DULUTH, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team hits the road on Saturday, as the Cardinals travel to St. Scholastica's Reif Gym for a 3 p.m. nonconference game against the Saints.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-1 Overall) at St. Scholastica Saints (0-3 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—November 22, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals got double figure scoring from Emma Schaefer (Roseville, Minn.) and Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.)—and held Viterbo to just 28 percent shooting—as Saint Mary's rolled to a 66-40 nonconference win at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• St. Scholastica—November 22, 2016 * Moorhead, Minn.: Concordia raced out to a 31-20 halftime advantage and the Saints never recovered, falling to the Cobbers 60-47 at Memorial Auditorium | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Scholastica—Their Last Meeting:
• Saturday's game marks the first in program history between the Cardinals and the Saints.
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals kick off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, traveling to Northfield, Minn., for a 7 p.m. showdown with Carleton.
• St. Scholastica: The Saints are right back on their home court in Duluth, Minn., on Sunday, hosting Augsburg in a 3 p.m. contest at Reif Gym.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Saturday's game at St. Scholastica is the first of back-to-back road games for the Cardinals, who play four of their first six games on the road—before embarking on a stretch of seven straight home contests beginning against Concordia on Dec. 3 against Concordia and ending with a Jan. 7 showdown with St. Catherine. … With their 66-40 win over Viterbo on Tuesday, the Cardinals improved to 47-5 on their home court over the past five seasons. … Emma Schaefer (Roseville, Minn.), Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.), and Brittney Flom (Kenyon, Min.) all scored in double figures against Viterbo last Tuesday, with Schaefer pouring in a game-high 14 points, while Blattner and Flom added 13 and 10 points, respectively. … Schaefer and Blattner have now scored in double figures in all four games this season. … The Cardinals had 10 players score two or more points vs. the V-Hawks last Tuesday. … Sam Jones (White Bear Lake, Minn.), who scored in double figures the Cardinals' first games this season, netted eight points vs. Viterbo. The senior equaled her single-game career high with 16 points against the University of Dubuque on Nov. 15, netted 10 points against UW-Stout on Nov. 19, and poured in a new career-high 21 points against Martin Luther a day later. … Jones was the Cardinals' lone representative on the Quinlivan & Hughes Tip-Off Tournament all-tournament team. … Blattner recorded her first double-double of the season against Martin Luther on Nov. 20, scoring 13 points and adding 10 rebounds. Blattner—who has now scored 13 points in each of her last two games—recorded nine double-doubles during her freshman campaign a year ago. … The Cardinals boasted five players who scored in double figures in their season-opening win over the University of Dubuque on Nov. 15—led by Jones with a game-high 16 points. Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn. / 13), Blattner (12), Flom (11), and Schaefer (10) were the other four. Saint Mary's had five players score in double figures once a year ago. … Jones heads into Saturday's nonconference game at St. Scholastica averaging a team-best 13.8 ppg. Blattner (12.3 ppg) and Schaefer (11.8 ppg) are also averaging in double figures through four games. … Blattner owns a team-leading 31 rebounds (7.8 rpg), six more than Jones (25 / 6.3 rpg). … Jones hauled in a career-best seven rebounds against the University of Dubuque on Nov. 15. … The Cardinals, who made 163 3-pointers last season, have drained 20 treys in four games this season—including a 10-for-24 showing against the University of Dubuque on Nov. 15. … Huisman leads the team with six 3-pointers, one more than Schaefer. … Saint Mary's is averaging 65.2 ppg—including a season-high 76-point effort in its season-opening 76-64 win over the University of Dubuque. … The Cardinals have outscored their first four opponents 76-52 in the second quarter and 68-52 in the third. Saint Mary's opponents hold a 65-60 scoring edge in the first quarter. … With their 76-64 win over the University of Dubuque on Nov. 15, 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—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 St. Scholastica Saints:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• After three straight road games to open the season, Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the first of back-to-back home contests for the Saints. … CSS's showdown with Saint Mary's on Saturday is the third of five games against Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference foes this season. The Saints have already faced Gustavus (L, 79-38) and Concordia (L, 60-47) and still have Augsburg and St. Olaf on their schedule. … With Tuesday's 60-47 loss to Concordia, St. Scholastica falls to 0-6 all-time against the Cobbers—with this year's 13-point margin the closest of the six meetings. … Tuesday's loss to Concordia marked the second straight game in which the Saints have not led once. … Michela Walther was the only Saint to score in double figures against Concordia Tuesday, netting 10 points. … Walther, who has now led the team in scoring in back-to-back games, heads into Saturday's game against Saint Mary's averaging a team-best 9.3 ppg, while Mel Weisbrick is second at 8.3 ppg. … St. Scholastica boasts three players with 10 or more rebounds, led by Holly VanKempen with 18 (6.0 rpg). Weisbrick (13, 4.3 rpg) and Emeila Miner (10, 3.3 rpg) are the other two. … Kayla Swanson has dished out a team-leading seven assists, with VanKempen owning a team-best five steals. … Walther (5) and Miner (4) have accounted for nine of the team's 10 3-pointers this season. … St. Scholastica has been outscored in all four quarters this season—including 51-20 over the game's second 10 minutes.