ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team hits the road in quest of a post-season tournament title on Saturday, as the Cardinals square off against eighth-ranked and top-seeded St. Thomas in the MIAC Playoffs championship game at Schoenecker Arena.
 
MIAC Playoffs—The Matchups:
Quarterfinals: Tuesday, Feb. 23
• No. 3 Gustavus 65, No. 6 Saint Benedict 40
• No. 4 Concordia 85, No. 5 Bethel 76
Semifinals: Thursday, Feb. 25 
• No. 1 St. Thomas 69, No. 4 Concordia 48
• No. 2 Saint Mary's 78, No. 3 Gustavus 70   
Championship: Saturday, Feb. 27  - 3 p.m.
• No. 2 Saint Mary's at No. 1 St. Thomas | St. Paul, Minn. | Live Video 

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Ticket Information:
• Ticket prices for Saturday's MIAC Playoff championship are $7 for adults and $3 for any student (5 years old and younger are free). There is no senior discount. MIAC Passes will be honored. No other passes are to be accepted.
 
MIAC Playoffs—How They Got Here:
MIAC Playoff Homepage | Playoff Bracket
• #1 St. Thomas (16-2 MIAC, 22-3 overall): The Tommies captured their second straight MIAC regular-season title—and the MIAC Playoffs No. 1 seed—after going a near-perfect 16-2 in league play this season. St. Thomas earned its spot in the conference playoff title game with a 69-48 win over Concordia in one of Thursday's two MIAC Playoff semifinal games at Schoenecker Arena
• #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. Saint Mary's then knocked off the Gusties 78-70 in one of Thursday's two MIAC Playoff semifinal games at the Saint Mary's Gym
 
MIAC Playoffs—The Semifinal Recaps:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals got 21 points from Bridget Pethke (New London, Wis.) and 20 from Micaela Meredith (Bloomington, Minn.), as Saint Mary's rallied from an eight-point third-quarter deficit to beat Gustavus 78-70 Thursday in the MIAC Playoff semifinals at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• St. Thomas: Kaitlin Langer scored 20 points and added 10 rebounds—and the Tommies drained 11 3-pointers—as St. Thomas rolled to a 69-48 MIAC Playoff semifinal win over Concordia Thursday at Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul, Minn. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Thomas—Earlier This Season:
• 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
• February 20, 2016 * St. Paul, Minn.: St. Thomas outscored the Cardinals 24-8 in the first quarter and never looked back in handing the Cardinals an 89-65 conference setback in the teams' regular-season final at Schoenecker Arena | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Thomas—Their Last Post-Season Meeting:
• March 1, 2014 * Winona, Minn.: The Tommies, making their fifth straight appearance in the MIAC Playoff title game, knocked down 9 of 10 free throws over the game's final 1:30 in handing the Cardinals a 71-58 setback in the championships game of the 2014 MIAC Playoffs at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
The winner of Saturday's MIAC Playoffs championship game receives the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA National Tournament, which begins March 4-5. The loser will have to wait to see if it earns one of the NCAA's at-large berths.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• Saint Mary's is making its fifth straight MIAC Playoff appearance—the Cardinals have reached the semifinals each time. … Saturday's game against St. Thomas marks the Cardinals' second appearance in the MIAC Playoff championship game in the last three seasons. Saint Mary's fell to the Tommies 71-58 in the 2014 title games. … The Cardinals head into Saturday's MIAC Playoff title game against St. Thomas having won three of their last four and five of their last seven. … With their 21-5 overall record, the Cardinals have now reached the 20-win plateau in three of the last four seasons. …  Saint Mary's finished the season owning a 10-2 record on their home court, while going 11-3 on the road. … The Cardinals are 45-5 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 85-23 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 showdown against St. Thomas boasting a pair of players averaging in double figures—Blattner (16.2 ppg) and Meredith (14.4 ppg). … Pethke and Meredith each reached the 20-point barrier against Gustavus in Thursday's MIAC Playoff semifinal, with Pethke scoring 21, while Meredith chipped in 20. … Meredith—who has netted 10 or more points in 19 of the team's 26 games—has now scored 20 or more points seven times this season, including a career-best 24-point showing against St. Thomas on Jan. 15. … The 21- and 20-point showings by Pethke and Meredith against the Gusties marked the second time this season Saint Mary's has had two players score 20 or more points in a game. Meredith and Blattner each netted 23 points in the Cardinals' win over UW-Stout on Jan. 2. … Brigette Audette (Big Lake, Minn.) chipped in a career-high 17 points against Gustavus Thursday. … Audette became the sixth Cardinal player to record a career-high of 10 or more points in a game this season, joining Blattner (27), Meredith (24), Trom (15), Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn. / 14), and McKenzie Sommers (Arlington, Minn. / 12). … 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. … The Cardinals have had six different players lead them in scoring this season. … Blattner owns a team-best 217 rebounds (10.3 rpg). … Pethke set a school-record for assists in a season with her five helpers against Gustavus Thursday. The senior heads into Saturday's game vs. St. Thomas with 153—two better than the previous mark of 151, set by Michele Gensler in 1990-91. … With the first of her five assists against Hamline on Feb. 17, Pethke surpassed Lisa Janikowski as the all-time career assist leader. Pethke owns a school-record 408 career assists. … Pethke—who dished out a career-high 10 assists against Augsburg on Dec. 9—has eclipsed the 100-assist mark twice in her collegiate career. … Pethke has started every game she has played in a Cardinal uniform, a span of 93 games. … Saint Mary's—which knocked down a season-high 12 treys against St. Olaf on Feb. 13—has made 161 3-pointers this season. … The Cardinals boast four players—Emma Schaefer (Roseville, Minn. / 39), Pethke (35), Meredith (34), 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 70.5 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 St. Thomas Tommies:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• 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 the latest D3hoops.com Polls—pushed its winning streak to 13 straight with its MIAC Playoff semifinal win over Concordia. … St. Thomas—which is appearing in the MIAC Playoff championship game for the seventh consecutive season—has won 15 of its last 16 since dropping back-to-back games to St. Catherine and then-eighth-ranked Wheaton on Dec. 12 and Dec. 29, respectively. … With their current 22-3 overall record, St. Thomas has now recorded seven consecutive 20-win seasons. … The Tommies have been ranked in the D3hoops.com Top 25 for 43 consecutive weeks. … Over the last six seasons against conference opponents, the Tommies are 100-2 when they score 65 or more points and UST has won its last 53 games overall when allowing fewer than 65 points. … The Tommies have won 66 of their last 71 games against MIAC opponents—and are 128-16 vs. league foes since January, 2010. … The Tommies are 62-4 at home the last four seasons, including a 12-2 mark in 2013-14 and a 14-0 record last season. They are 73-7 on campus in six seasons since the opening of the Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex. … St. Thomas boasted four players in double figures against Concordia in Thursday's playoff semifinal, led by Kaitlin Langer with 20. … Langer also hauled in 10 rebounds for her 14^th double-double of the season. … Katie Stone, who equaled her career high with 21 points against St. Olaf on Feb. 17, scored 18 points against the Cobbers Thursday. UST improved to 38-1 over the last three seasons in games in which Stone has scored in double figures. … Stone set the UST single-season record for 3-pointers Thursday vs. CC, knocking down four—all in the second half—to give her 71 for the year. She is just one 3-pointers shy of the MIAC single-season mark. … Stone has 192 career 3-pointers, ranking her second in UST program history, eight back of Missy Pederson's 210 (1999-2002). … St. Thomas enters Saturday's showdown with Saint Mary's boasting three players averaging in double figures—Langer (17.1 ppg), Gabby Zehrer (13.6 ppg), and Stone (12.5 ppg). … Langer also leads the team in rebounds with 231 (8.9 rpg), while Stone is the team-leader in assists (50) and steals (23). … St. Thomas, which own s a single-season school-record 203 3-pointers this season, has made eight or more treys in 15 of the Tommies' 26 games—including 11 against Concordia on Thursday. … The Tommies are shooting 37 percent (203-for-544) from behind the arc. … St. Thomas is averaging 71.1 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. … UST has six freshmen in its rotation and they are combining to average 21 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. … The Tommies are 6-1 this season in games decided by six or fewer points.