By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director

DUBUQUE, Iowa — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team hits the road on Tuesday, as the Cardinals travel to the University of Dubuque for a 5 p.m. nonconference showdown with the Spartans
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-1 Overall) at University of Dubuque Spartans (0-2 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—November 17-18, 2017 * St. Joseph, Minn.: The Cardinals split their two games at the Saint Benedict Quinlivan & Hughes Tip-Off Tournament, falling to UW-La Crosse 67-59, while routing UM-Morris 81-57 | UW-L Recap * UM-M Recap
• University of Dubuque—November 17-18 * Eau Claire, Wis.: The Spartans lost both of their games at last weekend's UW-Eau Claire Tip-Off Tournament, falling to UW-Stout 84-68 last Friday, while dropping a 100-65 decision to host UW-Eau Claire the following day | UW-S Recap * UW-EC Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. University of Dubuque—A Year Ago:
• November 15, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's spread the wealth in their season-opening nonconference game against the University of Dubuque. The Cardinals put five players in double figures—including a team-high 16 points from Sam Jones (White Bear Lake, Minn.)—in opening the season with a 76-64 win over the Spartans at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back on the road on Sunday, traveling to Eau Claire, Wis., for a 3 p.m. nonconference game against UW-Eau Claire.
• University of Dubuque: The Spartans are right back on their home court on Saturday, entertaining Northland in a 5 p.m. nonconference game.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Schedule | 2016-17 Final Statistics
• Tuesday's game at the University of Dubuque is the third of four straight road games for the Cardinals. … With their 61-60 win over Martin Luther last Wednesday, the Cardinals have now won their season-opener in each of their last six seasons, dating back to a 63-58 loss to Elmhurst on Nov. 22, 2011. … Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) and Abby Winter (Winona, Minn.) each scored 11 points and hauled in eight rebounds in the Cardinals' loss to UW-La Crosse last Friday in the opening game of the Saint Benedict Tournament, while Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn.) and Hallie Schmeling (Onalaska, Wis.) each netted 15 points and Blattner added 14 points and 10 rebounds in their win over UM-Morris the following day. … Winter's 11-point effort last Friday and Schmeling's 15-point showing last Saturday were both career highs. … Winter recorded a career-best 11 rebounds in her first collegiate game against Martin Luther last Wednesday. … Blattner's 14-point, 10-rebound performance vs. UM-Morris last Saturday was her second double-double of the season, the fourth in the last six games, and the 20^th of her collegiate career. … Blattner was the lone Cardinal to score in double figures in last Wednesday's season-opening win over Martin Luther, pouring in a game-high 22 points, while also adding 11 rebounds. … Blattner's 22 points vs. the Knights last Wednesday were just six shy of her career high. The Cardinal junior netted a career-high 28 points twice last season—vs. Bethel on Dec. 7 and St. Olaf on Feb. 4. … Blattner has now hauled in 10 or more rebounds 14 times over the last two seasons. … Blattner (15.7 ppg) and Huisman (11.5 ppg) enter Tuesday's nonconference game at the University of Dubuque averaging in double figures. … Blattner has hauled in a team-best 29 rebounds (9.7 rpg), seven more than Winter (7.3 ppg). … Kirsten Keefe (Chatfield, Minn.) owns a team-best nine assists, while Blattner leads the Cardinals with six steals. … The Cardinals, who finished with 141 3-pointers a year ago—including a season-high 11 against St. Catherine on Jan. 7—knocked down a season-best 13 treys against UM-Morris last Saturday. … The Cardinals' 13 3-pointers vs. UM-Morris last Saturday are the most since raining in 14 against St. Catherine on Jan. 22, 2005. … Saint Mary's has drained 27 3-pointers through three games—with nine different players knocking down at least one. … Saint Mary's had six different players net a 3-pointer against UM-Morris last Saturday. … With their 61-60 win over Martin Luther last Wednesday, and Saturday's 81-57 win over UM-Morris, the Cardinals have now scored 60 or more points in 14 of their last 15 wins—the lone exception, a 56-52 win over Macalester on Jan. 4. … Saint Mary's victory over Martin Luther last Wednesday was its second one-point win in the last two years—with both being decided by a 61-60 final score. The Cardinals dropped Carleton 61-60 in overtime last season. … The Cardinals' 81-point effort against UM-Morris last Saturday was a season-high, and the most since scoring 81 in an 81-79 win over Augsburg on Jan. 11, 2017. The last time Saint Mary's scored more than 81 points was during the 2015-16 season, when the Cardinals scored 85 in beating St. Olaf 85-56 on Feb. 13, 2016. … The Cardinals won 11 of their first 15 games last season—achieving such a feat for the fourth time in the last five seasons.
 
Scouting The University of Dubuque Spartans:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• Tuesday's game against Saint Mary's is the first of three straight home contests for the Spartans, who opened the season with back-to-back road games at the UW-Eau Claire Tip-Off Tournament last weekend. … Abbey Meyer scored a team-high 19 points and Morgan Boer chipped in 14 in the Spartans' season-opening loss to UW-Stout last Friday, while the duo also led the UD offense against UW-Eau Claire the following day, finishing with 15 and 12 points, respectively. … Meyer heads into Tuesday's nonconference game against Saint Mary's averaging a team-high 17.0 ppg, while Boer is also averaging in double figures at 13.0 ppg. … Boer owns a team-leading 15 rebounds (7.5 rpg), four more than Jordan Fischer (5.5 rpg). … The Spartans have made just 9 of 47 3-point attempts this season, with Allison Biermeier accounting for four of them. … The Spartans surrendered 184 points in their two games at the UW-Eau Claire Tip-Off Tournament last weekend, including a season-high 100 in a 100-65 loss to the host Blugolds. … UW-Eau Claire's 100 points marked the fourth straight season in which the Spartans have surrendered 100 points in a game—Buena Vista (108) and Augustana (100) both reached the century mark a year ago, while North Central knocked down 109 and 110 points, respectively, the two previous seasons. … UD entered the season on the heels of a 9-16 season a year ago, including a 5-11 mark in IIAC play.