ST. JOSEPH, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team hits the road on Saturday, as the Cardinals travel to Saint Benedict for a 3 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matchup with the Blazers.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (11-2 MIAC | 17-3 Overall) at Saint Benedict Blazers (9-4 MIAC | 14-6 Overall)
 
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals—coming off a heart-stopping, 65-59 come-from-behind win over Carleton on Saturday—held off a St. Catherine late-game charge, en route to a 62-60 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory Wednesday at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• Saint Benedict: After taking a slim lead into halftime, the Blazers went on a 17-0 run to start the third quarter to grab a lead they would never give up en route to a 65-51 MIAC win over Macalester Wednesday at Leonard Center in St. Paul, Minn. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Saint Benedict—Earlier This Year:
• November 22, 2015 * St. Joseph, Minn.: Saint Mary's collected its second nonconference win in as many days, as the Cardinals outscored Saint Benedict 48-40 in the second half in pulling away for a 75-67 victory at Clare Lynch Hall | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Saint Benedict—A Year Ago:
• January 14, 2015 * Winona, Minn.: Thanks to a balanced offense that saw four Cardinals score in double figures, Saint Mary's ran its winning streak against the Blazers to seven straight, rallying from a two-point halftime deficit to beat Saint Benedict 63-59 at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• February 11, 2015 * St. Joseph, Minn.: The Blazers erupted for 18 unanswered points to open the second half and the Cardinals never recovered, as CSB dealt Saint Mary's a 73-54 conference setback at Claire Lynch Hall | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back on the road on Wednesday, heading to Bethel's Robertson Center in Arden Hills, Minn., for a 7 p.m. conference game against the Royals.
• Saint Benedict: The Blazers travel to St. Catherine's Butler Center in St. Paul, Minn., for a 7 p.m. MIAC game against the Wildcats.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• The Cardinals close out the regular season playing four of their final five games on the road—the lone exception, next Saturday's home contest against St. Olaf. … With their 62-60 win over St. Catherine Wednesday, the Cardinals improved to 11-2 in conference play and maintained a share of the top spot in the conference standings with St. Thomas, one game in front of Concordia, and two up on Gustavus and Saint Benedict. … The Cardinals head into Saturday's game at Saint Benedict needed one win in their last five games—or an Augsburg or St. Olaf loss—to lock up their fifth straight MIAC Playoff berth. … Saint Mary's has won at least one playoff game in each of the last four seasons. The Cardinals reached the MIAC semifinals in 2011-12, 2012-13, and 2014-15, while reaching the conference playoff title game in 2013-14. … Saint Mary's—winners of two straight and four of their last five—improved to 8-2 on their home court with Wednesday's win over St. Catherine. The Cardinals are 43-5 at the Saint Mary's Gym over the past four years. … Micaela Meredith (Bloomington, Minn.) scored a team-high 23 points against St. Catherine on Wednesday. It was the second straight game—and 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. … Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.), who owns nine double-doubles and has hauled in 10 or more rebounds in ninth straight games—and 12 times this season—missed Wednesday's game vs. Saint Benedict 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 team-, game-, and career-high 11 rebounds. … McKenzie Sommers (Arlington, Minn.) equaled her collegiate best with 12 points against Macalester on Jan. 23, while Haley Trom (Hampton, Minn.) equaled her career high with 15 points against St. Catherine on Jan. 6, and Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn.) recorded a career-high 14 points against Carleton on Dec. 16. … The Cardinals have had six different players lead them in scoring, and have had four players score 10 or more points in the same game three times this season. … The Cardinals head into their conference showdown at Saint Benedict boasting a pair of players averaging in double figures—Blattner (16.6 ppg) and Meredith (14.5 ppg). … Blattner owns a team- and conference-best 201 rebounds (10.6 rpg), while Pethke—who dished out a career-high 10 assists against Augsburg on Dec. 9—leads the team with 122 assists and 64 steals. … With her 122 assists this season, Pethke has eclipsed the 100-assist mark for the second time in her collegiate career. … Pethke is currently sitting third all-time in career assists with 377, just 15 helpers shy of record-holder Lisa Janikowski's 392 assists from 1983-87. … Saint Mary's—which knocked down a season-high 11 treys against UW-La Crosse on Nov. 24—has made 116 3-pointers. … The Cardinals boast three players—Emma Schaefer (Roseville, Minn. / 32), Meredith (26) and Huisman (21)—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 81-point effort in their 81-56 win over Macalester on Jan. 23 marked the fourth 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 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. … Two of the Cardinals' three losses this season have come against nationally ranked teams—No. 14 UW-Stevens Point and No. 19 St. Thomas. … 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 Saint Benedict Blazers:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• The Blazers play three of their final five games on their home court, beginning Saturday against Saint Mary's. CSB has played six of its last seven contests on the road. … With their 65-51 win over Macalester on Wednesday, the Blazers improved to 5-1 in their last six contests. … CSB's 55-50 loss to Bethel on Jan. 30 snapped their season-high four-game winning streak. … Macy Kelly scored a career-high 14 points in leading three Blazers in double figures against Macalester Wednesday. Chelsey Guetter and Niki Fokken chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively. … Kelly's 14-point showing vs. the Scots snapped a streak of three consecutive games in which Fokken had led the team in scoring. … CSB has had eight different players lead the team in scoring this season. … The Blazers have had just one game in which a player has netted 20 or more points this season—Alison Newton scored a season-high 20 points against UW-Superior on Nov. 24. … Fokken enters Saturday's showdown as the Blazers' only player averaging in double figures at 10.3 ppg. … Fokken and Chelsey Guetter have each eclipsed the 100-rebound plateau—Fokken leads the team with 138 boards (6.9 rpg), while Guetter is close behind with 131 (6.6 rpg). … Guetter boasts a team-best five games of 10 or more rebounds—including a season-high 13 in the Blazers' first meeting with Saint Mary's on Nov. 22. … Fokken owns the team's only two double-doubles this season, scoring 10 points and adding 11 rebounds against UW-Stout on Nov. 14, and tallying 17 points and 12 boards against Macalester on Jan. 6. … CSB, which has drained 109 3-pointers through 20 games, has two players—Annie Dittberner (29) and Grace Wolhowe (27) with 20 or more treys this season. … Alison Newton owns the team lead in both assists (54) and steals (25), while Fokken has amassed a team-best 35 blocks. … Saint Benedict, which is averaging 61.9 ppg, has scored 70 or more points in a game twice—including a season-high 80 points in an 81-39 season-opening win over Crown on Nov. 20. … CSB is 6-4 on hits home court this season, while going 8-2 away from Clare Lynch Hall.