WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team concludes the regular-season portion of its schedule on Saturday, as the Cardinals host Macalester in a 1 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (10-7 MIAC | 16-8 Overall) vs. Macalester Scots (0-17 MIAC |
 3-21 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program | Senior Salute
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: Fueled by Octavia Brown's (Broadview, Ill.) first collegiate double-double, the Cardinals locked up one of the conference's six post-season playoff berths, holding off Carleton 64-56 Wednesday at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• Macalester: Gustavus opened the second half off with a 16-0 run, breaking away from a 33-33 halftime tie and cruising to a 69-49 win over the Scots Wednesday at Gus Young Court in St. Peter, Minn. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Macalester—Earlier This Year:
• January 17, 2015: The Cardinals erupted for 43 second-half points in cruising to a 76-54 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory  over Macalester at Leonard Center in St. Paul, Minn. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Macalester—A Year Ago:
• November 21, 2013: The Cardinals used back-to-back three-point plays—a 3-point bomb by Bridget Pethke (New London, Wis.) and a basket and free throw by Courtney Euerle (Litchfield, Minn.)—in erasing a six-point Macalester advantage and propelling Saint Mary's to a 53-44 victory in the teams' conference opener at the Leonard Center in St. Paul, Minn. | Recap
• February 3, 2014: Courtney Euerle (Litchfield, Minn.) scored 10 points, hauled down eight rebounds, and added four assists—in just 18 minutes—in helping the 18th-ranked Cardinals push their winning streak to 15 in a row with a convincing 75-52 win over Macalester at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
•  Saint Mary's: The Cardinals will be making their fourth straight MIAC Playoff appearance next week. A win over Macalester—and a Concordia loss to Augsburg Saturday—and Saint Mary's will host an opening-round game next Tuesday.
• Macalester: Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the season finale for the Scots.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2014-15 Roster | 2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Statistics
Saturday's game against Macalester is the final regular-season home game for graduating seniors Sara Schoenthaler (White Bear Lake, Minn.), Octavia Brown (Broadview, Ill.), and Natalie Williams (Chicago, Ill.), as well as manager Andrew Lee (Oak Park, Ill.). … The Cardinals earned their fourth straight MIAC Playoff appearance with Wednesday's win over Carleton. Saint Mary's has won at least one post-season game in each of its last three seasons. … With Wednesday's 64-56 win over Carleton, Saint Mary's improved to 8-1 on its home court this season. The Cardinals are 33-3 at the Saint Mary's Gym over the past three seasons. … Octavia Brown (Broadview, Ill.) recorded her first collegiate double-double against Carleton Wednesday, scoring 12 points and adding a career-best 10 rebounds. … Brown's double-double was the Cardinals' second of the 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. … Saint Mary's has now had a player record 10 or more rebounds three times. Along with Pethke's 11 and Brown's 10, Kayla Lardy (Fairmont, Minn.) hauled in a career-best 10 boards against Crown on Nov. 22. … Emma Schaefer (Falcon Heights, Minn.) also netted 12 points vs. the Knights, while Micaela Meredith (Bloomington, Minn.) chipped in 11. … The Cardinals boasted three players who recorded single-game career-highs vs. Concordia on Feb. 6—led by Brown with 22. Sam Jones (White Bear Lake, Minn.) chipped in a career-best 16 and Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn.) 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 Lardy (11). … O'Toole has scored 10 or more points in 14 of the team's 24 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. … O'Toole and Auseth head into Saturday's regular-season finale vs. Macalester as the team's scoring leaders, averaging 11.3 ppg and 10.2 ppg, respectively. … O'Toole owns a team-leading 121 rebounds (5.0 rpg), while Auseth has also eclipsed the 100-rebound plateau, heading into the Carleton matchup with 114. … As a team, 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 are the most since draining 12 3s against Carleton on Jan. 4, 2010. … As a team, the Cardinals have made 137 3-pointers this season, and have six players with 10 or more treys—Schaefer (31), Schoenthaler (25), Meredith (23), Auseth (21), O'Toole (15), and Pethke (10). … The Cardinals' 73-54 setback at the hands of the Blazers on Feb. 11 snapped Saint Mary's seven-game winning streak vs. Saint Benedict. … Saint Mary's win over Concordia on Feb. 7 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 24 opponents 759-656 in the game's opening 20 minutes. … The Cardinals have held 16 of their 24 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 61.8 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 16 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 Macalester Scots:
2014-15 Roster | 2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Statistics
Wednesday's loss to Gustavus pushed the Scots' losing streak to 11 straight—and left Macalester 0-17 in conference play this season. … Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the second of back-to-back road games to close out the season for the Scots. … Lauren Clamage and Annie Drabot scored 13 and 11 points, respectively, to pace Macalester in its loss to Gustavus on Wednesday. … Regan Fruh, who was held to eight points against the Gusties Wednesday, heads into Saturday's season finale averaging a team-best 11.6 ppg. … Fruh has scored season-highs of 23 points and 33 points in two of the Scots' last four games. Fruh netted 23 against Hamline on Feb. 7, then drained 33 vs. St. Catherine a week later. … Fruh shot an impressive 14 of 18 from the field en route to her career-best 33-point effort, while also finishing with 10 rebounds to record her second double-double of the season. … Macalester boasts three players who have pulled down 100 or more rebounds this season—Park Masterson (153), Fruh (120) and Drabot (114). … Erin Murray has amassed team highs in both assists (84) and steals (35). … As a team, Macalester has knocked down 89 3-pointers, led by Vivi Gregorich (25) and Clamage (22). … Macalester enters Saturday's showdown with playoff-bound Saint Mary's averaging 54.2 ppg. … The Scots netted a season-high 99 points in their 99-50 victory over North Central on Jan. 12—a win that snapped Macalester's 10-game losing streak. … Two of Macalester's three wins have come on its home court—the Scots are 1-10 away from Leonard Center.