MOORHEAD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, traveling to Memorial Auditorium in Moorhead, Minn., for a 1 p.m. showdown with Concordia.
 
The Matchup:
No. 21/22 Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-1 MIAC | 8-2 Overall) at Concordia Cobbers (1-1 MIAC | 5-4 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats * Live Video
 
National Rankings:
• Saint Mary's is ranked No. 21 in the latest USA Today Sports Coaches Poll, released Tuesday, while holding down the No. 22 spot in the D3hoops.com Top 25.
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals outscored host North Park 39-30 over the game's final 20 minutes, but could not overcome an 11-point halftime deficit, falling to the Vikings 64-62 Tuesday in Chicago, Ill. | Recap
• Concordia: The Cobbers have been off since Dec. 10, when Valley City State used a game-ending 8-2 run to beat Concordia 66-59 in a nonconference game at Memorial Auditorium in Moorhead, Minn. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Concordia—A Year Ago:
• January 4, 2014: Saint Mary's entered its showdown with Concordia having won three straight, while the Cobbers were winners of two straight and five of their last six. The Cobbers also boasted a pair of rather lengthy streaks against Saint Mary's—owning an 18-game winning streak against the Cardinals, including the last 11 meetings at Memorial Auditorium. When the final horn sounded, only one of those winning streaks remained intact—the Cardinals'. Saint Mary's quickly erased a four-point, halftime deficit, built its lead to as many as 12 in the second half, and held off a late Cobber rally to collect a key, 66-57 conference win. | Recap
• February 1, 2014: Courtney Euerle (Litchfield, Minn.) and Mariam Awoniyi (Country Club Hills, Ill.) each posted double-doubles, while Shelby Auseth (Wanamingo, Minn.) and Darcey Rice (Eagan, Minn.) also scored in double figures, as the Cardinals held off the Cobbers 72-69 at the Saint Mary's Gym to complete their season sweep of Concordia—and put Saint Mary's two games in front of CC in the conference standings | Recap
 
Up Next:
•  Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back on the road on Wednesday, heading to Northfield, Minn., for a 7 p.m. conference game against St. Olaf.
• Concordia: The Cobbers are right back in action on Monday, as Concordia heads to St. Paul, Minn., for a 5:45 p.m. MIAC showdown with Macalester.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2014-15 Roster | 2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Statistics
Saturday's game against Concordia is the second of three straight road games for the Cardinals, who do not return home until Jan. 10, when they host Gustavus in a 1 p.m. contest. … Saint Mary's 64-62 loss to North Park marked the first time since January of the 2011-12 season in which the Cardinals have dropped back-to-back games—a span of 72 straight games without dropping back-to-back decisions. … The Cardinals' 51-47 loss to Bethel on Dec. 8 snapped their season-opening eight-game winning streak—their longest such streak since opening the 1985-86 season by rattling off 19 straight wins. … Molly O'Toole (Plymouth, Minn.) scored a team-high 18 points against North Park Tuesday. It was the second straight 18-point effort for O'Toole. … O'Toole has now scored in double figures in five consecutive contests and eight times in 10 games this season. … O'Toole recorded a career-high 23 points in Saint Mary's win over Hamline on Dec. 3—marking the second time she has eclipsed the 20-point barrier. O'Toole netted a then-career-high 21 points vs. UW-Stout on Nov. 21. … Micaela Meredith (Bloomington, Minn.) netted a career-best 15 points against North Park, knocking down 5 of 6 3-pointers—including four in the second half. … Bridget Pethke (New London, Wis.) recorded her first collegiate double-double against Hamline on Dec. 3, scoring 15 points and adding a career-best 11 rebounds. The junior guard also dished out a career high eight assists. … Pethke's 11-rebound performance vs. Hamline was the second time this season a Cardinal player has recorded 10 or more rebounds in a game—Kayla Lardy (Fairmont, Minn.) hauled in a career-best 10 boards against Crown on Nov. 22. … The Cardinals boasted four players in double figures in their win over Hamline on Dec. 3. It was the third time in 10 games Saint Mary's has put four players in double figures in the same game. … The Cardinals have five players who have recorded single-game career-highs of 10 points or more this season—O'Toole (23), Meredith (15), Emma Schaefer (Falcon Heights, Minn. / 14), Natalie Larson (North Branch, Minn. / 14), and Sam Jones (White Bear Lake, Minn. / 12). … O'Toole heads into Saturday's conference showdown with Concordia boasting a team-leading 13.0 ppg scoring average, while Shelby Auseth (Wanamingo, Minn.)—who owns a season-best 24-point effort against UM-Morris on Nov. 16—is also averaging in double figures at 12.0 ppg. … Pethke owns the team lead in rebounds (59, 5.9 rpg) and assists (57). … Pethke finished with a single-season career-high 128 assists last season, which ranks No. 3 all-time. … Saint Mary's knocked down a season-high 12 3-pointers against North Park on Tuesday. The Cardinals' 12 treys are the most since draining 12 3s against Carleton on Jan. 4, 2010. … As a team, the Cardinals have drained 69 3-pointers this season—led by Schaefer with 18. … The Cardinals have outscored their first nine opponents 335-234 in the game's opening 20 minutes. … The Cardinals' 34-23 halftime deficit vs. North Park Tuesday marked the first time in their first 10 games that Saint Mary's has trailed at halftime. … The Cardinals have held eight of their 10 opponents to less than 30 first-half points. … Saint Mary's—which scored a season-high 80 points against Hamline on Dec. 3—is averaging 67.1 ppg, while the Cardinals' opponents are scoring at a 57.4 ppg clip. … Saint Mary's loss to Bethel on Dec. 8 marked the second straight season the Royals have handed the Cardinals their first conference loss of the season—BU won 78-69 in the teams' first meeting a year ago. … The Cardinals' 51-47 loss to Bethel snapped their 17-game regular-season home winning streak—dating back to a 64-54 loss to Concordia on Feb. 3, 2013. … The Cardinals are 27-3 at home over the past three seasons. … The Cardinals made their first NCAA national tournament appearance since the 1985-86 season a year ago, falling to UW-Oshkosh 71-61 in the regional semifinal.
 
Scouting The Concordia Cobbers:
2014-15 Roster | 2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Statistics
Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the third straight home game for the Cobbers, who are 2-1 on their home court this season. … The Cobbers have not lost back-to-back games this season, while putting together a pair of two-game winning streak. … Concordia is averaging 65.8 ppg and scored a season-high 97 points in a 97-78 win over Mayville State on Nov. 18. … CC's 66-59 loss to Valley City State was its last nonconference game of the season—the Cobbers finished 4-3 in their seven non-league contests. … Alley Fisher enters Saturday's game against Saint Mary's as the only Cobber averaging in double figures, scoring at a 14.4 ppg clip. … Fisher is also the team-leader in field goal attempts (109), field goals made (45), 3-pointers (20-for-53), assists (28), and steals (29). … Olivia Johnson owns a team-best 70 rebounds (7.8 rpg), while Erin Januschka has amassed nine blocked shots. … Fisher owns the Cobbers' lone 20-point game this season, netting 24 points in the Cobbers' 97-78 win over Mayville State on Nov. 18. … Fisher has led the team in scoring in four of their nine games. … CC has outscored its opponents 592-552—including 324-297 in the second half.