WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team returns home on Wednesday, as the Cardinals entertain Carleton in a 7 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game at the Saint Mary's Gym
 
The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (9-7 MIAC | 15-8 Overall) vs. Carleton Knights (6-10 MIAC | 8-15 Overall)
 
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: Gustavus erupted for 42 first-half points and the Cardinals never recovered, as Gustavus handed Saint Mary's a 75-47 setback Saturday at Gus Young Court in St. Peter, Minn. | Recap
• Carleton: The Knights overcame a 17-point second-half deficit and knocked off Saint Benedict, 56-55, on Michele Arima's basket with 2.4 seconds remaining Saturday in Northfield, Minn. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Carleton—A Year Ago:
• January 13, 2014: Saint Mary's took control from the opening tip—scoring back-to-back 3-pointers to open the game—and never looked back in cruising to a 68-55 conference win over Carleton at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• February 5, 2014: Unable shake the pesky Knights in the game's opening 20 minutes—and clinging to a slim, six-point halftime advantage—the Cardinals turned up the heat in the second half, outscoring Carleton 30-20 in securing their 16th straight victory, a 56-40 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win at West Gym in Northfield, Minn. | Recap
 
Up Next:
•  Saint Mary's: The Cardinals close out the regular-season portion of their schedule on Saturday, hosting Macalester in a 1 p.m. conference game at the Saint Mary's Gym.
• Carleton: The Knights are back on the road for their final regular-season game on Saturday, traveling to Bethel's Robertson Center in Arden Hills, Minn., for a 1 p.m. conference matchup with the Royals
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2014-15 Roster | 2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Statistics
Last Saturday's game at Gustavus was the final road game of the season for the Cardinals, who play their final two regular-season contests —Wednesday against Carleton and Saturday vs. Macalester—on their home court. … The Cardinals head into Wednesday's showdown with Carleton tied with Concordia for fourth in the conference standings, one game in front of Augsburg and Saint Benedict with two games remaining. … With their 79-73 win over Concordia on Feb. 6, the Cardinals improved to 7-1 on their home court this season. Saint Mary's is 32-3 at the Saint Mary's Gym over the past three seasons. … Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn.) and Micaela Meredith (Bloomington, Minn.) led the way for the Cardinals with eight points apiece, while Emma Schaefer (Falcon Heights, Minn.) and Shelby Auseth (Wanamingo, Minn.) each chipped in seven. … The Cardinals boasted three players who recorded single-game career-highs vs. Concordia on Feb. 6—led by Octavia Brown (Broadview, Ill.) with 22. Sam Jones (White Bear Lake, Minn.) chipped in a career-best 16 and Huisman added 12. … The Cardinals have eight players who have recorded single-game career-highs of 10 points or more this season—Molly O'Toole (Plymouth, Minn. / 23), Brown (22), Micaela Meredith (Bloomington, Minn. / 17), Jones (16), Schaefer (15), Natalie Larson (North Branch, Minn. / 14), Huisman (12), and Kayla Lardy (Fairmont, Minn. / 11). … O'Toole has scored 10 or more points in 14 of the team's 23 games—including a season- and career-high 23 points twice. The freshman netted 23 against Hamline on Dec. 3, and equaled that feat in the second meeting against the Pipers on Jan. 28. … O'Toole has eclipsed the 20-point barrier three times this season, while Auseth has achieved that feat twice and Brown once. Along with her two 23-point efforts against Hamline, O'Toole recorded 21 points vs. UW-Stout on Nov. 21, and Auseth netted 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. …  Saint Mary's had six players score in double figures in its win over St. Catherine on Jan. 21. The Cardinals have now put four or more players in double figures six times this season. … 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 vs. Carleton as the team's scoring leaders, averaging 11.3 ppg and 10.3 ppg, respectively. … O'Toole owns a team-leading 120 rebounds (5.2 rpg), while Auseth has also eclipsed the 100-rebound plateau, heading into the Carleton matchup with 112 … As a team, the Cardinals drained a season-high 26 free throws in their OT win over Concordia last Saturday. … 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 132 3-pointers this season, and have six players with 10 or more treys—Schaefer (29), Schoenthaler (25), Auseth (21), Meredith (21), O'Toole (14), and Pethke (10). … Last Wednesday's setback at the hands of the Blazers snapped Saint Mary's seven-game winning streak vs. Saint Benedict. … Saint Mary's win over Concordia on Feb. 6 was the Cardinals' first overtime game of the season. Saint Mary's last OT game was a 69-62 victory over Gustavus on Feb. 15. … The Cardinals are now 3-0 in their last three overtime games—Saint Mary's last OT loss was a 60-59 setback vs. Concordia on Jan. 29. … The Cardinals have outscored their first 23 opponents 726-630 in the game's opening 20 minutes. … The Cardinals have held 15 of their 23 opponents to 30 points or less in the first half. … Saint Mary's is averaging 64.1 ppg, while the Cardinals' opponents are scoring at a 62.1 ppg clip. … Saint Mary's has scored a season-high 80 points twice this season—beating Hamline 80-72 on Dec. 5 and St. Catherine 80-70 on Jan. 21. … The Cardinals have put together winning streaks of eight and six games to account for 14 of their 15 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. … 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 Carleton Knights:
2014-15 Roster | 2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Statistics
Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's is the first of back-to-back road games to close out the regular-season for Carleton. … Saturday's win over Saint Benedict snapped the Knights' three-game losing streak. … Sarah Waldfogel scored a team-high 15 points to lead a trio of Knights in double figures vs. Saint Benedict Saturday. Nnenna Ezem and Skylar Tsutsui chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively, vs. CSB. … Ezem came one rebound short of a double-double, hauling in nine boards vs. the Blazers. … Waldfogel's 15 points vs. CSB were a season high and marked the first time this season she has led the team in scoring. … Tsutsui enters Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's average a team-best 13.8 ppg—and has led the team in scoring in 11 of the Knights' 23 games. … Carleton has boasted a 20-point scorer five times this season—Tsutsui has posted games of 24, 23 and 20 points, while Ezem owns a 21-point effort and Gabbi Stienstra added a 20-point showing of her own. … Ezem owns a team-leading 156 rebounds (6.8 rpg), while Kayla Frank has also hauled in more than 100 rebounds this season, heading into Wednesday's game at Saint Mary's with 117. … Tsutsui is the team's assist leader with 52, and also boasts a team-best 40 steals, while Ezem has amassed 38 blocked shots. … Carleton has drained 122 3-pointers this season, led by Michele Arima with 35 and Tsutsui with 33. … Five of the Knights' eight wins have come on their home court—Carleton is just 3-9 away from West Gym this season.