ST. JOSEPH, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team hits the road for a pair of games at the Saint Benedict Tournament this weekend. The Cardinals square off against UW-Stout at 4 p.m. on Saturday, before returning to the court for a 2 p.m. match with Martin Luther a day later.
 
The Matchups:
Saturday, November 19, 2016 * Clare Lynch Hall * 4 p.m.
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-0 Overall) vs. UW-Stout Blue Devils (0-1 Overall)
Sunday, November 20, 2016 * Clare Lynch Hall * 2 p.m.
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-0 Overall) vs. Martin Luther Knights (0-1 Overall)
 
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—November 15, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals boasted five players in double figures—led by Sam Jones (White Bear Lake, Minn.) with 16—as they opened the season with a 76-64 nonconference win over the University of Dubuque at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• UW-Stout—November 15, 2016 * Menomonie, Wis.: Augsburg's Camryn Speese scored on a layup with five seconds remaining to lift the Auggies to a 79-77 season-opening nonconference win over the Blue Devils at Johnson Fieldhouse | Recap
• Martin Luther—November 15, 2016 * St. Peter, Minn.: Gustavus outscored the Knights 27-4 in the second quarter, and Martin Luther never recovered in falling to the Gusties 82-50 in the teams' nonconference opener at Gus Young Court | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. UW-Stout—Their Last Meeting:
• January 2, 2016 * Menomonie, Wis.: The Cardinals got 23 points from both Micaela Meredith (Bloomington, Minn.) and Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) and held off UW-Stout for a 74-73 nonconference victory | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Martin Luther—Their Last Meeting:
• November 21, 2006 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals rallied from a 25-24 halftime deficit to pull out a 52-42 nonconference victory over the Knights at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return home to the Saint Mary's Gym on Tuesday, entertaining Viterbo in a 7 p.m. nonconference contest.
• UW-Stout: The Blue Devils head to St. Paul, Minn., on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. nonconference game against Hamline.
• Martin Luther: The Knights kick off their home schedule on Monday, playing host to Macalester in a 7 p.m. nonconference game in New Ulm, Minn.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• With their 76-64 win over the University of Dubuque on Tuesday, the Cardinals have now won their season-opener in each of the last four seasons—dating back to a 63-58 loss to Elmhurst to kick off the 2011-12 season. … Saint Mary's has put together season-opening winning streaks of three games or more each of the last four seasons. … The Cardinals opened both the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons with eight consecutive wins—and nine wins in their first 10 games. … The Cardinals' 13-1 start to the season a year ago 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. … Saint Mary's pushed its record to 46-5 on its home court over the past five seasons with Tuesday's 76-64 win over the University of Dubuque. … The Cardinals boasted five players who scored in double figures in their season-opening win over the University of Dubuque Tuesday—led by Sam Jones (White Bear Lake, Minn.) with a game-high 16 points. Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn. / 13), Brandi Blattner (12), Brittney Flom (Kenyon, Minn. / 11), and Emma Schaefer (Roseville, Minn. / 10) were the other four. … Saint Mary's had five players score in double figures once a year ago. … Along with her game-high 16 points, Jones also lead the Cardinals with seven rebounds—one more than Schaefer—against the Spartans Tuesday. … The Cardinals, who made 163 3-pointers last season, went 10-for-24 from behind the arc against the University of Dubuque Tuesday. … Huisman and Flom each drained three 3-pointers against the Spartans Tuesday, while Blattner had two. … As a team, the Cardinals averaged 70.3 ppg last season—including five games of 80 or more points. Saint Mary's netted a season-high 88 points in their season-opening win over Crown last season. … Saint Mary's—picked to finish third in the MIAC Preseason Coaches' Poll—made its fifth straight MIAC Playoff appearance last season—and the Cardinals have reached at least the semifinals each time. … With their 21-6 overall record last season, the Cardinals have now reached the 20-win plateau in three of the last four seasons.
 
Scouting The UW-Stout Blue Devils:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Friday's nonconference game against Saint Mary's will be UW-Stout's second of five straight games against teams from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Blue Devils fell to Augsburg 79-77 in their season-opener on Tuesday, and are scheduled to play Saint Mary's, Saint Benedict, Hamline, and St. Catherine over the next nine days. UW-Stout also has MIAC foes Gustavus, Bethel, and Carleton on its schedule. … Bailey Diersen scored 17 points to lead four Blue Devils in double figures against Augsburg on Tuesday. Anna Brown (16), Kyncaide Diedrich (14) and Shannan Watkins (12) also scored 10 or more points vs. the Auggies. … Jenna Goldsmith recorded a team-best 12 rebounds in the Blue Devils' season-opener Tuesday—including 11 on the defensive end. … UW-Stout made just 3 of 11 3-point attempts Tuesday vs. Augsburg, but shot 48 percent from the field overall, going 30-for-62. … After scoring a season-high 27 points in the second quarter to grab a 46-31 lead against Augsburg on Tuesday, the Blue Devils were outscored 28-11 in the third quarter and 48-31 over the game's final two quarters. … The Blue Devils, who finished 10-16 a year ago, return six players from last season's squad—including one senior (Goldsmith) and one returning junior (Anna Brown). … Goldsmith averaged a team-high 12.3 ppg last season, and has led the team in scoring each of the last three years. … UW-Stout scored 75 or more points in 12 games last season, going 9-3. … The Blue Devils were picked to finish sixth in the WIAC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
 
Scouting The Martin Luther Knights:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• This weekend's games against Saint Benedict and Saint Mary's are the second and third of six nonconference games against teams from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. MLC, which opened with an 84-50 loss to Gustavus on Tuesday, also has Macalester, Augsburg and St. Olaf on its schedule. … Martin Luther opens the season with three straight road contests—and will play seven of its first nine games away from home. … Mariah Schoof and Jade St. Germaine led the way for Martin Luther against Gustavus, scoring 13 and 10 points, respectively. … Germaine also recorded a team-high nine rebounds. … MLC shot 37 percent from the field vs. Gustavus (17-for-46), but were just 13 of 25 from the free throw line and committed 32 turnovers. … Trailing by just five, 17-12, after the first 10 minutes in Tuesday's season-opener against Gustavus, the Knights managed just four second-quarter points and went into the locker room at the break down 44-16. … Martin Luther—coming off a 13-14 overall record a year ago, including a 7-9 mark and fifth-place finish in the UMAC—was picked sixth in the UMAC Preseason Coaches' Poll.