Saint Mary's rivaled its second quarter point total with 19 points in the third frame. The Scots showed some signs of life, narrowing the Cardinal lead to 24 on three separate occasions, but that was the closest they would get—and Saint Mary's entered the game's final 10 minutes up 28 points, 60-32.
 
And the fourth quarter saw more of the same. Both teams scored 13 points apiece in the fourth quarter, but the Cardinals' lead was too definitive to be touched by the Scots.
 
The Cardinals went just 38.6 percent from the field, going 27-for-70 and made just 6 of 21 from behind the arc. The Scots, meanwhile, shot 27.1 percent from the field (16-for-59).
 
Huisman finished with a team-high 17 points, while Blattner added 16 points and eight rebounds. Kirsten Keefe (Chatfield, Minn.) contributed 10 points, just three short of her career high.
 
Regan Fruh led the Scots with 16 points, while Leah Gray added nine and Tyana Loiselle finished with eight.
 
The Cardinals (3-5 MIAC, 8-7 overall) are back in action Wednesday, as they host Carleton in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown at 7 p.m. at Saint Mary's Gym.