WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals play host to Concordia in a 1 p.m. matchup at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (8-5 MIAC | 14-6 Overall) vs. Concordia Cobbers (8-5 MIAC | 12-8 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: St. Thomas erupted for 42 second-half points—while holding Saint Mary's to 28—as the Tommies pulled away to hand the Cardinals a 74-51 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback Wednesday at Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul, Minn. | Recap
• Concordia: Concordia shooters love the Butler Center. For the third straight season, the Cobbers shot better than 42 from outside the arc on their way to an 84-59 conference win over St. Catherine Wednesday in St. Paul, Minn. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Concordia—Earlier This Year:
• January 3, 2015: The Cardinals snapped an 11-game losing streak on Concordia's Memorial Auditorium court—not to mention an 18-game losing streak against the Cobbers—with a 66-57 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory a year ago. Unfortunately, things weren't quite to memorable this time around, as Concordia scored the game's first basket and never relinquished the lead in handing the Cardinals a 55-41 conference setback | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Concordia—A Year Ago:
• January 4, 2014: Saint Mary's entered its showdown with Concordia having won three straight, while the Cobbers were winners of two straight and five of their last six. The Cobbers also boasted a pair of rather lengthy streaks against Saint Mary's—owning an 18-game winning streak against the Cardinals, including the last 11 meetings at Memorial Auditorium. When the final horn sounded, only one of those winning streaks remained intact—the Cardinals'. Saint Mary's quickly erased a four-point, halftime deficit, built its lead to as many as 12 in the second half, and held off a late Cobber rally to collect a key, 66-57 conference win. | Recap
• February 1, 2014: Courtney Euerle (Litchfield, Minn.) and Mariam Awoniyi (Country Club Hills, Ill.) each posted double-doubles, while Shelby Auseth (Wanamingo, Minn.) and Darcey Rice (Eagan, Minn.) also scored in double figures, as the Cardinals held off the Cobbers 72-69 at the Saint Mary's Gym to complete their season sweep of Concordia—and put Saint Mary's two games in front of CC in the conference standings | Recap
 
Up Next:
•  Saint Mary's: The Cardinals hit the road on Wednesday, heading to St. Joseph, Minn., for a 7 p.m. MIAC game against Saint Benedict.
• Concordia: The Cobbers return to their home court on Wednesday, hosting Gustavus in a 5:45 p.m. conference contest at Memorial Auditorium in Moorhead, Minn.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2014-15 Roster | 2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Statistics
The Cardinals head into Saturday's showdown against Concordia boasting a 6-1 record on their home court this season. Saint Mary's is 31-3 at the Saint Mary's Gym over the past three seasons. … Kayla Lardy (Fairmont, Minn.) scored a career-high 11 points in the Cardinals' loss to unbeaten and nationally ranked St. Thomas Wednesday. … The Cardinals have six players who have recorded single-game career-highs of 10 points or more this season—Molly O'Toole (Plymouth, Minn. / 23), Micaela Meredith (Bloomington, Minn. / 17), Emma Schaefer (Falcon Heights, Minn. / 15), Natalie Larson (North Branch, Minn. / 14), Sam Jones (White Bear Lake, Minn. / 12), and Lardy (11). … O'Toole has scored 10 or more points in 14 of the team's 19 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 now eclipsed the 20-point barrier three times this season, while Shelby Auseth (Wanamingo, Minn.) has achieved that feat twice. 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—O'Toole (19), Meredith (16), Schaefer (12), Octavia Brown (Broadview, Ill. / 11), Sara Schoenthaler (White Bear Lake, Minn. / 10), and Auseth (10). … Saint Mary's has put four or more players in double figures five 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 Saturday's conference showdown with Concordia as the team's scoring leaders, averaging 12.5 ppg and 11.2 ppg, respectively. … O'Toole owns a team-leading 109 rebounds (5.5 rpg), nine more than Auseth. … As a team, the Cardinals drained a season-high 22 of their 23 attempts from the charity stripe against St. Olaf on Jan. 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 123 3-pointers this season, and have six players with 10 or more treys—Schaefer (28), Schoenthaler (22), Auseth (20), Meredith (19), O'Toole (14), and Pethke (10). … The Cardinals have outscored their first 20 opponents 638-534 in the game's opening 20 minutes. … The Cardinals have held 13 of their 20 opponents to 30 points or less in the first half. … Saint Mary's is averaging 64.7 ppg, while the Cardinals' opponents are scoring at a 60.3 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 their 14 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 Concordia Cobbers:
2014-15 Roster | 2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Statistics
Wednesday's win over St. Catherine was the Cobbers' second straight victory—and their fourth in their last five games. … Concordia knocked down 11 3-pointers, and shot 42 percent from behind the arc, en route to its 84-59 win over the Wildcats Wednesday. The Cobbers' 42 percent effort vs. the Wildcats marked the third straight season CC has shot better than 40 percent from behind the 3-point line on St. Catherine's home court. … Concordia's 84-point effort vs. St. Catherine Wednesday was the Cobbers' highest offensive output since draining a season-high 97 points in a 97-78 win over Mayville State on Nov. 18. … Alley Fisher scored a game-high 21 points against St. Catherine Wednesday. Fisher's 21 points—which gives her 1,139 for her collegiate career—vaulted her up into the No. 15 spot on the school's all-time scoring list. … Fisher's four 3-pointers Wednesday also move her up the Cobber 3-point list. She is now second on the school's all-time sheet with 165 made shots from behind the arc. She needs 10 more to break the school record of 174 set by Annie Keeley from 2003-07. … Erin Januschka and Olivia Johnson also scored in double figures vs. the Wildcats Wednesday, finishing with 16 and 10 points, respectively. … Fisher and Januschka head into Saturday's matchup with Saint Mary's as the team's scoring leaders, averaging 15.9 ppg and 10.0 ppg, respectively. … Januschka is shooting 52 percent from the field, hitting 79 of her 152 field goal attempts. … As a team, the Cobbers have knocked down 125 3-pointers, led by Fisher's 43 and Greta Walsh's 25. … Concordia boasts two players—Johnson (140) and Januschka (113)—who have eclipsed the 100-rebound plateau. … Seven of Concordia's 12 wins have come on their home court—the Cobbers are 5-6 away from Memorial Auditorium. … Concordia has lost back-to-back games just once this season—dropping three in a row from Jan. 14-21—while putting together a three-game winning streak and four two-game win streaks.