WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team is back in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, as the Cardinals entertain Carleton in a 7 p.m. contest at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (6-4 MIAC, 12-5 Overall) vs. Carleton Knights (3-7 MIAC, 5-12 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—January 21, 2017 * Moorhead, Minn.: Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn.) equaled her career-best performance, scoring a game-high 20 points in helping the Cardinals complete the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference sweep of the Cobbers with a 75-61 victory at Memorial Auditorium | Recap
• Carleton—January 21, 2017 * Northfield, Minn.: A 20-1 run in the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter elevated Carleton to a 59-57 conference victory over Saint Benedict at West Gymnasium | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Carleton—Earlier This Year:
• November 30, 2016 * Northfield, Minn.: The Cardinals kicked off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play in memorable—albeit nerve-wracking—fashion, getting a basket by Emma Schaefer (Roseville, Minn.) with less than one second remaining in overtime to lift the Cardinals to a 61-60 victory over Carleton at West Gym | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Carleton—A Year Ago:
• December 16, 2015 * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's scored 35 of the game's first 42 points—including a span of 20 unanswered points—and never looked back in rolling to an 85-47 conference victory over the Knights at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• January 30, 2016 * Northfield, Minn.: Saint Mary's needed every bit of a game-ending 8-2 run to hold off upset-minded Carleton 65-59 in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game at the Knights' West Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals hit the road on Saturday, traveling to the Gus Young Court in St. Peter, Minn., for a 1 p.m. MIAC matchup against Gustavus.
• Carleton: The Knights hit the road on Saturday, traveling to Hamline's Hutton Arena for a 1 p.m. conference showdown with the Pipers.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Saturday's game against Concordia was the fourth straight road game for the Cardinals, who are 5-3 away from the Saint Mary's Gym this season. … The Cardinals head into Wednesday's game against Carleton owning a 7-2 record at home this season and are 52-7 on their home court over the past five seasons. … The Cardinals snapped their two-game losing streak with Saturday's 75-61 win over Concordia. … Four of Saint Mary's five losses this season have come in its two, two-game losing streaks. On the flip side, 10 of the Cardinals' 12 wins have come during two, five-game winning streaks. … With their 75 points in last Saturday's victory at Concordia, the Cardinals have now scored 60 or more points in 11 of their 12 wins— the lone exception, a 56-52 win over Macalester on Jan. 4. … Saint Mary's has been held under 60 points in all five of its losses this season. … Alex Huisman (Adrian, Minn.) equaled her career high with 20 points in the Cardinals' 75-61 win over Concordia last Saturday. It was the second time in as many meetings against the Cobbers that Huisman has scored a career-best 20 points. … Huisman is one of three Cardinals who have posted career-high games of 20 or more points this season. Blattner scored a career-best 28 points against Bethel on Dec. 7, while Jones finished with 21 against the University of Dubuque on Nov. 15. … Blattner's 28-point showing against Bethel on Dec. 7 was the highest individual offensive performance since Shelby Auseth recorded 28 points and Bridget Pethke scored 32 during the 2013-14 season. … Huisman has now led the team in scoring in each of the Cardinals' last three games—having netted 12 points in back-to-back contests against Saint Benedict and St. Thomas. … Huisman was one of four Cardinals to score in double figures against the Cobbers—Blattner (17), Jones (14), and Emma Schaefer (Roseville, Minn. / 13) were the other three. … Blattner has scored 10 or more points in 14 of the team's 17 games—including three games of 20 or more points. … Jones also hauled in a career-high 10 rebounds against Concordia last Saturday en route to her first collegiate double-double. … Blattner picked up her seventh double-double of the season and 16^th of her collegiate career with 24 points and 12 rebounds against Augsburg on Jan. 11. … Blattner has recorded 10 or more rebounds eight times this season—including a season 17-rebound effort against Carleton on Nov. 30. … Blattner's 17 rebounds against Carleton were just two shy of her school-record 19-rebound performance against UW-Eau Claire on Dec. 29, 2015. … Blattner and Kirsten Keefe (Chatfield, Minn.) each recorded double-doubles against Carleton on Nov. 30—Blattner scored 23 points and added 17 rebounds, while Keefe chipped in 10 points and 11 boards. It was Keefe's first collegiate double-double. … The Cardinals have had six different players lead or share the team lead in scoring through 14 games—Blattner (7 times), Schaefer (4 times), Huisman (4 times), Jones (3 times), Keefe, and Brigette Audette (Big Lake, Minn.). … Blattner heads into the Cardinals' conference showdown against Carleton averaging a team-best 14.5 ppg. Jones (11.4 ppg) and Schaefer (11.3 ppg) are also averaging in double figures through 16 games. … Blattner owns a team- and conference-leading 162 rebounds (9.5 rpg). … The Cardinals, who made 163 3-pointers last season, have drained 107 treys in 17 games this season—including a season-high 11 against St. Catherine on Jan. 7. … The Cardinals' 11 3-pointers were the most since knocking down 12 against St. Olaf on Feb. 13, 2016. … Huisman leads the team with 30 3-pointers—including five against Concordia last Saturday. … Ten of the 13 players on the Cardinal roster have drained at least one 3-pointer this season. … Schaefer, who dished out a career-high 12 assists against Concordia on Dec. 3, leads the team with 84 helpers this season. … Schaefer's 12-assist effort against Concordia was the highest single-game effort since Jamie Rattunde dished out 12 against Coe on Nov. 26, 2003. … Saint Mary's has put five players in double figures twice this season, having achieved the feat against both the University of Dubuque and St. Catherine. Saint Mary's had five players score in double figures just once a year ago. … The Cardinals had 10 players score two or more points in their 66-40 win over Viterbo on Nov. 22. … Saint Mary's finished with 59 rebounds against Lawrence on Dec. 30, two shy of its school-record 61-rebound effort against Carleton on Nov. 30. … Saint Mary's is averaging 63.8 ppg. … The Cardinals posted back-to-back games of 80 or more points earlier this season—scoring 80 in an 80-73 win over St. Catherine on Jan. 7, and netting a season-high 81 in a 81-79 victory over Augsburg on Jan. 11. Saint Mary's eclipsed the 80-point plateau five times last year, including a season-high 88-point showing against Crown on Nov. 21, 2015. … Saint Mary's 61-60 win over Carleton in the teams' first meeting on Nov. 30 was its first overtime game of the season—and first since a 79-73 win over Concordia on Feb. 7, 2015. … Saint Mary's has now won its last four overtime games. The last Cardinal loss in OT was against Concordia on Jan. 29, 2012, falling 60-59. … The Cardinals have won at least 11 of their first 15 games for the fourth time in their last five seasons. … With their 76-64 win over the University of Dubuque on Nov. 15, the Cardinals have now won their season-opener in each of the last four seasons—dating back to a 63-58 loss to Elmhurst to kick off the 2011-12 season. … Saint Mary's—picked to finish third in the MIAC Preseason Coaches' Poll—made its fifth straight MIAC Playoff appearance last season—and the Cardinals have reached at least the semifinals each time. … With their 21-6 overall record last season, the Cardinals have now reached the 20-win plateau in three of the last four seasons.
 
Scouting The Carleton Knights:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• After four straight home games, Wednesday's match at Saint Mary's is the first of back-to-back road contests for the Knights, who are just 1-7 away from West Gym this season. … With their come-from-behind 59-57 win over Saint Benedict last Saturday, the Knights have now won three straight. After opening the season 1-11, Carleton has rattled off four wins in its last five contests. … Three of Carleton's last four wins have been by three points or less—53-51 over Concordia, 76-73 vs. Bethany Lutheran, and 59-57 against Saint Benedict. … The Knights scored 20 of the first 21 fourth-quarter points in their come-from-behind win over Saint Benedict last Saturday. … Cece Leone scored a team-high 15 points to lead four Carleton players in double figures against Saint Benedict last Saturday. Sarah Waldfogel chipped in 13, and Samantha Cooke and Anne Hamilton each added 11 for the Knights. … Leone finished one rebound shy of a double-double against the Blazers, hauling in a team-best nine boards. … Leone has now led the team in scoring in back-to-back games and nine times this season. … Cooke owns the team's individual single-game scoring performance, netting 26 points in the Knights' one-point loss to Saint Mary's in the teams' first meeting on Nov. 30. … Carleton heads into Wednesday's rematch with Saint Mary's boasting two players—Leone (11.5 ppg) and Cooke (10.5 ppg) averaging 10 or more points. … Waldfogel and Leone are the team's rebounding leaders, with Waldfogel owning a team-high 93 boards (5.5 rpg), two more than Leone (5.4 rpg). … Katie Chavez is the team's assist leader with 45 helpers, while also boasting a team-best 23 steals. … The Knights are shooting 37 percent from the field through 17 games (326-for-890) and have knocked down 53 3-pointers. … Chavez has netted a team-leading 13 3-opinters—she is one of nine different Knights to net at least one trey. … As a team, Carleton is averaging 55.4 ppg, while the Knights' opponents are scoring at a 69.9 ppg clip. … Carleton has played two overtime games this season—beating Concordia 53-51 on Jan. 11, while falling to Saint Mary's 61-60 on Nov. 30.