WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, as the Cardinals entertain Macalester in a 7 p.m. contest at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-2 MIAC, 8-3 Overall) vs. Macalester Scots (1-3 MIAC, 7-4 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—December 29, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's scored 19 of the game's first 23 points and never looked back, as the Cardinals closed out the 2016 portion of their schedule with a convincing 72-51 nonconference win over Lawrence Thursday evening at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• Macalester—December 30, 2016 * St. Paul, Minn.: Senior guard Lauren Clamage scored a career-high 30 points to lead Macalester to a 102-83 victory over Bethany Lutheran at Leonard Center | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Macalester—A Year Ago:
• December 5, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's outscored Macalester 31-22 in the second half—including 15-9 in the third quarter—as the Cardinals cruised to their sixth straight win, a 67-52 victory Saturday at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• January 23, 2016 * St. Paul, Minn.: After being held to just six points and 10 rebounds in the teams' initial meeting in early December, Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) feasted on the Scots' defense, pouring in a game-high 26 points—one shy of her career high—while adding 12 rebounds in guiding the Cardinals to an 81-56 rout at Leonard Center | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back on their home court Saturday, as the Cardinals entertain St. Catherine in a 3 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest.
• Macalester: The Scots are back on the road on Saturday, traveling to Northfield, Minn., for a 1 p.m. conference showdown with St. Olaf
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• The Cardinals' game against Macalester is the sixth of seven straight home games for the Cardinals, who own a 50-7 record on their home court over the past five seasons. … Saint Mary's 72-51 win over Lawrence was the Cardinals' second straight win and the seventh in their last nine contests. … The Cardinals' 69-56 loss to Bethel on Dec. 7 snapped the Cardinals' season-high five-game winning streak, while Saint Mary's 65-49 win over UW-Eau Claire on Dec. 11 ended Saint Mary's two-game losing streak. … Saint Mary's has allowed 49 points in each of their last two games—a 49-45 loss to Gustavus on Dec. 7 and a 65-49 win over UW-Eau Claire three days later. … Saint Mary's losses to Bethel and Gustavus on Dec. 7 and Dec. 10 marked the first time this season—and the first time in their last 48 contests—that the Cardinals had lost back-to-back games. … Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) and Sam Jones (White Bear Lake, Minn.) each scored 17 points to pace the Cardinals in their win over Lawrence last Thursday. … Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn.) scored a career-high 20 points against Concordia on Dec. 3, while Blattner netted a career-best 28 points in Saint Mary's loss to Bethel on Dec. 7. … 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 accounted for 13 of the team's 17 fourth-quarter points in the Cardinals' win over Concordia on Dec. 3, while Blattner scored 15 of the team's 16 third-quarter points against Bethel four days later. … Blattner has scored 20 or more points three times this season, having also netted 23 points in the Cardinals' overtime win over Carleton on Nov. 30. … Jones (21) and Huisman (20) have also eclipsed the 20-point barrier this season. … Jones' 21-point effort against the University of Dubuque on Nov. 15 was a career high. … Blattner added 11 rebounds to her 17-point effort against Lawrence last Thursday en route to her third straight double-double. The sophomore owns six double-doubles this season and 15 in her collegiate career. … Blattner has scored 10 or more points in 10 of the team's 11 games. … Blattner and Kaitlin 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. … Blattner's 17 rebounds against Carleton on Nov. 30 were two shy of her school-record 19-rebound effort against UW-Eau Claire on Dec. 29, 2015. … The Cardinals have had four different players lead or share the team lead in scoring through 11 games—Blattner (5 times), Schaefer (3 times), Jones (3 times), and Huisman. … Schaefer dished out a career-high 12 assists against Concordia on Dec. 3—it was the highest single-game effort since Jamie Rattunde dished out 12 against Coe on Nov. 26, 2003. … Blattner heads into the Cardinals' conference showdown with Macalester averaging a team-best 14.8 ppg. Jones (12.5 ppg) and Schaefer (10.6 ppg) are also averaging in double figures through 11 games. … Blattner owns a team-leading 109 rebounds (9.9 rpg). … Jones equaled her career high with eight rebounds against Concordia on Dec. 3—the senior also hauled in eight boards against St. Scholastica on Nov. 26. … The Cardinals, who made 163 3-pointers last season, have drained 60 treys in 10 games this season—including a 10-for-24 showing against the University of Dubuque on Nov. 15. … Schaefer leads the team with 14 3-pointers, one more than Huisman … The Cardinals had 10 players score two or more points in their 66-40 win over Viterbo on Nov. 22. … The Cardinals boasted five players who scored in double figures in their season-opening win over the University of Dubuque on Nov. 15. Saint Mary's also had five players score in double figures once a year ago. … Saint Mary's finished with 59 rebounds against Lawrence last Thursday, two shy of its school-record 61-rebound effort against Carleton on Nov. 30. … Saint Mary's is averaging 62.8 ppg—including a season-high 76-point effort in its season-opening 76-64 win over the University of Dubuque. … The Cardinals, who have scored 65 or more points in six of their eight wins this season, have outscored their first 11 opponents 188-148 in the second quarter, 176-150 in the third, and 171-155 in the fourth. The Cardinals have been outscored 159-151 in the game's opening 10 minutes. … Saint Mary's 61-60 win over Carleton on Nov. 30 was Saint Mary's 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. … 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 Macalester Scots:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Wednesday's game at Saint Mary's is the first of back-to-back road games for the Scots, who are 3-1 away from Leonard Center this season. … After opening the season with wins in four of their first five games, the Scots have gone 3-3 in their last six—including back-to-back wins over Northland (66-56) and Bethany Lutheran (102-83) in the last two contests. … The Scots' 102 points against Bethany Lutheran last Friday were a season high—34 points more than their previous high of 68 scored in a 68-XX win over Carleton on Dec. 7. … Lauren Clamage scored a game-high 30 points in Macalester's win over Bethany Lutheran last Friday, becoming the third different Scot to lead the team in scoring in their last three games. … Clamage's 30 points vs. Bethany Lutheran were a season- and career-high. … Regan Fruh, who has led the team in scoring in seven of their 11 games, enters Wednesday's game at Saint Mary's owning a team-best 16.5 ppg scoring average. Vivi Gregorich is also averaging in double figures, scoring at a 10.4 ppg clip. … Fruh is also the team's rebounding leader with 96 (8.7 rpg), while Gregorich and Grace Dickman share the team lead in assists with 25, and Park Masterson has collected a team-high 10 steals. … As a team, Macalester is shooting 40 percent from the field (252-for-617) and has knocked down 57 3-pointers. … Clamage has netted a team-leading 15 3-pointers, one more than Gregorich, and four in front of Leah Gray. … Macalester and its opponents are both averaging 63.1 ppg. … The Scots have outscored their opponents in each of the game's first three quarters—144-142 in the first, 180-171 in the second, and 193-176 in the third—but Macalester has been outscored 206-178 over the game's final 10 minutes.