WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team kicks off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Playoff action on Tuesday, as the Cardinals entertain Gustavus in a 7 p.m. contest at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
#4 Saint Mary's Cardinals (11-7 MIAC | 17-8 Overall) vs. #5 Gustavus Gusties (11-7 MIAC |
 17-8 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Tournament Program | MIAC Tournament Homepage
 
MIAC Tournament Schedule:
Quarterfinal: Tuesday, Feb. 24 - 7 p.m.
• No. 6 Augsburg at No. 3 Concordia | Moorhead, Minn.
• No. 5 Gustavus at No. 4 Saint Mary's | Winona, Minn.
Semifinals: Thursday, Feb. 26 - 7 p.m.
• Lowest remaining seed at No. 1 St. Thomas | St. Paul, Minn.
• Second-lowest remaining seed at No. 2 Bethel | Arden Hills, Minn.
Championship: Saturday, Feb. 28 - 3 p.m.
• Lowest remaining seed at Highest remaining seed | Location: TBA
 
How The MIAC Field Got Here:
#1 St. Thomas: UST—ranked No. 2 in the nation by D3hoops.com—completed its perfect run through the regular season last Saturday with an 81-47 win over Hamline to lock down the No. 1 seed. It's UST's sixth undefeated MIAC season, and the Tommies head into post-season play with a perfect 25-0 overall record.
#2 Bethel: Bethel couldn't keep pace with the Tommies, but rode an 11-game winning streak and a tremendous regular season to a second-place finish and the tournament's No. 2 seed. The Royals finished the regular season with a 14-4 MIAC record and went 20-5 overall to join St. Thomas in earning a bye to the semifinals.
#3-4-5: Concordia, Saint Mary's, and Gustavus: The three all finished in a tie for third place with identical 11-7 records—and the MIAC tiebreaker criteria was put to the test to separate that trio, as they all split their head-to-head season series and finished 2-2 against one another to wipe out the first criteria. Concordia claimed the No. 3 seed thanks to its 1-3 record combined against the top two teams (UST, Bethel), while the other two remained even as they were winless against the Tommies and Royals. That meant they had to descend down the MIAC standings in order to break the final tie, and Saint Mary's 2-0 record vs. Hamline was better than Gustavus' 1-1 mark vs. the Pipers, giving the Cardinals the No. 4 seed and No. 5 to the Gusties. Fittingly, the two will get to settle it on the court in Tuesday's quarterfinals.
#6: Augsburg: The Auggies (14-11 overall) ended up relying on tiebreaker criteria as well to best Saint Benedict (12-13 overall) for the sixth and final spot, as both tied at 9-9. The Auggies secured their first-ever MIAC Playoff berth thanks to last Wednesday's win over the Blazers in the teams' only meeting of the season.
 
Saint Mary's vs. Gustavus—Earlier This Year:
• January 10, 2015: In the teams' 40-minute Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown at the Saint Mary's Gym, the Gusties owned runs of 10-0 and 16-0, while the Cardinals put together runs of 16-1 and 20-2. Fortunately for the Cardinals, those two runs—and their combined 36-3 scoring advantage—proved just enough, as Saint Mary's held off the Gusties 74-67 at the Saint Mary's Gym to snap its season-high four-game losing streak | Recap
• February 14, 2015: Gustavus had the pedal to the metal from the get-go in the teams' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rematch, as Gustavus erupted for 42 first-half points in handing Saint Mary's a 75-47 setback at Gus Young Court in St. Peter, Minn. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's—Their Last MIAC Playoff Appearance:
• February 27, 2014: Saint Mary's tied the school record for most wins in a season—and earned its first-ever berth in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament title game in the process—as the Cardinals dismantled Bethel 94-63 at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• March 1, 2014: Saint Thomas, making its fifth straight appearance in the MIAC Playoff title game, knocked down 9 of 10 free throws over the game's final 1:30 in handing the Cardinals a 71-58 setback in the conference at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Gustavus—Their Last MIAC Playoff Appearance:
• Feb. 25, 2014: Gustavus was not able to withstand a late St. Thomas surge, as the Tommies outscored GAC 20-5 over the final 5:33 in handing the Gusties a 66-51 MIAC Playoff quarterfinal setback at Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul, Minn. | Recap

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2014-15 Roster | 2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Statistics
The Cardinals are making their fourth straight appearance in the MIAC Playoffs—and have won at least one playoff game in each of their previous three appearances. Saint Mary's reached the MIAC semifinals in both 2011-12 and 2012-13, before riding a regular-season MIAC championships to reach the conference playoff title game a year ago. … 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. … The Cardinals head into Tuesday's home playoff-opener against Gustavus owning a 9-1 record on their home court—Saint Mary's is 34-3 at the Saint Mary's Gym over the past three seasons. … Saint Mary's enters post-season play boasting two players who are averaging in double figures—Molly O'Toole (Plymouth, Minn.) leads the team at 11.0 ppg, while Shelby Auseth (Wanamingo, Minn.) is close behind at 10.2 ppg. … Emma Schaefer (Falcon Heights, Minn.), who scored a team-leading 12 points in each of the Cardinals' final two regular-season games, is third on the team with a 9.2 ppg average. … O'Toole has scored 10 or more points a team-leading 14 times—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 Octavia Brown (Broadview, Ill.) once. Along with her two 23-point efforts against Hamline, O'Toole recorded 21 points vs. UW-Stout on Nov. 21, while Auseth netted 24 points against UM-Morris on Nov. 16 and 22 points against St. Olaf on Jan. 7, and Brown posted a career-best 22 against Concordia on Feb. 7. … Brown notched her first collegiate double-double against Carleton on Feb. 18, 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. … The Cardinals boasted three players who recorded single-game career-highs vs. Concordia on Feb. 7—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—O'Toole (23), Brown (22), Micaela Meredith (Bloomington, Minn. / 17), Jones (16), Schaefer (15), Natalie Larson (North Branch, Minn. / 14), Huisman (12), and Lardy (11). … 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 owns a team-leading 128 rebounds (5.1 rpg)—and is one of three Cardinals with 100 or more boards through 25 games. Auseth (122) and Schaefer (104) have also eclipsed the 100-rebound plateau. … 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 143 3-pointers this season, and have six players with 10 or more treys—Schaefer (33), Sara Schoenthaler (White Bear Lake, Minn. / 25), Meredith (23), Auseth (23), 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. … The Cardinals have outscored their first 24 opponents 759-656 in the game's opening 20 minutes. … The Cardinals have held 17 of their 25 opponents to 30 points or less in the first half. … Saint Mary's is averaging 64.2 ppg, while the Cardinals' opponents are scoring at a 61.2 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.
 
Scouting The Gustavus Gusties:
2014-15 Roster | 2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Statistics
Gustavus is making its 15th straight appearance in the MIAC Playoffs—the Gusties have been in the conference's post-season tourney every year of its existence. … The Gusties enter post-season play on the heels of a 69-60 loss in their regular-season final against Saint Benedict last Saturday. … Gustavus is 4-2 in its last six contests and has lost back-to-back games just once all season—falling to St. Thomas (62-49) and Hamline (82-79) in a four-day stretch in late January. … GAC owns a season-high six-game winning streak, while also winning three straight twice. … Gustavus heads to Saint Mary's having played its last three games on its home court—where the Gusties finished 9-3. GAC is 8-5 away from Gus Young Court this season. … Gustavus enters post-season play boasting a pair of players who are averaging in double figures—Mikayla Miller (17.2 ppg) and Lindsey Johnson (10.3 ppg). … Miller has led the team in scoring in each of its last four games—and in 16 of the Gusties' 25 games. … Miller owns eight games of 20 or more points, including season highs of 30 points against Martin Luther on Nov. 16 and 31 vs. Carleton in Feb. 4. … Miller is also the team-leader in field goals made-attempted (148-380), 3-pointers made-attempted (36-114), free throws made-attempted (99-126), assists (92) and steals (75). … Gustavus has four players who have hauled in 100 or more rebounds this season, led by Hannah Howard with 138. Miller (131), Miranda Rice (107) and Johnson (105) are the other three. … Gustavus has made 97 3-pointers this season, with Miller (36), Kelsey Carpenter (26) and Johnson (24) accounting for 86 of them. … Gustavus is averaging 67.3 ppg, while the Gusties have limited their opponents to just 60.6 ppg. … The Gusties have posted four games of 80 or more points, including a season-high 85 in an 85-78 win over St. Catherine on Jan. 24.