ST. JOSEPH, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team officially kicks off its 2015-16 season this weekend with a pair of games at Saint Benedict. The Cardinals will face Crown in a 3 p.m. contest on Saturday, and then will face the host Blazers in a 3 p.m. matchup a day later.
 
The Matchups:
Saturday, November 21, 2015 | St. Joseph, Minn.
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-0 Overall) vs. Crown Storm (0-1 Overall)
Sunday, November 22, 2015 | St. Joseph, Minn.
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-0 Overall) at Saint Benedict (1-0 Overall)
 
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: the Cardinals unofficially opened their season last Saturday, dropping a 90-68 decision to NCAA Division II and 16th-ranked Winona State in an exhibition game at McCown Gym | Recap
• Crown: St. Catherine outscored the Storm 25-10 in the first quarter Monday and never looked back in handing Crown an 89-58 nonconference loss in St. Paul, Minn. | Recap
• Saint Benedict: The Blazers kicked off their season in nail-biting fashion, outscoring UW-Stout 23-15 in the fourth quarter en route to a 69-64 nonconference win last Saturday in Menomonie, Wis. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Crown—A Year Ago:
• November 22, 2014 * St. Bonifacius, Minn.: Saint Mary's scored the game's first nine points, led 19-2 early and never took their foot off the accelerator in cruising to a 73-38 nonconference win—and a perfect 5-0 start to the season | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Saint Benedict—A Year Ago:
• January 14, 2015 * Winona, Minn.: Thanks to a balanced offense that saw four Cardinals score in double figures, Saint Mary's ran its winning streak against the Blazers to seven straight, rallying from a two-point halftime deficit to beat Saint Benedict 63-59 at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• February 11, 2015 * St. Joseph, Minn.: The Blazers erupted for 18 unanswered points to open the second half and the Cardinals never recovered, as CSB dealt Saint Mary's a 73-54 conference setback at Claire Lynch Hall | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: Following this weekend's two games, the Cardinals are right back on the court on Tuesday, hosting UW-La Crosse in a 7 p.m. contest at the Saint Mary's Gym.
• Crown: The Storm are back on the road on Tuesday, traveling to Northfield, Minn., for a 7 p.m. exhibition game against St. Olaf.
• Saint Benedict: The Blazers play their third game in as many days on Monday, heading to New Ulm, Minn., for a 7 p.m. nonconference game against Martin Luther.
 
New This Season:
• To increase the flow of the game, women's games will no longer be played in halves, but will consist of four, 10-minute quarters with a 15-minute halftime intermission. Any overtime period will be five minutes in length with a one-minute intermission before each. Intermissions between the first and second and third and fourth periods will be 75 seconds.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015-16 Roster | 2014-15 Final Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• The Cardinals made their fourth straight appearance in the MIAC Playoffs a year ago. … Saint Mary's has won at least one playoff game during its current four-year run. The Cardinals reached the MIAC semifinals in 2011-12, 2012-13, and 2014-15, while reaching the conference playoff title game in 2013-14. … Emma Schaefer (Roseville, Minn.)—the Cardinals' top offensive returner, averaging 9.6 ppg en route to her All-MIAC First-Team honor a year ago—scored a team-high 17 points in the Cardinals' 90-68 exhibition loss to 16th-ranked Winona State. … Schaefer was one of three players to score in double figures vs. the Warriors—Brigette Audette (Big Lake, Minn.) and Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn.) added 16 and 14 points, respectively. … Schaefer netted a season- and career-high 26 points in Saint Mary's 90-58 MIAC Playoff quarterfinal win over Gustavus. … Schaefer closed out last season leading the team in scoring in three of its last four games—all Cardinal wins. … The Cardinals boasted three double-doubles last season, including 15 points and 11 boards from Bridget Pethke (New London, Wis.) vs. Hamline on Dec. 3. … Saint Mary's had a player record 10 or more rebounds four times last season. … The Cardinals had eight players record single-game career-highs of 10 points or more a year ago. … The Cardinals put four or more players in double figures six times last season—including a season-high six in their win over St. Catherine on Jan. 21 … The Cardinals shot a season-best 60 percent from the field against Gustavus in the MIAC Playoff quarterfinals—knocking down 11 of their first 12 shots and finishing 29-for-48, including 9 of 12 from the 3-point line. … Saint Mary's 60 percent effort from the field vs. Gustavus was their best since shooting at a 61 percent clip (44-for-72) against Crown on Nov. 23, 2013. … The Cardinals drained a season-high 26 free throws in their OT win over Concordia on Feb. 7. … Saint Mary's knocked down a season-high 12 3-pointers against North Park on Dec. 30. The Cardinals' 12 treys were the most since draining 12 3s against Carleton on Jan. 4, 2010. … As a team, the Cardinals finished with 156 3-pointers last season, and boasted six players with 10 or more treys—led by Schaefer with 37. … Saint Mary's win over Concordia on Feb. 7 was the Cardinals' only overtime game of the season. The Cardinals are now 3-0 in their last three overtime games. … The Cardinals outscored their opponents 868-749 in the game's opening 20 minutes last season. … The Cardinals held 18 of their 27 opponents to 30 points or less in the first half. … Saint Mary's scored a season-high 48 points in the first half vs. Gustavus in the MIAC Playoff quarterfinals—it was the fifth time the Cardinals netted 40 or more points in the opening 20 minutes. … As a team, Saint Mary's averaged 64.9 ppg, while the Cardinals' opponents scored at a 61.5 ppg clip. … The Cardinals finished 10-1 on their home court a year ago. Saint Mary's is 35-3 at the Saint Mary's Gym over the past three seasons. … With their 90-point outburst vs. Gustavus in the MIAC Playoff quarterfinals, Saint Mary's scored 80 or more points three times last season—adding 80-point efforts vs. Hamline (80-72) on Dec. 5 and St. Catherine (80-70) on Jan. 21. … The Cardinals put together winning streaks of eight, six games, and three to account for 17 of their 18 wins. … Saint Mary's season-opening eight-game winning streak was its longest such streak since opening the 1985-86 season by rattling off 19 straight wins.
 
Scouting The Crown Storm:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• Friday and Saturday's games against Saint Benedict and Saint Mary's are the third and fourth of five straight road games for the Storm. … This weekend's contests are also the third and fourth of six consecutive games against teams from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference—Crown fell to St. Catherine xx-xx in its season-opener on Monday, and, after facing Saint Benedict and Saint Mary's, will travel to St. Olaf for an exhibition game next Tuesday, before hosting Macalester and Hamline on the Storm's home court on Nov. 28 and Nov. 30. … The Storm are coming off a 3-22 season a year ago, including an 0-7 showing against MIAC foes. … Jessica Klaustermeier scored a team-high 13 points in the Storm's season-opening loss to St. Catherine Monday, while Hannah Malone chipped in 10 points. … Klaustermeier and Katie Hinkel each collected a team-best five rebounds against the Wildcats Monday, while Andrea Besa, Charmaine Begay, and Malone all added a pair of assists. … Crown surrendered 20 or more points in all four quarters vs. St. Catherine—the Storm were outscored 25-10 in the first, 20-12 in the second, 22-16 in the third, and 22-20 in the fourth. … The Wildcats' 89 points Monday were the most allowed by the Storm since Bethany Lutheran scored 92 in a 92-53 win on Feb. 22, 2014.
 
Scouting The Saint Benedict Blazers:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• Saint Benedict finished 12-13 overall and 9-9 a year ago, missing the league's post-season tournament for the second straight year. … This weekend's games against Crown and Saint Mary's are the home openers for Saint Benedict, which finished 6-6 on its home court last season. … Six of CSB's first eight games this season are on their home floor. … Saint Benedict put four players in double figures in its season-opening 69-64 win over UW-Stout last Saturday. … Annie Ditterner led the Blazer offensive attack vs. the Blue Devils, scoring 14 points, while Katie Banovetz (11), Chelsey Guetter (10), and Niki Fokken (10) also reached double figures. … Fokken also hauled in a team-high 11 rebounds en route to her first double-double of the season. … CSB went 20-for-33 from the free throw line against the Blue Devils. … This season's Blazer roster includes three juniors, seven sophomores and six first years. Of those 16, six played in at least 20 of CSB's 25 games in 2014-15 and two others—Guetter (Augustana) and Morgan Merritt (Sioux Falls)—head into the new season with a year of NCAA Division II experience under their belts. … Heading into his 30th season as CSB's head coach, Mike Durbin and the Blazers are three wins away from the 500-win milestone in conference play. Since 1985, Durbin has guided Saint Benedict to a 497-136 mark and a .785 winning percentage in conference contests.