WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team kicks off the 2017-18 season on its home court on Wednesday, as the Cardinals entertain Martin Luther in a 7:30 p.m. nonconference game at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2016-17: 13-12 Overall) vs. Martin Luther Knights (2016-17: 10-16 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals surrendered the game's first seven points and were never able to climb all the way out of the early hole, as NCAA Division II Winona State dealt Saint Mary's a 74-67 setback in an exhibition game at the Warriors' McCown Gym | Recap
• Martin Luther: Wednesday's nonconference game is the season-opener for the Knights.
 
Saint Mary's vs. Martin Luther—A Year Ago:
• November 20, 2016 * St. Joseph, Minn.: Sam Jones (White Bear Lake, Minn.) kicked off her final year in a Cardinal uniform by equaling her career high with 16 points in Saint Mary's season-opening 76-64 nonconference win over the University of Dubuque. Five days later, Jones was at it again—and then some—scoring a career-best 21 points in leading the Cardinals to a 65-57 nonconference victory over Martin Luther during the second day of the Saint Benedict Quinlivan & Hughes Tip-Off Tournament | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals hit the road this weekend, heading to St. Joseph, Minn., to take part in the Saint Benedict Quinlivan & Hughes Tip-Off Tournament. Saint Mary's faces UW-La Crosse in a 6 p.m. nonconference contest on Friday, before squaring off against UM-Morris at 1 p.m. the following day.
• Martin Luther: The Knights kick off the home portion of their schedule this weekend, hosting Augsburg in 7 p.m. nonconference game on Friday, before entertaining Viterbo in a 2 p.m. matinee the following day.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Schedule | 2016-17 Final Statistics
• Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn.) scored a team-high 24 points and Abby Winter (Winona, Minn.) tossed in 17 points and added a team-best six rebounds in the Cardinals' exhibition game against Winona State on Nov. 4. … Eighteen of Huisman's 24 points in Saint Mary's exhibition game against Winona State came on six 3-pointers. … The Cardinals were a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line against Winona State on Nov. 4. … Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) earned All-MIAC First-Team honors a year ago, while also being 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—and finished her sophomore campaign with 10 double-doubles. … Blattner 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. Huisman netted a career-best 20 points in both of the Cardinals' meetings against Concordia last season, while Sam Jones (White Bear Lake, Minn.) finished with 21 against the University of Dubuque on Nov. 15. … 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), Huisman (6 times), Schaefer (5 times), Jones (3 times), Keefe, and Brigette Audette (Big Lake, Minn. / 1 time). … Blattner closed out the season with a team-best 14.4 ppg scoring average. … 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. … Emma Schaefer (Roseville, Minn.), who recorded a career-high 12 assists against Concordia on Dec. 3, led the team with a career-best 120 helpers a year ago. … 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 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 Martin Luther Knights:
2017-18 Roster | 2016-17 Final Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• The Knights enter Wednesday's season-opener against Saint Mary's on the heels of a 10-16 season a year ago—including wins in two of their final four games. … After dropping its first six contests, and eight of its first nine, MLC closed out the season with nine wins in its final 16 games—including a season-high three-game winning streak. … Martin Luther played five games against teams from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference last season, falling to Saint Benedict (58-40), Saint Mary's (65-57), Macalester (65-57), Augsburg (82-59), and St. Olaf (69-55). … Jade St. Germaine closed out her junior season as the team's offensive leader, averaging a team-best 14.8 ppg, while also leading the Knights in rebounds, averaging 9.7 rpg. … St. Germaine tied the MLC single-season record with 222 rebounds, while also setting a program record with 20-rebound games against both Bethany Lutheran and St. Scholastica. … St. Germaine posted the team's top two offensive performances a year ago, netting 26 points against Bethany Lutheran and a season-high 29 against North Central. … Mariah Schoof and Grace Schultz also closed out the year averaging in double figures at 12.0 ppg each. … Schoof, who drained a team-best 53 3-pointers, finished her MLC career as the school's all-time leader with 167 treys, while also ranking third in career points (933) and blocks (121). … Schoof also ended the year last season as the team-leader in both assists (85) and blocks (30), while chipping in 40 steals. … As a team, the Knights averaged 62.5 ppg, while their opponents netted 65.5 ppg. … Martin Luther scored 70 or more points nine times last season, including a season-high 81-point effort in an 81-67 win over Northland on Feb. 11.