By ALEX NUEHRING
Saint Mary's Sports Information Intern

WINONA, Minn. — After losing to Augsburg 59-69 on Dec. 2, the Saint Mary's University women's basketball team was looking for a little payback as the Cardinals hosted the Auggies in a pivotal game in the chase for one of the six Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference playoff spots.

And Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.)—who was honored before the game for recording her 1,000^th career point—made sure that the Cardinals came away the critical win, scoring a career-high 30 points and grabbing 15 rebounds to notch her ninth double-double of the season and lead the Cardinals to the 77-58 win at the Saint Mary's Gym.

Despite the 19-point margin of victory, things didn't start out too well for Saint Mary's, as Augsburg scored the games first six points.
Saint Mary's got going thanks to their offense and defense: Blattner scored three straight points to propel the Cardinals to a 7-0 run, while their defense forced Augsburg into a pair of two turnovers.

After an Auggie basket, the Cardinals went on another run, this time 6-0, to make it 13-8. Augsburg would net a last-second 3-pointer to cut the Saint Mary's lead to two, 13-11 at the end of first quarter.

Saint Mary's began the second quarter on a 10-4 run—thanks to a 3-pointer by Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn.) and a three-point play by Claire Patterson (Marine, Minn.) to give the Cardinals a 23-15 lead with 6:20 left in the first half.

And the Cardinals were just getting started.

Saint Mary's continued its hot shooting from the field, making three more 3-pointers on their way to a 29-point second quarter showing—and a commanding 42-25 lead at the half.

The Auggies began the second half by scoring six of the first eight points to trim the Cardinal's lead to 13—but Blattner was having none of that. The junior scored six points to fuel an 8-1 run to push Saint Mary's lead to 20, 52-32, with 4:04 left in the third quarter.

With Saint Mary's leading 59-40 to open the fourth quarter, Augsburg went on a 6-0 run—highlighted by a 3-pointer by Tamira McLemore—to make it 69-54 with 4:35 left in the game.

The Cardinals iced the game with four free throws—two by Blattner and two by Abby Winter (Winona, Minn.).

Along with Blattner's career night, the Cardinals also got double-digit scoring from Huisman who finished with 11 points, and Patterson, who chipped in a career-high 10 points. Winter, meanwhile, joined Blattner in double figures in rebounds, finishing with 10.

The Auggies were led by McLemore with 20 points and five rebounds. No other Augsburg player hit double-digits.

Saint Mary's (7-5 MIAC, 12-7 overall) will play another home game on Wednesday, hosting St. Catherine in a 7 p.m. conference game at the Saint Mary's Gym.