ST. JOSEPH, Minn. — Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball coach Mandy Pearson is probably hoping her Cardinals' season-opening 72-62 victory over UW-River Falls at the Saint Benedict Quinlivan & Hughes Tip-Off Tournament is a sign of good things to come.
 
After all, the Cardinals kicked off last year's season with a convincing win over another Wisconsin state school—UW-La Crosse—and went on to win a school school-tying 24 games and earn the program's first NCAA national tournament berth in nearly three decades.
 
The Cardinals took control early against the Falcons, breaking away from an 8-8 deadlock and building leads as big as 20—twice—in the opening half, before settling for a 19-point, 45-26, halftime advantage.
 
UW-River Falls used a 10-2 run to open the second half to cut the lead to 11, 47-36, but a 14-6 Cardinal burst pushed the lead back to 19, 61-42, with 13 minutes remaining in regulation.
 
The pesky Falcons continued to hang around, cutting the deficit to seven, 63-56, with 3:54 on the clock. That, however, would be as close as the Cardinals would let them get, as Saint Mary's closed out the final four minutes scoring nine of the final 15 points to seal the victory.
 
Pearson predicted that the Cardinals would spread the offensive wealth this season, and that's exactly what they did against UW-River Falls, putting four players in double figures—led by Shelby Auseth (Wanamingo, Minn.), who scored a game-high 18 points.
 
Emma Schaefer (Falcon Heights, Minn.)—fresh off an honorable-mention All-MIAC soccer season—chipped in 13 points, while Bridget Pethke (New London, Wis.) added 10 points and six assists, and Molly O'Toole (Plymouth, Minn.) recorded 10 points in her first collegiate game.
 
The Cardinals (1-0 overall) complete the two-day Quinlivan & Hughes Tip-Off Tournament on Sunday, squaring off against UM-Morris in a 1 p.m. nonconference game in St. Joseph, Minn.