ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team hits the road for a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Playoff semifinal matchup with second-seeded Bethel on Tuesday. Opening tip at Robertson Center is set for 7 p.m.
 
The Matchup:
#4 Saint Mary's Cardinals (18-8 Overall) at #2 Bethel Royals (20-5 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats * Live Video | MIAC Tournament Homepage
 
MIAC Tournament Schedule:
Quarterfinal: Tuesday, Feb. 24
#6 Augsburg 56, #3 Concordia 50 | Recap
#4 Saint Mary's 90, #5 Gustavus 58 | Recap
Semifinals: Thursday, Feb. 26 - 7 p.m.
#6 Augsburg at #1 St. Thomas | St. Paul, Minn.
#4 Saint Mary's at #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 To The Semifinals:
#1 St. Thomas: The Tommies—ranked No. 2 in the nation by D3hoops.com—completed their 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.
#4 Saint Mary's:  The Cardinals got a game-, season-, and career-high 26 points from Emma Schaefer (Falcon Heights, Minn.) and erupted for a season-high 90 points in cruising to a 90-58 victory over #5 Gustavus Tuesday at the Saint Mary's Gym.
#6 Augsburg: The Auggies stayed a step ahead of No. 3-seeded Concordia down the stretch in Moorhead, Minn., Tuesday, and Augsburg celebrated its first trip to the postseason with a 56-50 quarterfinal win.
 
Saint Mary's vs. Bethel—Earlier This Year:
• December 8, 2014: Bethel outscored Saint Mary's 29-21 in the second half at the Saint Mary's Gym, including scoring the game's final five points, in handing the Cardinals a 51-47 setback—and snapping the Cardinals' eight-game season-opening winning streak | Recap
• January 31, 2015: The Royals put an end to yet another Cardinal winning streak in the teams' second meet of the season, as Bethel snapped Saint Mary's six-game winning streak with a 78-54 victory at Robertson Center in Arden Hills, 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
 
Bethel—Their Last MIAC Playoff Appearance:
• February 25, 2014: Katelyn Vavra and Micaella Petrich buried a combined eight 3-pointers in leading the Royals to a 68-55 win over St. Olaf in an MIAC Playoff quarterfinal matchup at Robertson Center in Arden Hills, Minn. | Recap
• February 27, 2014: After recording one of their best seasons in program history—reaching the 20-win plateau for the first time in two decades—Bethel came up short in its MIAC Playoff semifinal matchup against Saint Mary's, falling to the top-seeded Cardinals 94-63 at the Saint Mary's Gym in Winona, 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 qualified for the conference semifinal each year. … Saint Mary's has won at least one playoff game in each of its previous three appearance in the MIAC Playoffs. The Cardinals 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. … Fueled by Tuesday's tournament-opening 90-58 win over Gustavus, the Cardinals—winners of three straight—improved to 10-1 on their home court—Saint Mary's is 35-3 at the Saint Mary's Gym over the past three seasons. … The Cardinals boasted three players in double figures in Tuesday's rout of Gustavus, led by Emma Schaefer's (Falcon Heights, Minn.) game-,season-, and career-high 26-point effort. Shelby Auseth (Wanamingo, Minn.) and Molly O'Toole (Plymouth, Minn.) also scored in double figures with 15 and 14 points, respectively. … Schaefer's 26 points vs. the Gusties—11 points better than her previous career high—came on 10 of 12 shooting, including a 4-for-5 effort from the 3-point line. … Schaefer has now led the tema in scoring in each of its last three games—all Cardinal wins. … Schaefer's 26-point game marked the seventh time this season Saint Mary's has boasted a player with 20 or more points in a game. O'Toole has done it three times, Auseth twice, and Octavia Brown (Broadview, Ill.) once. … O'Toole, who has scored 10 or more points a team-leading 15 times, has scored a career-high 23 points twice—both times against Hamline—and added 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. … Saint Mary's enters Thursday's MIAC semifinal at Bethel boasting two players who are averaging in double figures—O'Toole leads the team at 11.2 ppg, while Auseth is close behind at 10.4 ppg. Schaefer is third on the team with a 9.9 ppg average. … Brown—who notched her first collegiate double-double against Carleton on Feb. 18, scoring 12 points and adding a career-best 10 rebounds—finished with a career-best eight assists vs. Gustavus Tuesday. … 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—Schaefer (26), O'Toole (23), Brown (22), Micaela Meredith (Bloomington, Minn. / 17), Jones (16), 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 131 rebounds (5.0 rpg)—and is one of three Cardinals with 100 or more boards through 26 games. Auseth (130) and Schaefer (107) have also eclipsed the 100-rebound plateau. … The Cardinals shot a season-best 60 percent from the field against Gustavus Tuesday—knocking down 11 of their first 12 shots and finishing 29-for-48, including 9 of 12 from the 3-point line. … Saint Mary's 60 percent effort from the field vs. Gustavus was their best since shooting at a 61 percent clip (44-for-72) against Crown on Nov. 23, 2013. … 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 152 3-pointers this season, and have six players with 10 or more treys—Schaefer (37), Sara Schoenthaler (White Bear Lake, Minn. / 27), Auseth (25), Meredith (23), O'Toole (16), and Pethke (10). … 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 26 opponents 838-714 in the game's opening 20 minutes. … The Cardinals have held 18 of their 26 opponents to 30 points or less in the first half. … Saint Mary's scored a season-high 48 points in the first half vs. Gustavus Tuesday—it was the fifth time the Cardinals have netted 40 or more points in the opening 20 minutes. … Saint Mary's is averaging 65.2 ppg, while the Cardinals' opponents are scoring at a 61.1 ppg clip. … With their 90-point outburst vs. Gustavus, Saint Mary's has now scored 80 or more points three times this season—adding 80-point efforts vs. Hamline (80-72) on Dec. 5 and St. Catherine (80-70) on Jan. 21. … The Cardinals have put together winning streaks of eight, six games, and three to account for 17 of their 18 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 Bethel Royals:
2014-15 Roster | 2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Statistics
The Royals are making their fourth trip to the MIAC Playoffs in the last five years. … Bethel, which won 20 games for the first time in two decades a year ago, heads into Thursday's showdown with Saint Mary's sporting a 20-5 overall record—marking the first time in program history the Royals have posted back-to-back 20-win seasons. … Bethel's 20 wins in the regular season are the most since the 1995-96 season. … The Royals are 11-1 on their home court this season, and 24-2 at Robertson Center for the past two years—with both losses coming at the hands of St. Thomas. … Bethel had its season-high 11-game winning streak snapped with an 81-77 loss to second-ranked St. Thomas last Wednesday. … Bethel outscored its opponents by an average of 16 points during its 11-game winning streak. … BU enters Thursday's game against Saint Mary's boasting two players averaging in double figures—Rachel Parupsky (15.1 ppg) and Kali Zimmermann (13.5 ppg). … Parupsky has scored in double figures in 20 of the team's 25 games—including a season-high 29-point effort in the Royals' regular season-ending win over Carleton last Saturday. … Parupsky also leads the squad in rebounds with 212 (8.5 rpg). … Parupsky is one of three Royals with 100 or more rebounds through 25 games—Zimmermann (176) and Hannah Niewald (114) are the other two. … Parupsky has amassed 118 blocked shots this season, which ranks No. 4 in NCAA Division III. … As a team, the Royals lead the nation in block shots with 133. … Niewald  owns a team-leading 70 assists, while Zimmermann boasts a team-high 64 steals. … Bethel has knocked down 101 3-pointers this season, led by Sydney Schultz with 48. … Bethel has outscored its opponents by nearly 200 points (843-652) in the first half, while holding an 869-764 advantage over the game's final 20 minutes. … Bethel has not played an overtime game this season. … Three of Bethel's five losses this season have been decided by a combined nine points.