NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team is back on the road on Wednesday, as the Cardinals travel to St. Olaf for a 7 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown with the Oles.
 
The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-2 MIAC | 8-3 Overall) at St. Olaf Oles (1-3 MIAC | 4-7 Overall)
 
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: Concordia scored the first eight points, and 10 of the first 11, and never relinquished the lead in handing the Cardinals a 55-41 conference setback Saturday in Moorhead, Minn. | Recap
• St. Olaf: Gustavus used an 11-0 run midway through the second half to come back and edge the Oles 64--62 Saturday in Northfield, Minn. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Olaf—A Year Ago:
• December 9, 2013: Sara Schoenthaler (White Bear Lake, Minn.) scored a career-high 15 points—knocking down three of the team's season-high nine 3-pointers—as the Cardinals pulled away from St. Olaf for a 68-57 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory at Skoglund Center in Northfield, Minn. | Recap
• January 29, 2014: Bridget Pethke (New London, Wis.) had so much fun scoring a career-high 15 points in Saint Mary's 85-73 win over Saint Benedict that the Cardinal sophomore decided to do it again vs. St. Olaf—in the first half. The Cardinal sophomore tossed in 18 first-half points—then added 14 more over the game's final 20 minutes for good measure—as the Pethke-led Cardinals cruised to their 13th straight victory, a 76-52 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over St. Olaf at the SMU Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
•  Saint Mary's: After back-to-back road games to start the new year, the Cardinals finally return home on Saturday, hosting Gustavus in a 1 p.m. conference contest at the Saint Mary's Gym.
• St. Olaf: The Oles are back on the Skoglund Center court on Saturday, hosting Hamline in a 1 p.m. MIAC tilt in Northfield, Minn.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2014-15 Roster | 2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Statistics
Wednesday's game against St. Olaf is the third straight road games for the Cardinals. … Saint Mary's 64-62 loss to North Park on Dec. 30 marked the first time since January of the 2011-12 season in which the Cardinals had lost consecutive games—a span of 72 straight games without dropping back-to-back decisions. … Shelby Auseth (Wanamingo, Minn.) and Octavia Brown (Broadview, Ill.) each scored nine points to lead the Cardinal offense in their 55-41 loss to Concordia last Saturday. … Molly O'Toole (Plymouth, Minn.)—who had scored 18 points in back-to-back games against Bethel and North Park—was held to eight points against the Cobbers. … O'Toole has scored 10 or more points in eight of the team's 11 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 on Dec. 30, 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 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). … O'Toole heads into Wednesday's conference showdown with St. Olaf boasting a team-leading 12.5 ppg scoring average, while Auseth—who owns a season-best 24-point effort against UM-Morris on Nov. 16—is also averaging in double figures at 11.7 ppg. … Pethke owns the team lead in rebounds (67, 6.1 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 drained 69 3-pointers this season—led by Schaefer with 18. … The Cardinals have outscored their first 11 opponents 355-264 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 two contests. … The Cardinals have held eight of their 11 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 64.7 ppg, while the Cardinals' opponents are scoring at a 57.2 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 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 St. Olaf Oles:
2014-15 Roster | 2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Statistics
Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's is the third of four straight home game for the Oles, who are 1-3 at Skoglund Center this season. … The Oles' last two losses have been by a combined three points—St. Olaf fell to Carleton 52-51 on Dec. 13, and lost to Gustavus 64-62 last Saturday. … Betsey Daly scored a game-high 17 points for the Oles in their 64-62 loss to Gustavus Saturday—it was the sixth time in 11 games that the sophomore has scored 10 or more points in a game. … Nikki Frogner, who missed the last 13-plus months with a knee injury, netted 13 points in 14 minutes in her return to the Ole lineup. … The Oles have had four different players lead them in scoring this season—Afton Wolter has done it six times, Daly three, and Wood Bandel and Sheridan Blandford once each. … Wolter and Daly—who have both scored a single-game season-high 20 points this season—enter Wednesday's showdown against Saint Mary's averaging 11.0 ppg and 10.1 ppg, respectively. … Daly is also the team's rebounding leader with 78 boards (7.1 rpg) through 11 games. … As a team, the Oles have drained 78 3-pointers, led by Wolter with 35. … Bandel owns a team-high 37 assists, five more than Lauren Gutierrez. … The Oles, who are averaging 52.8 ppg, scored a season-high 68 points in a 68-58 win over Luther on Nov. 20. … St. Olaf has led at halftime in all four of its wins this season. On the flip side, the Oles have trailed at the break in five of their seven losses—the two exceptions, their most recent losses vs. Carleton and Gustavus. St. Olaf led the Knights 31-26 and the Oles 34-26 after 20 minutes of play.