WINONA, Minn. — After back-to-back road games to kick off the new year, the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team returns home on Saturday, hosting Gustavus in a 1 p.m. conference game at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-3 MIAC | 8-4 Overall) vs. Gustavus Gusties (4-1 MIAC | 10-2 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: St. Olaf's Betsy Daly scored on a driving layup with 1.6 seconds remaining in regulation, erasing a one-point Cardinal lead and lifting the Oles to a 66-65 victory over Saint Mary's Wednesday at Skoglund Center in Northfield, Minn. | Recap
• Gustavus: The Gusties used a fast start and one of their most balanced offensive performances of the season to cruise to an 83-49 conference victory over Augsburg Wednesday night at Si Melby Hall in Minneapolis, Minn. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Gustavus—A Year Ago:
• January 18, 2014: Saint Mary's had to overcome a 10-point first-half deficit—not to mention trailing by eight midway through the second half—before using a late 21-5 burst to secure a 67-58 conference victory over Gustavus at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• February 15, 2014: The Cardinals needed overtime to shake upset-minded Gustavus—getting four points from Courtney Euerle (Litchfield, Minn.) and three from Bridget Pethke (New London, Wis.) in the five-minute extra session en route to a 69-62 conference victory at Gus Young Court in St. Peter, Minn. | Recap
 
Up Next:
•  Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back on their home court on Wednesday, hosting Saint Benedict in a 7 p.m. MIAC contest.
• Gustavus: The Gusties return to Gus Young Court in St. Peter, Minn., on Wednesday, hosting Concordia in a 5:45 conference showdown.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2014-15 Roster | 2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Statistics
Wednesday's game against St. Olaf was the third straight road games for the Cardinals. … Saturday's game against Gustavus is the first of back-to-back home games for the Cardinals—who are 27-3 at home over the past three seasons. … Shelby Auseth (Wanamingo, Minn.) scored a game-high 22 points against St. Olaf Wednesday—marking the second time this season the junior has eclipsed the 20-point barrier. She netted a season-high 24 points against UM-Morris on Nov. 16. … Auseth—who has led the team in scoring in each of its last two games—was a perfect 12-for-12 from the free throw line vs. the Oles. As a team, the Cardinals drained 22 of their 23 attempts from the charity stripe. … Bridget Pethke (New London, Wis.) also scored in double figures vs. St. Olaf Wednesday, finishing with 11 points. … Molly O'Toole (Plymouth, Minn.) has scored 10 or more points in eight of the team's 12 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 this season. 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 on Dec. 30, knocking down 5 of 6 3-pointers—including four in the second half. … 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 have boasted four players in double figures in a game three times this season. … 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). … Auseth and O'Toole head into Saturday's conference showdown with Gustavus averaging in double figures at 12.6 ppg and 12.3 ppg, respectively. … Pethke owns the team lead in rebounds (67, 5.6 rpg) and assists (59). … 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 Dec. 30. The Cardinals' 12 treys are the most since draining 12 3s against Carleton on Jan. 4, 2010. … As a team, the Cardinals have made 69 3-pointers this season—led by Schaefer with 19. … The Cardinals have outscored their first 12 opponents 387-297 in the game's opening 20 minutes. … After leading at the half in their first nine games, the Cardinals have trailed at the break in each of their last three contests. … The Cardinals have held eight of their 12 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 64.8 ppg, while the Cardinals' opponents are scoring at a 57.9 ppg clip. … 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. … 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 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 Gustavus Gusties:
2014-15 Roster | 2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Statistics
Wednesday's win over Augsburg pushed the Gusties' winning streak to a season-high six straight. … Gustavus' 83 points in its 83-49 win over Augsburg were a season high—and marked the third time this season GAC has netted 80 or more points. The Gusties beat Crown 81-31 and UM-Morris 82-67. … Gustavus' 34-point margin of victory over the Auggies on Wednesday was the second largest of the season—GAC beat Crown by 50, 81-31, on Nov. 15. … Hannah Howard scored a game- and season-high 19 points against Augsburg Wednesday. oward, whose previous single-game high was 12 points against Hamline on Dec. 13, went 7-for-8 from the field and 5-for-8 from the free throw line.… Mikayla Miller and Lindsey Johnson also scored in double figures against the Auggies, finishing with 16 and 13 points, respectively. … With her 19-point effort against Augsburg, Howard became the third different Gustie player to lead the team in scoring the last three games. … GAC shot a season-best 55.7 percent (34-for-61) vs. the Auggies. … Miller enters Saturday's game against Saint Mary's averaging a team-high 18.7 ppg. She is the only Gustie averaging 10 or more points a game this season. … Miler also owns a team-high 72 rebounds (6.0 rpg), while also boasting team highs in assists (44) and steals (40). … Kelsey Carpenter and Miller have combined for 34 of the team's 50 3-pointers—Carpenter has drained a team-leading 18 treys, two more than Miller. … As a team, Gustavus is shooting 74 percent from the free throw line (205-for-277). … Gustavus has outscored its opponents 415-334—including 426-382 after halftime. … GAC has played one overtime game this season, beating UW-River Falls 65-57 on Dec. 30.