ST. PETER, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals travel to Gustavus' Gus Young Court for a 1 p.m. matchup against the Gusties
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (6-5 MIAC, 12-6 Overall) at #19 Gustavus Gusties (11-0 MIAC, 18-0 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—January 25, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's suffered through a nearly nine-minute scoreless drought through most of the first quarter and into the second—and the Cardinals never recovered in falling to the visiting Knights 65-48 at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• Gustavus—January 25, 2017 * Moorhead, Minn.: Gustavus opened the second half on a 22-11 run, as Gustavus rallied from a 33-26 halftime deficit to beat Concordia 61-59 at Memorial Auditorium | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Gustavus—Earlier This Year:
• December 10, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals knew they were going to have their hands full when they squared off against Gustavus, a team that was riding a season-opening eight-game winning streak—with all eight wins by double figures, including six victories by 20 or more points. There would be no ninth straight double-figure win. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, there would be a ninth consecutive win, however, as the Gusties used a 10-7 run over the game's final 10 minutes in dealing Saint Mary's a 49-45 conference setback at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Gustavus—A Year Ago:
• 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 at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• February 25, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: Bridget Pethke (New London, Wis.) poured in a game-high 21 points and Micaela Meredith (Bloomington, Minn.) added 20—with the two accounting for eight of the team's nine 3-pointers—as the Cardinals downed the Gusties 78-70 in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Playoff semifinals at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back on the road on Wednesday, heading to Hamline's Hutton Arena for a 7 p.m. MIAC showdown with the Pipers.
• Gustavus: The Gusties are right back Gus Young Court in St. Peter, Minn., on Wednesday, entertaining St. Thomas in a 7 p.m. conference matchup.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Saturday's game against Gustavus is the first of back-to-back road games for the Cardinals, who have played four of their last five games on the road. … Wednesday's loss to Carleton was just its third home loss of the season. The Cardinals own a 7-3 record at home this season and are 52-8 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 six 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 six of its losses this season—including Wednesday's 65-48 setback to Carleton. … Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) scored a team-high 13 points and Emma Schaefer (Roseville, Minn.) added 11 in the Cardinals' loss to Carleton Wednesday. … Blattner's 13-point showing snapped a streak of three straight games in which Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn.) had led the team in scoring. … Huisman 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 Sam Jones (White Bear Lake, Minn.) 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. … Blattner has scored 10 or more points in 15 of the team's 18 games—including three games of 20 or more points. … Jones scored 14 points and 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 (8 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 Gustavus averaging a team-best 14.4 ppg. Schaefer (11.3 ppg) and Jones (11.2 ppg) are also averaging in double figures through 16 games. … Blattner owns a team- and conference-leading 166 rebounds (9.2 rpg). … The Cardinals, who made 163 3-pointers last season, have drained 109 treys in 18 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 in the teams' first meeting on Dec. 3, leads the team with 87 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 62.9 ppg, while limiting its opponents to a 59.4 ppg scoring average. … 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 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 Gustavus Gusties:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Gustavus enters Saturday's conference game against Saint Mary's ranked nationally in both the D3hoops.com and WBCA Coaches Polls. GAC is No. 19 in the latest D3hoops.com Poll, while coming in at No. 22 in the WBCA Coaches Poll. … The Gusties are riding an 18-game winning streak—including 10 games won by 20 or more points. … The Gusties' 18-0 record is the best start and win-streak in program history. The 2002-03 Gustavus squad previously held the record, beginning the season with 13 straight wins. … Gustavus has scored 80 or more points seven times this season—including 99 points in a 99-45 rout of Carleton on Jan. 14, and a season-high 103 in a 103-70 dismantling of Macalester on Jan. 21. … Gustavus enters Saturday's game against Saint Mary's boasting a pair of players averaging in double figures—Mikayla Miller (18.2 ppg) and Miranda Rice (17.1 ppg). … Gustavus has had a player score 26 or more points five times this season—including a 30-point effort from Rice against Saint Benedict on Jan. 7 and a season-high 34-point showing by Miller against UW-La Crosse on Nov. 22. … Miller or Rice has led the team in scoring in 16 of the Gusties' 18 games—the lone exceptions, team-leading 15-point and 17-point performances by Hannah Howard against Saint Mary's and Augsburg, respectively. … Hannah Howard is the team's rebounding leader with 99 boards (5.5 rpg), one more than Rice (5.4 rpg). … Miller has dished out a team-leading 85 assists and is also the team-leader in steals with 61. … As a team,, the Gusties are averaging 75.3 ppg and are shooting 47 percent from the field (501-for-1060. … GAC has drained 100 3-pointers through 18 games, led by Miller with 37 and Justin Lee with 20. … Gustavus has five players who have made 10 or more 3-pointers this season. … Gustavus has scored 300 or more points in all four quarters through 18 games. GAC holds a 361-252 scoring edge in the first quarter, while also outscoring its opponents 320-233 in the second, 353-264 in the third, and 322-228 in the fourth.