ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team hits the road on Wednesday, as the Cardinals travel to Bethel's Robertson Center for a 7 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matchup with the Royals.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (12-2 MIAC | 18-3 Overall) at Bethel Royals (9-5 MIAC | 13-8 Overall)
 
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: For the second time in as many meetings, the Cardinals used a big second half to beat Saint Benedict Saturday in St. Joseph, Minn., dropping the Blazers 61-53—and earning Saint Mary's its fifth consecutive trip to the MIAC Playoffs | Recap
• Bethel: The Royals received 28 points from their bench, as Bethel collected an impressive 74-52 win over Macalester Saturday at Leonard Center in St. Paul, Minn.  | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Bethel—A Year Ago:
• December 8, 2014 * Winona, Minn.: Bethel outscored Saint Mary's 29-21 in the second half, including scoring the game's final five points, in handing the Cardinals a 51-47 setback—and snapping their eight-game, season-opening winning streak | Recap
• January 31, 2015 * Arden Hills, Minn.: Saint Mary's entered its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game against Bethel boasting an 8-3 conference mark and a 14-4 overall record. The same exact records as the Royals. Saint Mary's headed into the showdown riding a six-game winning streak. And so did the Royals. Fueled by their 8-3 record in MIAC play, the Cardinals were sitting tied for second in the conference standings—with Bethel. Unfortunately, when the final horn sounded at Robertson Center, the only difference between the teams' mirror images was the fact that Bethel owned a pair of conference wins over Saint Mary's—thanks to the Royals' 78-54 MIAC victory | Recap
• February 26, 2015 * Arden Hills, Minn.: The first two times Saint Mary's squared off against Bethel, the Royals put an end to a lengthy Cardinal winning streak. And, unfortunately for the Cardinals, the Royals were at it again as the teams squared off in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Playoff semifinals at Robertson Center. Only this time, it wasn't just a three-game win streak the Royals put an end to—Bethel also put an end to the Cardinals' post-season run, beating Saint Mary's 72-56 to earn a spot in the conference playoff title game against top-seeded and second-ranked St. Thomas | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return home to the Saint Mary's Gym on Saturday, as the Cardinals entertain St. Olaf in a 3 p.m. conference matchup.
• Bethel: The Royals are back on their home court at Robertson Center in Arden Hills, Minn., on Saturday, hosting St. Thomas in a 3 p.m. MIAC showdown.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• Wednesday's game against Bethel is the second straight road contest for the Cardinals, who play three of their final four games on the road—the lone exception, Saturday's home contest against St. Olaf. … With their 61-53 win over Saint Benedict last Saturday­—Saint Mary's second win of the year over the Blazers—the Cardinals improved to 12-2 in conference play and maintained a share of the top spot in the conference standings with St. Thomas, two games in front of Concordia and Gustavus. … With Saturday's win over Saint Benedict, the Cardinals locked 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 three straight and five of their last six—are 8-2 on their home court this season, while going 10-1 on the road. … The Cardinals are 43-5 at the Saint Mary's Gym over the past four years. … Bridget Pethke (New London, Wis.) scored a team- and season-high 18 points in the Cardinals' win over Saint Benedict last Saturday. … Pethke was one of three players to net 10 or more points against Saint Benedict—Micaela Meredith (Bloomington, Minn.) and Emma Schaefer (Roseville, Minn.) chipped in 16 and 11 points, respectively. … Meredith scored a team-high 23 points against St. Catherine last Wednesday. 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. … 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 her second game of the season last Saturday 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 Bethel boasting a pair of players averaging in double figures—Blattner (16.6 ppg) and Meredith (14.6 ppg). … Blattner owns a team-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 123 assists and 66 steals. … With her 123 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 378, just 14 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 124 3-pointers. … The Cardinals boast four players—Schaefer (33), Meredith (27), Pethke (24), and  Huisman (22)—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 69.8 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 Bethel Royals:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• Wednesday's game against league-leading Saint Mary's is the first of back-to-back home games against the top two teams in the MIAC. Bethel squares off against co-leader St. Thomas on Saturday. … The Royals head into this key two-game homestand boasting a 6-2 record at Robertson Center. … Bethel heads into Wednesday's matchup with the Cardinals having won three straight and eight of their last 11. … Two of Bethel's last three wins have come by five points or less—BU beat Saint Benedict 55-50 on Jan. 30, and edged St. Olaf 88-85 in double overtime on Feb. 3. … Bethel boasted three players in double figures in last Saturday's rout of Macalester, led by Molly O'Toole and Abby Miller with 12 points each. Shanni Moorse chipped in 11 points. … O'Toole also collected a game-high 10 rebounds vs. the Scots en route to her fourth double-double of the season. … O'Toole scored a season-high 25 points against Hamline on Jan. 16, while Zimmerman owns a pair of 24-point performances against George Fox (Dec. 29) and Concordia (Jan. 23). … O'Toole and Kalli Zimmerman enter Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's averaging in double figures at 12.2 ppg each. … The Royals have had nine different players lead them in scoring this season. … O'Toole has also hauled in a team-best 148 rebounds (7.0 rpg), while Hannah Niewald is the team leader in assists (43), and shares the team lead in steals (24) with Zimmerman. … The Royals, who have netted 94 3-pointers this season, boast three players with 10 or more treys—led by Miller (29) and Sydney Schultz (27). … As a team, the Royals are averaging 68.8 ppg and have scored 80 or more points five times—including a season-high 91-point effort in a 91-49 win over Principia on Nov. 21. … Bethel has outscored its opponents 760-641 in the second half—including 380-302 in the third quarter.