APPLETON, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team steps out of conference play on Wednesday, traveling to Lawrence for a 5 p.m. nonconference game against the Vikings.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (8-1 Overall) at Lawrence Vikings (0-8 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals suffered their first loss of the season on Dec. 19, falling to UW-Stevens Point 68-44 at Berg Gym in Stevens Point, Wis. | Recap
• Lawrence: The Vikings dropped both of their games at the Post Exam Jam in Holland, Mich., on Dec. 18-19, falling to Hope 91-43 and Alma 68-57 | Hope Recap * Alma Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Lawrence—Their Last Meeting:
• Wednesday's game between the Cardinals and Vikings is the first in program history.
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals close out the nonconference portion of their schedule on Saturday, entertaining UW-Stout in a 2 p.m. contest at the Saint Mary's Gym.
• Lawrence: The Vikings are back on their home court on Saturday, hosting Grinnell in a 3 p.m. showdown in Appleton, Wis.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• The Cardinals' 68-44 loss to UW-Stevens Point on Dec. 19 snapped their season-opening eight-game losing streak. … Saint Mary's has now opened the season with eight consecutive wins in back-to-back seasons. It was the longest season-opening winning streak since opening the 1985-86 season by rattling off 19 straight wins. … With their win over Carleton on Dec. 16, the Cardinals improved to 5-0 on their home court this season—and moved to 40-3 at the Saint Mary's Gym over the past four seasons. … Brigette Audette (Big Lake, Minn.) scored a team-high nine points against UW-Stevens Point on Dec. 19, while Micaela Meredith (Bloomington, Minn.) chipped in eight and Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) finished with seven. … The Cardinals' game against UW-Stevens Point marked the first time this season Saint Mary's leader scoring has not scored 10 or more points. … Blattner scored a career-high 22 points against Carleton on Dec. 16. … Blattner has now scored 20 or more points twice this season—the freshman netted a then-career best 21 points vs. Saint Benedict on Nov. 21. … Meredith recorded a career-high 23 points in the Cardinals' win over Gustavus on Dec. 2. It was the second straight game in which the senior posted a career-best performance—she scored 22 points against UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 29. … Blattner and Meredith have accounted for all four of the Cardinals' 20-point performances this season. … The Cardinals had 11 players see court time against the Knights on Dec. 16—and all 11 scored at least two points. … Bridget Pethke (New London, Wis.) became the fourth different player to lead the team in scoring in the Cardinals' win over Macalester on Dec. 5, netting a team-best 14 points. … Blattner hauled in a career-high 19 rebounds in Saint Mary's win over UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 29. It was the Cardinals' highest single-game rebounding performance in the last two decades. … Blattner scored 21 points and tallied 11 boards vs. Saint Benedict on Nov. 22, and added a 12-point, 19-rebound effort against UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 29 en route to her first two collegiate double-doubles. … Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn.) recorded a career-high 14 points against Carleton on Dec. 16, while McKenzie Sommers (Arlington, Minn.) tallied a career-best 12 points vs. Crown on Nov. 21. … The Cardinals head into their nonconference game against Lawrence boasting a pair of players averaging in double figures—Meredith (13.9 ppg) and Blattner (13.7 ppg),. … Blattner owns a team- and conference-best 79 rebounds (8.8 rpg), while Pethke—who dished out a career-high 10 assists against Augsburg on Dec. 9—leads the team with 54 assists. … Saint Mary's drained a season-high 11 3-pointers against UW-La Crosse on Nov. 24 . … The Cardinals have made 56 3-pointers through nine games, led by Emma Schaefer (Roseville, Minn.) with 19. … Schaefer's 50 percent shooting from behind the 3-point line (19-for-38) leads the MIAC. … Saint Mary's boasted a season-high four players in double figures against Crown on Nov. 21—Blattner (14), Sommers (12), Brigette Audette (Big Lake, Minn. / 11), and Schaefer (11). 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 … As a team, the Cardinals are averaging 72.7 ppg. … Saint Mary's has scored 80 or more points three times this season—tossing in 85 in its Dec. 16 85-47 win over Carleton, adding 82 in an 82-74 win over Gustavus on Dec. 2, and scoring a season-high 88 points in their season-opening win over Crown on Nov. 21. Saint Mary's scored 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. … Saint Mary's held Crown to just seven first-half points in its 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. … The Cardinals have led at halftime four times through their first nine games this season. … 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.
 
Scouting The Lawrence Vikings:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• With their losses to Hope and Alma at the Post Exam Jam on Dec. 18-19, the Vikings saw their season-opening losing streak climb to eight straight. … The 91 points surrendered against Hope on Dec. 18 marked the second time this season Lawrence has allowed 90 or more points in a game—the Vikings gave up a season-high 93 in a 93-73 loss to Beloit on Dec. 2. … On the flip side, the Vikings' 30 points scored in their 76-30 loss to Alma on Dec. 19 marked the third time this season Lawrence has been held under 40 points. The Vikings netted 36 points in a 60-36 loss to Lake Forest, while scoring a season-low 28 in a season-opening 57-28 setback at the hands of Marian. … Olivia Hoesley scored a team-best 10 points against Hope on Dec. 18, while Natalie Kramer equaled that 10-point effort in the Vikings' loss to Alma a day later. … Lawrence has had a different leading scorer in each of its last four games. … Elizabeth Arco heads into the Vikings' nonconference showdown against Saint Mary's averaging a team-best 9.0 ppg, followed by Andrea Wilkinson (8.5 ppg) and Patsy Kealey (6.3 ppg). … Wilkinson owns a team-leading 58 rebounds (7.3 rpg), while Arco is the team's leader in assists (13) and blocks (12). … Lawrence has knocked down 29 3-pointers through eight games, led by Hoesley with 10. … Lawrence has been outscored in all four quarters—including 159-74 in the game's opening 10 minutes.