WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team plays its third consecutive game at the Saint Mary's Gym on Wednesday, as the Cardinals entertain Hamline in a 7 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (7-1 MIAC | 13-2 Overall) vs. Hamline Pipers (1-7 MIAC | 3-12 Overall)
 
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: St. Thomas knocked down eight 3-pointers in the first half—including six in the first quarter—and held off a furious Cardinal fourth-quarter comeback in handing Saint Mary's its first conference loss of the season, 76-67, last Saturday at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• Hamline: Chloe Graves scored a game- and season-high 25 points in the Pipers' 84-61 loss Bethel last Saturday at Robertson Center in Arden Hills, Minn. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Hamline—A Year Ago:
• December 3, 2014 * St. Paul, Minn.: After six straight nonconference games—all victories—Saint Mary's began defense of its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular-season title against Hamline. And for the Cardinals, the beat goes on. Saint Mary's collected its seventh straight victory to open the season, putting four players in double figures as the Cardinals handed Hamline an 80-72 setback at Hutton Arena | Recap
• January 28, 2015 * Winona, Minn.: For the second time in as many meetings with the Pipers, Molly O'Toole poured in a career high 23 points—and the Cardinals needed every one of them. Fueled by O'Toole's second career-best effort vs. the Pipers this season—capped by a pair of win-clinching free throws with 2.5 seconds remaining in regulation—the Cardinals held off Hamline for a 68-65 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: After three straight home games, the Cardinals hit the road on Saturday, heading to Macalester's Leonard Center in St. Paul, Minn., for a 3 p.m. MIAC matchup against the Scots.
• Hamline: The Pipers return home to Hutton Arena in St. Paul, Minn., on Saturday, entertaining St. Catherine in a 3 p.m. conference showdown.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• Wednesday's game against the Pipers is the third straight home contest for the Cardinals. … Last Saturday's 76-67 loss to No. 19 St. Thomas was the Cardinals' first loss on their home court this season (6-1)—and just their fourth in the past four years (41-4). … Saint Mary's loss to UST last Saturday was their first conference setback of the year and snapped their five-game winning streak. … Both of the Cardinals' losses this season have come against nationally ranked teams—No. 14 UW-Stevens Point and No. 19 St. Thomas. … Saint Mary's had its season-opening eight-game winning streak snapped with a 68-44 loss to UW-Stevens Point on Dec. 19. … Saint Mary's has opened the season with eight consecutive wins—and nine wins in their first 10 games—in back-to-back seasons. … The Cardinals' 13-1 start to the season was the best 14-game start since the 2013-14 season, when Saint Mary's opened 19-1 en route to its latest conference championship and NCAA Division III national tournament berth. … Despite last Saturday's loss to St. Thomas, the Cardinals are still sitting atop the conference standings at 7-1, one game in front of St. Thomas and Gustavus. … Micaela Meredith (Bloomington, Minn.) scored a team-, game-, and career-high 24 points against St. Thomas last Saturday. … Meredith's 24-point effort against the Tommies marked the fourth time this season the senior has netted 20 or more points in a game. … Sam Jones (White Bear Lake, Minn.) and Bridget Pethke (New London, Wis.) also scored in double figures against St. Thomas last Saturday, finishing with 15 and 11 points, respectively. … Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) was held to nine points against UST last Saturday, marking just the third time this season the freshman has been held under 10 points. … Blattner did haul in a team-high 12 rebounds last Saturday—giving her five straight games of 10 or more boards. … Blattner notched her fifth collegiate double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds vs. Concordia last Wednesday. … Blattner scored a career-high 27 points in back-to-back games against St. Catherine and St. Olaf on Jan. 6 and Jan. 9. … Blattner—whose 27 points are the highest single-game output since Pethke tossed in 32 points against St. Olaf on Jan. 29, 2014—has scored 20 or more points five times this season, including three of her last five games. … Blattner hauled in a career-high 19 rebounds in Saint Mary's win over UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 29. It was the Cardinals' highest single-game rebounding performance in the last two decades. … Meredith recorded her first collegiate double-double against Lawrence on Dec. 30, scoring 13 points and hauling in a team-, game-, and career-high 11 rebounds. … The Cardinals have had six different players lead them in scoring this season. … The Cardinals had 11 players see court time against Carleton on Dec. 16—and all 11 scored at least two points. … Haley Trom (Hampton, Minn.) equaled her career high with 15 points against St. Catherine on Jan. 6, while Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn.) recorded a career-high 14 points against Carleton on Dec. 16, and McKenzie Sommers (Arlington, Minn.) tallied a career-best 12 points vs. Crown on Nov. 21. … The Cardinals head into their conference showdown against Hamline boasting a pair of players averaging in double figures—Blattner (15.8 ppg) and Meredith (14.5 ppg). … Blattner owns a team- and conference-best 148 rebounds (9.9 rpg), while Pethke—who dished out a career-high 10 assists against Augsburg on Dec. 9—leads the team with 90 assists and 49 steals. … Saint Mary's—which knocked down a season-high 11 treys against UW-La Crosse on Nov. 24—has made 88 3-pointers, led by Emma Schaefer (Roseville, Minn.) with 25. … The Cardinals have made a season-high 26 free throws in a game twice this season—at Saint Benedict on Nov. 22 and vs. Gustavus on Dec. 2. … Saint Mary's boasted a season-high four players in double figures against Crown on Nov. 21—Blattner (14), Sommers (12), Brigette Audette (Big Lake, Minn. / 11), and Schaefer (11). The Cardinals put four or more players in double figures in a single game six times last season—including a season-high six in their win over St. Catherine on Jan. 21, 2015. … As a team, the Cardinals are averaging 70.5 ppg. … Saint Mary's has scored 80 or more points three times this season—tossing in 85 in its Dec. 16 85-47 win over Carleton, adding 82 in an 82-74 win over Gustavus on Dec. 2, and scoring a season-high 88 points in their season-opening win over Crown on Nov. 21. Saint Mary's scored 80 or more points three times a year ago—including a season-best 90 points in a 90-58 MIAC Playoff win over Gustavus on Feb. 24. … Saint Mary's held Crown to just seven first-half points in its season-opening 88-34 win over the Storm. It was the fewest points allowed in a half in program history, breaking the old mark of 14 set by the 2013-14 team—also against Crown. … Saint Mary's played one overtime game last season—a 79-73 win over Concordia on Feb. 7. The Cardinals are 3-0 in their last three overtime games. … The Cardinals made their fourth straight appearance in the MIAC Playoffs a year ago. Saint Mary's has won at least one playoff game during its current four-year run. The Cardinals reached the MIAC semifinals in 2011-12, 2012-13, and 2014-15, while reaching the conference playoff title game in 2013-14.
 
Scouting The Hamline Pipers:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• Wednesday's game at Saint Mary's is the third straight road contest for the Pipers, who open a two-game homestand starting Saturday against St. Catherine. … All three of Hamline's wins this season have come on the road—HU is 0-4 at Hutton Arena. … Last Saturday's 84-61 loss to Bethel pushed the Pipers' losing streak to a season-high four straight. … Chloe Graves scored a game- and season-high 25 points in the Pipers' 84-61 loss to Bethel last Saturday. … Graves' 25-point showing against Bethel marked the eighth time this season the Pipers have boasted a player with 20 or more points in a game. … Bonsante netted a season-high 32 points vs. Colorado College on Dec. 29. … Graves played all 40 minutes against BU last Saturday—it was the second straight game—and fifth time this season—the junior has played every minute of an HU game. … Chelsey Bonsante chipped in 16 points against Bethel last Saturday. … Both Bonsante and Graves head into Wednesday's showdown at Saint Mary's averaging in double figures—Bonsante at a team- and league-leading 17.1 ppg and Graves close behind at 15.6 ppg. … Bonsante and Graves combine for more than half of the Pipers' 60.6 points-per-game. … With her 16 points against Bethel last Saturday, Bonsante pushed her Hamline career total to 927—she is just 73 points shy of becoming the 10^th player in Piper history to reach the 1,000 career-point mark. … Graves is also the team-leader in rebounds (70, 4.7 rpg) and assists (65), while Emily Behrman owns  a team-high 35 steals and Alex Peterson has amassed a team-best 13 blocks. … The Pipers have knocked down 82 3-pointers, with Bonsante (39) and Graves (28) accounting for 57 of them. … Last Wednesday's 58-56 loss to Carleton was Hamline's third overtime loss of the season. HU also OT losses came at the hands of Macalester (71-70) and North Central (70-64). … Bethel's 84 points last Saturday marked the eighth time in 15 games that the Pipers have surrendered 70 or more points. The Royals' 84-point effort was two points shy of the season-high 86 points the Pipers allowed in an 86-86-63 loss to UW-Stout on Nov. 24. … Hamline scored a season-high 83 points in an 83-55 win over Crown on Nov. 30.