WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team unofficially kicks off its 2017-18 season on Saturday, as the Cardinals travel across town to Winona State's McCown Gymnasium for a 4 p.m. exhibition game against the NCAA Division II Warriors.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2016-17: 13-12 Overall) at Winona State Warriors (2016-17: 22-9 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saturday's exhibition contest is the first game of the year for both the Cardinals and the Warriors.
 
Saint Mary's vs. Winona State—Their Last Meeting:
• November 14, 2015 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals gave 16th-ranked Winona State all it could handle through the game's first 20 minutes, but the high-powered Warriors wore them down in the second half, outscoring Saint Mary's 46-27 to pull away for a 90-68 exhibition win at McCown Gymnasium | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals officially kick off their season on Nov. 15, when they entertain Martin Luther in a 7:30 p.m. nonconference game at the Saint Mary's Gym.
• Winona State: The Warriors are back on their home court at McCown Gymnasium next Saturday, entertaining Beloit in a 4 p.m. nonconference game.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Schedule | 2016-17 Final Statistics
• Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) and Emma Schaefer (Roseville, Minn.) each earned All-MIAC First-Team honors a year ago, while Blattner was also selected to the D3hoops.com All-West Region Third Team. … The Cardinals put together two, five-game winning streaks last season—streaks that accounted for 10 of the team's 13 wins. … The Cardinals scored 60 or more points in 12 of their 13 wins—the lone exception, a 56-52 win over Macalester on Jan. 4. On the flip side, Saint Mary's was held under 60 points in 11 of its 12 losses—the lone exception, a 77-66 loss to nationally ranked St. Thomas on Feb. 15. … Blattner closed out the season with double-doubles in two of the Cardinals' last three games—scoring 18 points and hauling in 14 rebounds against St. Catherine on Feb. 11, while adding a 12-point, 15-rebound effort in the team's season-finale against Saint Benedict on Feb. 18. … Blattner finished her sophomore season with 10 double-doubles, and owns 18 double-doubles through her first two years as a Cardinal. … Blattner hauled in 10 or more rebounds 12 times last season. … Blattner owned three games of 15 or more rebounds—including a season-high 17-rebound effort against Carleton on Nov. 30. Blattner's 17 rebounds vs. Carleton on Nov. 30 were just two shy of her school-record 19-rebound performance against UW-Eau Claire on Dec. 29, 2015. … Blattner scored a career-high 28 points twice last season—vs. Bethel on Dec. 7 and St. Olaf on Feb. 4. … Blattner's 28-point efforts were the highest single-game performance since Shelby Auseth recorded 28 points and Bridget Pethke scored 32 during the 2013-14 season. … Blattner scored 10 or more points in 21 of the team's 25 games—including four games of 20 or more points. … Blattner was one of three Cardinals who posted career-high games of 20 or more points last season. Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn.) netted a career-best 20 points in both of the Cardinals' meetings against Concordia this season, while Sam Jones (White Bear Lake, Minn.) finished with 21 against the University of Dubuque on Nov. 15. … 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 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 had six different players lead or share the team lead in scoring last season—Blattner (12 times), Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn. / 6 times), Schaefer (5 times), Jones (3 times), Keefe, and Brigette Audette (Big Lake, Minn.). … Blattner closed out the season with a team-best 14.4 ppg scoring average. Schaefer (10.6 ppg) and Jones (10.1 ppg) also averaged in double figures. … Blattner owned a team-leading 246 rebounds (9.6 rpg). … Blattner has now recorded 233 and 246 rebounds in her first two seasons as a Cardinal. … The Cardinals finished with 141 3-pointers a year ago—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 led the team with 46 3-pointers—including a season- and career-high five against both Concordia on Jan. 21 and St. Olaf on Feb. 4. … Six Cardinals owned 10 or more 3-pointers and 10 of the 13 players on the Saint Mary's roster drained at least one 3-pointer last season. … Schaefer, who recorded a career-high 12 assists against Concordia on Dec. 3, led the team with a career-best 120 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 put five players in double figures twice last season, achieving the feat against both the University of Dubuque and St. Catherine. … The Cardinals had 10 players score two or more points in their 66-40 win over Viterbo on Nov. 22. … Saint Mary's pulled down a school-record 61 rebounds against Carleton on Nov. 30. … Saint Mary's averaged 61.0 ppg, while limiting its opponents to a 60.4 ppg scoring average. … The Cardinals posted back-to-back games of 80 or more points last 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. … The Cardinals played two overtime games last season—beating Carleton 61-60 on Nov. 30, while falling to Saint Benedict 60-55 in their season-finale on Feb. 18. … Saint Mary's 61-60 win over Carleton on Nov. 30 was its first overtime game since a 79-73 win over Concordia on Feb. 7, 2015. … The Cardinals' 60-55 loss to Saint Benedict on Feb. 18 snapped a streak of four straight OT wins. … The Cardinals won at least 11 of their first 15 games last season—achieving such a feat for the fourth time in the last five seasons. … With their 76-64 win over the University of Dubuque on Nov. 15, the Cardinals 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.
 
Scouting The Winona State Warriors:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• The Warriors enter Saturday's exhibition game against Saint Mary's coming off a 22-9 season a year ago—including a berth in the NSIC Tournament semifinals, where they dropped a 69-64 overtime decision to eventual champion Northern State. … Winona State's 22 wins a year ago marked the third straight season the Warriors have eclipsed the 20-win barrier. … Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the first of back-to-back home games for the Warriors, who play three of their first five contests on their home court. WSU finished 10-2 at home a year ago, while going 12-7 away from McCown Gymnasium. … Winona State graduated its three leading scorers from a year ago—Tara Roelofs (13.2 ppg), Jenny Tuttle (13.1 ppg), and Kayla Timmerman (10.9 ppg)—but return senior Hannah McGlone, who started all 31 games last year, averaged 9.2 ppg and owned a team-leading 246 rebounds (7.9 rpg). … McGlone is one of just three players who started all 31 games this season, with Tuttle and Timmerman being the other two. … The Warriors knocked down 179 3-pointers last season, led by Tuttle with 53, Roelofs with 49, and Liz Evenocheck with 46. … Winona State shot 46 percent from the field a year ago (814-for-1785)—including 38 percent from behind the 3-point line (179-for-472)—and finished 298-for-417 from the free throw line. … Tuttle boasted a team-best 119 assists, with Roelofs owing the team lead in steals with 41 and Timmerman recording a team-high 54 blocks. … The Warriors averaged 67.9 ppg, and scored 80 or more points in a game twice—including a season-high 82-point showing against Augustana (S.D.) on Feb. 25. … Evenocheck scored a team-high 27 points against Wayne State on Feb. 18, while Tuttle (twice) and Timmerman each recorded 25-point efforts a year ago. … Winona State outscored its opponents in every quarter last season—536-485 in the first, 477-401 in the second, 509-485 in the third, and 569-468 in the fourth. … The Warriors played in two overtime games a year ago, falling to Minnesota State-Moorhead 70-66 and Northern State 69-64. WSU was outscored 23-14 in those two OT contests.