WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team kicks off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Playoff play on Thursday, hosting Gustavus in a 7 p.m. contest at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
• #2 Saint Mary's Cardinals (20-5 Overall) vs. #3 Gustavus Gusties (20-6 Overall)
 
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• Live Stats * Live Video | Video Preview | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals head into the post-season on the heels of last Saturday's 89-65 conference loss to regular-season champion and eighth-ranked St. Thomas at Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul, Minn. | Recap
• Gustavus: The Gusties used a dominating first quarter—outscoring Saint Benedict 24-8 in the game's opening 10 minutes—en route a convincing 65-40 win over the Blazers in the MIAC quarterfinals on Tuesday in St. Peter, Minn. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Gustavus—Earlier This Season:
• December 2, 2015 * Winona, Minn.: For the second straight game, Micaela Meredith (Bloomington, Minn.) put together a career night, as the senior poured in a game-high 23 points in leading Saint Mary's to an 82-74 victory over the Gusties in the teams' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Gustavus—Their Last Post-Season Meeting:
• February 24, 2015 * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's was nearly perfect in the game's opening 20 minutes, pouring in a season-high 48 points and never looking back in routing the Gusties 90-58 in an MIAC Playoff quarterfinal game at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
MIAC Playoffs—How They Got Here:
MIAC Playoff Homepage | Playoff Bracket
• #2 Saint Mary's (14-4 MIAC, 20-5 overall): The Cardinals finished tied for second with Gustavus in the regular-season standings, but owned the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Gusties with their 82-74 win on Dec. 5.
• #3 Gustavus (14-4 MIAC, 20-6 overall): The Gusties kicked off post-season play on a high note on Tuesday, outscoring Saint Benedict 24-8 in the first quarter and rolling to a 65-40 victory in the MIAC quarterfinals—earning GAC a spot opposite Saint Mary's in one of the two playoff semifinal games.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• The Cardinals head into post-season play having won three of their last four and five of their last seven. … With their 20-5 overall record, the Cardinals have now reached the 20-win plateau in three of the last four seasons. … Saint Mary's is making its fifth straight MIAC Playoff appearance—the Cardinals have reached the semifinals each time. … Saint Mary's finished the regular season owning a 9-2 record on their home court, while going 10-3 on the road. … The Cardinals are 44-5 at the Saint Mary's Gym over the past four years. … Three of the Cardinals' five losses this season have come against nationally ranked teams—St. Thomas (twice) and UW-Stevens Point. . … 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 84-23 overall record, along with one conference regular-season title, four MIAC Playoff appearances, and an NCAA national tournament berth. … The Cardinals head into their MIAC Playoff opener on Thursday boasting a pair of players averaging in double figures—Blattner (16.6 ppg) and Meredith (14.2 ppg). … Meredith—who has netted 10 or more points in 18 of the team's 25 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 returned to the Cardinals lineup last Saturday against St. Thomas after missing five games due to an appendectomy, owns nine double-doubles and has hauled in 10 or more rebounds 12 times this season. … 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 208 rebounds (10.4 rpg). … With the first of her five assists against Hamline on Feb. 17, Pethke surpassed Lisa Janikowski as the all-time career assist leader. Pethke heads into Thursday's MIAC Playoff semifinal with a school-record 382 career assists. … Pethke—who dished out a career-high 10 assists against Augsburg on Dec. 9—owns a team-leading 147 assists, ranking her No. 2 all-time, just four 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. … Saint Mary's—which knocked down a season-high 12 treys against St. Olaf on Feb. 13—has made 152 3-pointers this season. … The Cardinals boast four players—Emma Schaefer (Roseville, Minn. / 39), Meredith (31), Pethke (30), and Huisman (28)—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 70.2 ppg. … Saint Mary's 85-point effort in their 85-56 win over St. Olaf on Feb. 13 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 their 85-56 win over St. Olaf on Feb. 13—Pethke (18), Meredith (11), Schaefer (11), Sam Jones (White Bear Lake, Minn. / 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 Gustavus Gusties:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• The Gusties are making their 16^th consecutive post-season appearance, owning a 9-16 all-time record—including a 9-2 mark on their home court. … Tuesday's MIAC Playoff quarterfinal win over Saint Benedict was the Gusties' first post-season victory since 2012. … Gustavus has been eliminated from the MIAC Playoffs by Saint Mary's in two of the last three seasons—including last season's 90-58 loss in Winona, Minn. … Gustavus heads into its MIAC Playoff semifinal showdown with Saint Mary's having won six straight and nine of its last 10—the lone exception, a 75-67 loss to eighth-ranked St. Thomas on Feb. 3. … Since dropping back-to-back games to the Coast Guard Academy (62-51 on Dec. 29) and St. Thomas (67-45), Gustavus has gone 12-2. … Mikayla Miller, one of the top scorers in the conference during the regular-season, poured in a game-high 24 points against Saint Benedict on Tuesday, while adding 10 assists, five steals, and three rebounds. … Miller has now scored 20 or more points seven times this season, while the double-double was her third of the season. … Miller and Lindsey Johnson head into Thursday's game at Saint Mary's leading the team in scoring, averaging 15.6 ppg and 10.5 ppg, respectively. … Gustavus boasts three players—Miranda Rice (135), Miller (132), and Hannah Howard (127) with 100 or more rebounds. … Along with her 15.6 ppg scoring average, Miller is also the team-leader in assists (81) and steals (73). … As a team, Gustavus has knocked down 138 3-pointers this season, led by Miller (46), Johnson (25), and Justine Lee (23). … Gustavus, which is averaging 68.9 ppg, is shooting 41 percent from the field this season (623-for-1508). … The Gusties have outscored their opponent in every quarter this season—including 445-341 in the second. … Gustavus has played two overtime games this season, falling to Saint Benedict (70-61) on Jan. 13 and beating Concordia (75-72 on Feb. 6. … Gustavus closed out its season with an 11-2 record on its home court. The Gusties head into Thursday's game at Saint Mary's 9-4 away from Gus Young Court.