WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team kicks off a four-game homestand on Tuesday, hosting UW-La Crosse in a 5 p.m. nonconference game at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-0 Overall) vs. UW-La Crosse Eagles (2-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | Video Preview | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals kicked off their season with a pair of victories last weekend in St. Joseph, Minn. Saint Mary's opened with a convincing 88-34 win over Crown last Saturday, before adding a 75-67 nonconference win over MIAC rival Saint Benedict a day later | Crown Recap * Saint Benedict Recap
• UW-La Crosse: The Eagles went 2-0 at the UW-Eau Claire Blugold Classic last weekend in Eau Claire, Wis.. UW-L opened with a 66-62 win over UW-Superior last Friday, and followed that up with an 86-64 win over St. Scholastica on Saturday | Superior Recap * St. Scholastica Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. UW-La Crosse—A Year Ago:
• November 25, 2014 * La Crosse, Wis.: Thanks to their 64-49 nonconference win over UW-La Crosse, the Cardinals pushed their season-opening winning streak to six straight—the longest since the 1985-86 team opened the season with 19 consecutive wins | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are right back on their home court on Sunday, hosting UW-Eau Claire in a 3 p.m. nonconference game at the Saint Mary's Gym.
• UW-La Crosse: The Eagles return home this weekend, hosting the Holiday Inn Express Thanksgiving Classic. UW-L will face Coe (Saturday) and Cornell (Sunday) in its two tournament games.
 
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 | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• Tuesday's game against UW-La Crosse is the home opener for the Cardinals, who 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. … The Cardinals erupted for 88 points in their season-opening win over Crown last Saturday. Saint Mary's netted 80 or more points three times a year ago—including a season-best 90 points in a 90-58 MIAC Playoff win over Gustavus on Feb. 24. … With their win over Crown last Saturday, the Cardinals have now won each of their last three season openers. … Saint Mary's held Crown to just seven first-half points in last Saturday's season-opening 88-34 win over the Storm. It was the fewest points allowed in a half in program history, breaking the old mark of 14 set by the 2013-14 team—also against Crown. … Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) led the Cardinals in scoring in both of their wins last weekend. The freshman netted 14 in Saint Mary's 88-35 win over Crown, then added 21 in the 75-67 victory vs. Saint Benedict. … Blattner also hauled in a team- and game-high 11 rebounds against Saint Benedict en route to her first collegiate double-double. … Saint Mary's boasted three-double-doubles a year ago—including 15 points and 11 boards from Bridget Pethke (New London, Wis.) vs. Hamline on Dec. 3. … Blattner enjoyed a perfect day in her 14-point showing against Crown, going 5-for-5 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free throw line. … Micaela Meredith (Bloomington, Minn.) equaled her career-high with an 18-point effort against Saint Benedict Sunday, while McKenzie Sommers (Arlington, Minn.) tallied a career-best 12 points vs. Crown last Saturday. … Saint Mary's boasted four players in double figures against Crown—Blattner, Sommers, Brigette Audette (Big Lake, Minn. / 11), and Emma Schaefer (Roseville, Minn. / 11)—while Blattner, Meredith, and Bridget Pethke (New London, Wis. / 13) all reached double figures against Saint Benedict. … The Cardinals put four or more players in double figures in a single game six times last season—including a season-high six in their win over St. Catherine on Jan. 21 … Saint Mary's played one overtime game last season—a 79-73 win over Concordia on Feb. 7. The Cardinals are 3-0 in their last three overtime games. … 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. … Last year's season-opening eight-game winning streak was the Cardinals' longest such streak since opening the 1985-86 season by rattling off 19 straight wins.
 
Scouting The UW-La Crosse Eagles:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• Tuesday's game at Saint Mary's is the fourth straight road contest for the Eagles, who do not play their home-opener until Saturday, when they host Coe in a nonconference game at Mitchell Hall. … After opening the season with a 10-point loss to Luther, the Eagles have won back-to-back games. … UW-La Crosse's 86 points against St. Scholastica were a season-high, and the most since scoring 88 in an 88-80, double-overtime win over UW-Stout on Jan. 27, 2010. … MaKenzie Miller scored a game- and season-high 20 points in the Eagles' win over St. Scholastica last Saturday, while Ellise DeNoyer chipped in 18 points. … Miller enters Tuesday's game against Saint Mary's averaging a team-leading 17.3 ppg, while DeNoyer is also averaging in double figures at 14.3 ppg. … As a team, UW-La Crosse is scoring at a 71.7 ppg clip, shooting 47 percent from the field (79-for-167. … UW-La Crosse has made just seven 3-pointers this season—four coming from Sierra Walrud, who is 4-for-4 from behind the arc. … Miller has hauled in a team-best 25 rebounds (9.3 rpg), four more than Cameron Chapin (21, 7.0 rpg). … Jenna Anderson has dished out a team-best 12 assists and added 10 steals in the Eagles' first three games. … UW-La Crosse has outscored its first three opponents 215-200, including 49-36 in the second quarter. … UW-L and its opponents have each scored 56 third-quarter points and 54 points in the fourth quarter.