ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team closes out its regular-season schedule on Saturday, as the Cardinals head to St. Thomas' Schoenecker Arena for a 3 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (14-3 MIAC | 20-4 Overall) at #8 St. Thomas Tommies (15-2 MIAC, 21-3 Overall)
 
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: Bridget Pethke (New London, Wis., broke the school's all-time assist record and the Cardinals locked up the No. 2 seed in the upcoming MIAC Playoffs with a 64-48 conference win over Hamline Wednesday at Hutton Arena in St. Paul, Minn. | Recap
• St. Thomas: Katie Stone matched her career high with 21 points and eighth-ranked St. Thomas secured a share of the MIAC regular-season championship with a 66-49 win over St. Olaf Wednesday at Schoenecker Arena in St Paul, Minn. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Thomas—Earlier This Year:
• January 16, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: 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, at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap

Saint Mary's vs. St. Thomas—A Year Ago:
• February 4, 2015 * St. Paul, Minn.: The Cardinals—squaring off against league-leading, unbeaten and third-ranked St. Thomas in the only meeting between the two teams—shot just 33 percent from the field. And the high-powered Tommies took advantage. 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 at Schoenecker Arena | Recap
 
The MIAC Playoff Picture:
• The top five spots in next week's six-team MIAC Playoffs have been set—St. Thomas (15-2) is the top seed, followed by Saint Mary's (14-3), Gustavus (13-4), Concordia (12-5), and Bethel (11-6). St. Thomas and Saint Mary's will receive first-round bye and host semifinal games on Thursday, Feb. 25. No. 4 Concordia will host No. 5 Bethel in one quarterfinal game on Tuesday, while No. 6 Gustavus will entertain the sixth seed—either Augsburg or Saint Benedict depending on Saturday's outcomes—in the other. The highest remaining seed will travel to Saint Mary's, with the lowest remaining seed heading to St. Thomas
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• The Cardinals head into Saturday's regular-season finale against St. Thomas have won two straight and five of their last six. … Wednesday's 64-48 victory over Hamline was Saint Mary's 20^th win of the season—marking the third time in the last four years Saint Mary's has reached the 20-win plateau. … Two of the Cardinals' four losses this season have come against nationally ranked teams—UW-Stevens Point and St. Thomas. … This year's senior class—Bridget Pethke (New London, Wis.), Micaela Meredith (Bloomington, Minn.), and Haley Trom (Hampton, Minn.)—will leave Saint Mary's as the winningest class in program history, heading into the final week of the regular-season having amassed an 84-22 overall record, along with one conference regular-season title, four MIAC Playoff appearances, and an NCAA national tournament berth. … Last Saturday's win over St. Olaf was the final regular-season home game for the Cardinals, who improved to 9-2 on their home court this season, while going 10-2 on the road. … The Cardinals are 44-5 at the Saint Mary's Gym over the past four years. … For the second game in a row, Pethke led the team in scoring Wednesday against Hamline, pouring in 16 points. Sam Jones (White Bear Lake, Minn.) and Brigette Audette (Big Lake, Minn.) also scored in double figures vs. the Pipers, finishing with 14 and 12 points, respectively. … With the first of her five assists against Hamline Wednesday, Pethke surpassed Lisa Janikowski as the all-time career assist leader. Pethke heads into Saturday's regular-season finale against St. Thomas with a school-record 397 career assists. … Pethke—who dished out a career-high 10 assists against Augsburg on Dec. 9—owns a team-leading 142 assists, ranking her No. 3 all-time, just nine helpers shy of the single-season school record of 151, set by Michele Gensler in 1990-91 … Pethke—who has started every game she has played in a Cardinal uniform—has eclipsed the 100-assist mark twice in her collegiate career. … The Cardinals head into their conference showdown at St. Thomas Saturday boasting a pair of players averaging in double figures—Blattner (16.6 ppg) and Meredith (14.3 ppg). … Meredith—who has netted 10 or more points in 17 of the team's 24 games—scored a team-high 23 points against St. Catherine on Feb. 3. It was the sixth time this season the Cardinal senior has netted 20 or more points in a game. … Meredith's 23-point effort vs. St. Catherine was one point shy of her career-best 24-point showing against St. Thomas on Jan. 15. … Blattner, who owns nine double-doubles and had hauled in 10 or more rebounds in ninth straight games—and 12 times this season—missed her fifth game of the season against Hamline Wednesday due to an appendectomy. … Blattner—who has scored 20 or more points eight times this season—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. … Blattner scored a career-high 27 points in back-to-back games against St. Catherine and St. Olaf on Jan. 6 and Jan. 6—it was the highest single-game output since Pethke tossed in 32 points against St. Olaf on Jan. 29, 2014. … Meredith recorded her first collegiate double-double against Lawrence on Dec. 30, scoring 13 points and hauling in a career-high 11 rebounds, while Audette missed her first career double-double by one point vs. Bethel on Feb. 10, finishing with nine points and a career-best 12 rebounds. … McKenzie Sommers (Arlington, Minn.) equaled her collegiate best with 12 points against Macalester on Jan. 23, while Trom tied her career high with 15 points against St. Catherine on Jan. 6, and Huisman recorded a career-high 14 points against Carleton on Dec. 16. … The Cardinals have had six different players lead them in scoring this season. … Blattner owns a team-best 201 rebounds (10.6 rpg). … Saint Mary's—which knocked down a season-high 12 treys against St. Olaf last Saturday—has made 146 3-pointers this season. … The Cardinals boast four players—Schaefer (38), Pethke (30), Meredith (29), and  Huisman (27)—with 20 or more 3-pointers. … 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. … As a team, the Cardinals are averaging 70.4 ppg. … Saint Mary's 85-point effort in their 85-56 win over St. Olaf last Saturday marked the fifth time this season the Cardinals have scored 80 or more points—including a season-high 88 points in their season-opening win over Crown on Nov. 21. … The Cardinals put a season-high five players in double figures in last Saturday's 85-56 win over St. Olaf—Pethke (18), Meredith (11), Emma Schaefer (Roseville, Minn. / 11), Jones (11), and Sommers (10). … The Cardinals had 11 players see court time in their first meeting against Carleton on Dec. 16—and all 11 scored at least two points. … 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 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. … 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.
 
Scouting The St. Thomas Tommies:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• With Wednesday's victory over St. Olaf, the Tommies locked up a share of the MIAC's regular-season title. … The Tommies have won either the MIAC regular-season or playoff championship in each of the last seven seasons under coach Ruth Sinn. … St. Thomas—ranked No. 8 in both the USA Today Sports and D3hoops.com Polls—pushed its winning streak to 11 straight with Wednesday's win over St. Olaf. … St. Thomas has won 13 of its last four since dropping back-to-back games to St. Catherine and then-eighth-ranked Wheaton on Dec. 12 and Dec. 29, respectively. … Katie Stone equaled her career high with 21 points against St. Olaf on Wednesday. Kaitlin Langer also scored in double figures vs. the Oles, finishing with 12 points. … With Stone's 21 points against St. Olaf, St. Thomas improved to 36-1 over the last three seasons in games in which the Tommies senior has scored in double figures. … St. Thomas enters Saturday's showdown with Saint Mary's boasting three players averaging in double figures—Langer (16.5 ppg), Gabby Zehrer (13.6 ppg), and Stone (12.2 ppg). … Langer also leads the team in rebounds with 208 (8.7 rpg), while Stone is the team-leader in assists (48) and steals (22). … St. Thomas knocked down 10 3-pointers against the Oles and has now made 181 treys this season—two shy of the Tommies' single-season school record. … The Tommies are shooting 36 percent (181-for-495) from behind the arc. … St. Thomas is averaging 70.5 ppg and has scored 80 or more points in a game three times—including a 94-79 win over Buena Vista on Nov. 16 and a 100-28 victory over Carleton on Dec. 5. … By holding St. Olaf to just 48 points Wednesday, St. Thomas improved to 51-0 in games in which the Tommies hold their opponents under 65 points. … St. Thomas is 6-1 this season in games decided by six points or less.