ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, as the Cardinals travel to Hamline's Hutton Arena for a 7 p.m. showdown with the Pipers.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (6-6 MIAC, 12-7 Overall) at Hamline Pipers (2-10 MIAC, 5-14 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—January 28, 2017 * St. Peter, Minn.: Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) scored 15 points and Brigette Audette (Big Lake, Minn.) chipped in 11, but the Cardinals could not slow down the high-powered Gustavus offense, as the Gusties handed Saint Mary's a 71-44 conference setback at Gus Young Court | Recap
• Hamline—January 28,2017 * St. Paul, Minn.: Reilly Geistfeld scored 14 points and Alaina Quaranta added 12, but a late Hamline rally fell just short in a 62-55 conference loss to Carleton at Hutton Arena | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Hamline—A Year Ago:
• January 20, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: After managing just six points in the first 5:43—and staring at a 6-6 deadlock with visiting Hamline—the Cardinals scored the final 12 points of the opening quarter and never looked back, dealing the Pipers a 70-55 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• February 17, 2016 * St. Paul, Minn.: Bridget Pethke (New London, Wis.) broke Saint Mary's all-time career assist record with a first-quarter helper, and the Cardinals—fueled by their 64-48 conference win over Hamline at Hutton Arena—locked up a first-round MIAC playoff bye | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return home to the Saint Mary's Gym on Saturday, hosting St. Olaf in a 1 p.m. conference contest.
• Hamline: The Pipers hit the road on Saturday, traveling to Gustavus' Gus Young Court in St. Peter, Minn., for a 1 p.m. showdown with the Gusties.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Wednesday's game against Hamline is the second of back-to-back road games for the Cardinals, who have played five of their last six games on the road. … Last 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. … Six of Saint Mary's seven losses have come via three, 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 their win at Concordia on Jan. 21, 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 seven of its losses this season—including Saturday's 71-44 loss to league-leading Gustavus. … Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) scored a team-high 15 points and Brigette Audette added 11 in the Cardinals' loss to Gustavus Saturday. … Blattner has now led the team in scoring in back-to-back games. … Blattner has scored 10 or more points in 16 of the team's 19 games—including three games of 20 or more points. … Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn.) equaled her career high with 20 points in the Cardinals' 75-61 win over Concordia on Jan. 21. 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. … Jones scored 14 points and hauled in a career-high 10 rebounds against Concordia on Jan. 21 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 this season—Blattner (9 times), Schaefer (4 times), Huisman (4 times), Jones (3 times), Keefe, and Brigette Audette (Big Lake, Minn.). … Blattner heads into the Cardinals' conference showdown at Hamline averaging a team-best 14.5 ppg. Emma Schaefer (Roseville, Minn. / 10.9 ppg) and Jones (10.7 ppg) are also averaging in double figures through 16 games. … Blattner owns a team- and conference-leading 175 rebounds (9.2 rpg). … The Cardinals, who made 163 3-pointers last season, have drained 114 treys in 19 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 32 3-pointers—including five against Concordia on Jan. 21. … 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 90 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 Hamline Pipers:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's is the third straight home game for the Pipers, who have won just once in eight games at Hutton Arena this season. … Saturday's 62-55 loss to Carleton pushed Hamline's losing streak to a season-high seven games. … Reilly Geistfeld scored 14 points, Alaina Quaranta chipped in 12, and Chloe Graves tallied 10 in the Pipers' loss to Carleton Saturday. … Quaranta's 12 points all came in the second half. … Hamline heads into Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's boasting three players who are averaging in double figures—Graves (12.4 ppg), Quaranta (11.8 ppg), and Geistfeld (10.1 ppg). … The Pipers have had a 20-point scorer three times this season—Geistfeld netted 22 against UW-River Falls on Dec. 12, Quaranta poured in 22 vs. North Central on Nov. 18, and Graves drained a season-high 28 against Augsburg on Jan. 25. … Geistfeld also leads the team in rebounds with 122 (6.4 rpg), while Graves is the team-leader in assists (93) and Quaranta owns a team-high 43 steals. … As a team, the Pipers are averaging 61.3 ppg and are shooting 36 percent from the field (422-for-1185). … HU has knocked down 145 3-pointers through 19 games, led by Kaeli Stayer with 38. Geistfeld (29), Graves (27), and Quaranta (27) have also netted 20 or more treys for the Pipers this season. … Hamline has scored 70 or more points in four of its five wins—including an 85-point effort in an 85-65 win over St. Olaf and a season-high 87-point performance in routing Crown 87-47 on Nov. 28.