WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team returns to the Saint Mary's Gym on Wednesday, as the Cardinals play host to St. Catherine in a 7 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest.
 
The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (5-3 MIAC | 11-4 Overall) vs. St. Catherine Wildcats (2-6 MIAC | 7-8 Overall)
 
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Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals, who could not shake the pesky Scots in the first half, erupted for 43 second-half points in cruising to a 76-54 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory Saturday at Leonard Center in St. Paul, Minn. | Recap
• St. Catherine: The Wildcats came out flat in their conference game against St. Olaf Saturday, couldn't find its shooting touch, and fell to the Oles 56-43 at Butler Center in St. Paul, Minn. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Catherine—A Year Ago:
• January 8, 2014: The Cardinals scored the game's first 10 points and used a 9-0 run to open the second half in cruising to a 77-47 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over St. Catherine at Butler Center in St. Paul, Minn. | Recap
• February 12, 2014: t took Saint Mary's a bit to get its offense warmed up, but once they did, St. Catherine did not stand a chance. It didn't hurt that the Cardinals' always-tenacious defense was at its best from start to finish. Saint Mary's rebounded from a 25-point first-half performance—scoring 45 points over the game's final 20 minutes and forcing the Wildcats into 28 turnovers—as the Cardinals cruised to a 66-36 conference win over St. Catherine at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
•  Saint Mary's: The Cardinals hit the road on Saturday, as Saint Mary's heads to Si Melby Hall on the Augsburg campus in Minneapolis, Minn., for a 1 p.m. conference game against the Auggies.
• St. Catherine: The Wildcats return home to the Butler Center in St. Paul, Minn., on Saturday, as SCU entertains Gustavus in a 3 p.m. conference matchup.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2014-15 Roster | 2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Statistics
The Cardinals pushed their winning streak against St. Catherine to four straight with their two wins a year ago. Both wins against the Wildcats last season were by 30 points in both games a year ago—winning 77-47 and 66-36. … With last Wednesday's 63-59 victory over Saint Benedict, the Cardinals improved to 29-3 at home over the past three seasons. … The Cardinals' 76-54 win over Macalester Saturday pushed their winning streak to three straight. … The Cardinals' 74-67 win over Gustavus on Jan. 10 snapped their season-high four-game losing streak. … Molly O'Toole (Plymouth, Minn.) and Micaela Meredith (Bloomington, Minn.) shared the team lead with 17 points each vs. Macalester Saturday. … O'Toole has now led, or shared the team lead, in each of the Cardinals' last three games. … O'Toole and Meredith were two of four players to score in double figures against the Scots Saturday—Emma Schaefer (Falcon Heights, Minn.) and Sara Schoenthaler (White Bear Lake, Minn.) chipped in 14 and 11 points, respectively. … The Cardinals have boasted four players in double figures in a game four times this season—including each of their last two games. … With her 17 points against Macalester, O'Toole—who scored a career-high 23 points in Saint Mary's win over Hamline on Dec. 3—has scored 10 or more points in 11 of the team's 15 games this season. … O'Toole and Shelby Auseth (Wanamingo, Minn.) have each eclipsed the 20-point barrier twice this season—O'Toole scoring 23 vs. Hamline on Dec. 3 and 21 points vs. UW-Stout on Nov. 21, and Auseth adding 24 points against UM-Morris on Nov. 16 and 22 points against St. Olaf on Jan. 7. … Auseth was a perfect 12-for-12 from the free throw line en route to her 22-point effort vs. St. Olaf on Jan. 7. … Meredith's 17 points against Macalester were a season high. … The Cardinals now have six players who have recorded single-game career-highs of 10 points or more this season—O'Toole (23), Meredith (17), Emma Schaefer (Falcon Heights, Minn. / 15), Natalie Larson (North Branch, Minn. / 14), Sam Jones (White Bear Lake, Minn. / 12), and Lardy (10). … As a team, the Cardinals drained 22 of their 23 attempts from the charity stripe against St. Olaf on Jan. 7. … 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—Lardy hauled in a career-best 10 boards against Crown on Nov. 22. … O'Toole and Auseth head into Wednesday's conference showdown with St. Catherine averaging in double figures at 13.1 ppg and 11.8 ppg, respectively. … Auseth owns a team-leading 77 rebounds (5.1 rpg), three more than O'Toole. … 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 97 3-pointers this season, and have six players with 10 or more treys through 15 games—Schaefer (24), Auseth (16), Schoenthaler (14), O'Toole (11), Meredith (13), and Pethke (10). … The Cardinals have outscored their first 15 opponents 490-389 in the game's opening 20 minutes. … The Cardinals have held nine of their 15 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 66.0 ppg, while the Cardinals' opponents are scoring at a 58.3 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 St. Catherine Wildcats:
2014-15 Roster | 2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Statistics
Saturday's 56-43 loss to St. Olaf was the Wildcats' second straight setback—it was also the second consecutive game St. Catherine failed to score 50 points. … After opening the season with six wins in their first eight games, the Wildcats are 1-6 in their last eight. … LaShay Holt scored a team-high 12 points in SCU's loss to St. Olaf Saturday—she was the only Wildcat with more than nine points. … Holt is the third different leading scorer in St. Catherine's last three games. … Holt has led the team in scoring in seven of its 15 games. … Holt enters Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's averaging 14.5 ppg, while Audra Clark is second at 10.7 ppg. … The Wildcats have had a player score 20 or more points four times this season—three times by Holt and once by Shauna Horsch. … Holt scored a season-high 28 points against Northwestern on Dec. 10, while adding 24 points against Saint Benedict on Dec. 14 and 21 vs. Gustavus on Dec. 6. Horsch, meanwhile, poured in 24 points against Macalester on Jan. 10. … Holt and Clark share the team lead with 51 assists each, while Holt has also amassed a team-high 43 steals. … SCU has drained 93 3-pointers this season, and boasts five players with 10 or more treys—Mary Neumann (21), Horsch (17), Clark (14), Holt (12), and Alexis Garcia (11). … As a team, SCU has scored 70 or more points six times in their 15 games—including 81 against WIT on Nov. 15 and a season-high 83 vs. North Central on Nov. 25. … St. Catherine is averaging 64.1 ppg, while the Wildcats' opponents are scoring at a 62.1 ppg clip. … The Wildcats have been outscored by 18 points (473-455) in the first half, but hold a 506-459 scoring edge after halftime. … SCU has played one overtime game this season, falling to Concordia-Chicago 87-78 on Dec. 30.