WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team is back on its home court on Wednesday, as the Cardinals entertain Hamline in a 7 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (7-3 MIAC | 13-4 Overall) vs. Hamline Pipers (4-6 MIAC | 9-8 Overall)
 
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals once again played the majority of the game from out front in the team's rematch against Augsburg Saturday—in fact, after giving up a game-opening basket to the Auggies' Bridget Bednar, the Cardinals scored nine unanswered points and never relinquished the lead. But for the second straight meeting, no matter how hard the Cardinals tried, no lead was safe. Fortunately, the Cardinals used a five-minute, game-ending 8-4 run to turn a two-point, 43-41 lead into a 51-45 victory at Si Melby Hall in Minneapolis, Minn. | Recap
• Hamline: The Pipers came up short in their bid to sweep their two MIAC games with Concordia on Saturday, as the Cobbers held off Hamline 72-64 at Memorial Auditorium in Moorhead, Minn. | Recap

Saint Mary's vs. Hamline—Earlier This Year:
• December 3, 2014: Saint Mary's collected its seventh straight victory to open the season, putting four players in double figures—including a career-high 23-point effort from Molly O'Toole (Plymouth, Minn.)—as the Cardinals handed Hamline an 80-72 setback at Hutton Arena in St. Paul, Minn. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Hamline—A Year Ago:
• January 15, 2014: Down by as many as 15 points in the second half against Hamline, the Cardinals came storming back, using a 21-4 burst to take the lead for good en route to a 79-70 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win at Hutton Arena | Recap
• February 19, 2014: The Cardinals wrapped up at least a share of the conference regular-season crown, riding five double-figure scorers to an 83-63 win over Hamline at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
•  Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back in action on Saturday, traveling to Bethel's Robertson Center in Arden Hills, Minn., for a 1 p.m. conference rematch against the Royals.
• Hamline: Hamline is right back on its home court at Hutton Arena in St. Paul, Minn., on Saturday, as the Pipers entertain Gustavus in a 1 p.m. MIAC matchup
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2014-15 Roster | 2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Statistics
With their 51-45 win over Augsburg Saturday, the Cardinals pushed their winning streak to five straight, while extending their win streak over the Auggies to 10 in a row. … The Cardinals' 51 points vs. the Auggies were the fewest in a win since beating Macalester 51-40 on Jan. 9, 2013. … The Cardinals improved to 5-1 on their home court with last Wednesday's victory over St. Catherine. Saint Mary's is now 30-3 at the Saint Mary's Gym over the past three seasons. … The Cardinals' 80 points against St. Catherine last Wednesday equaled their season high—Saint Mary's also netted 80 points in an 80-72 victory over Hamline on Dec. 3. … Molly O'Toole (Plymouth, Minn.) and Emma Schaefer (Falcon Heights, Minn.) shared the team scoring lead against Augsburg Saturday, scoring 10 points each. … O'Toole has now led, or shared the team lead, in each of the Cardinals' last five games. … Saint Mary's boasted six players in double figures in its win over St. Catherine last Wednesday—O'Toole (19), Micaela Meredith (Bloomington, Minn. / 16), Schaefer (12), Octavia Brown (Broadview, Ill. / 11), Sara Schoenthaler (White Bear Lake, Minn. / 10), and Shelby Auseth (Wanamingo, Minn. / 10). … The Cardinals have now had six players score in double figures in each of their last two seasons—Saint Mary's had six score 10 or more points against Crown a year ago. … Saint Mary's has put four or more players in double figures five times this season—including three of their last four games. … With her 10 points against Augsburg, 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 13 of the team's 17 games this season. … O'Toole and Auseth 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. … The Cardinals have six players who have recorded single-game career-highs of 10 points or more this season—O'Toole (23), Meredith (17), Schaefer (15), Natalie Larson (North Branch, Minn. / 14), Sam Jones (White Bear Lake, Minn. / 12), and Kayla Lardy (Fairmont, Minn. / 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 Hamline averaging in double figures at 13.3 ppg and 11.5 ppg, respectively. … O'Toole owns a team-leading 92 rebounds (5.4 rpg), six more than Auseth. … 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 107 3-pointers this season, and have six players with 10 or more treys—Schaefer (26), Auseth (17), Meredith (17),  Schoenthaler (16), O'Toole (12), and Pethke (10). … The Cardinals, who have been held under 60 points just three times this season—including Saturday's 51-45 win over Augsburg—have outscored their first 17 opponents 551-435 in the game's opening 20 minutes. … The Cardinals have held 11 of their 17 opponents to less than 30 first-half points. … Saint Mary's is averaging 65.9 ppg, while the Cardinals' opponents are scoring at a 58.2 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 Hamline Pipers:
2014-15 Roster | 2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Statistics
The Pipers head into Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's looking to put an end to a three-game losing streak. … Wednesday's showdown with Saint Mary's is the second of back-to-back road games for the Pipers, who are 5-4 in games away from Hutton Arena this season. … Jordan Sammons scored 18 points against Concordia last Saturday, becoming the Pipers' all-time leading scorer. Sammons heads into HU's game vs. Saint Mary's with 1,665 career points. … Chloe Graves poured in a career-high 25 points against the Cobbers Saturday—including five 3-pointers—while Chelsey Bonsante chipped in 14. … Graves' team-high 25 points last Saturday snapped a streak of seven straight games in which Sammons led the team in scoring. … Sammons has been the team's single-game scoring leader 14 times, and has netted 20 or more points 11 times—including a season-high 30 points twice. Sammons tallied 30 vs. UW-Oshkosh in the Pipers' season-opener, and equaled that mark in Hamline's first meeting with Saint Mary's on Dec. 3. … Bonsante owns the team's highest single-game performance, scoring 31 points against Northwestern on Nov. 22. … Hamline heads to Saint Mary's boasting three players who are averaging in double figures—Sammons (22.8), Bonsante (14.8) and Graves (10.9). … Sammons' 22.8 ppg scoring average not only leads the team, but the entire MIAC. … Sammons also leads the team in rebounds with 152 (8.9 rpg), while Graves is the team's assist leader (61) and Alex Peterson owns a team-leading 33 blocks. … Hamline has drained 100 3-pointers through 17 games, led by Bonsante (36) and Graves (30). … Hamline, which is averaging 68.2 ppg, has scored 80 or more points in a game twice—including a season-high 95-point effort in a 95-89 win over UW-Stout on Nov. 25. … The Pipers have played a pair of overtime games—in a four-day span—beating Northwestern 82-75 and UW-Stout 95-89.