By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team kicks off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals travel to Augsburg's Si Melby Hall for a 3 p.m. showdown with the Auggies.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-0 MIAC, 4-2 Overall) at Augsburg Auggies (0-0 MIAC, 3-2 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—November 29, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) scored a team-high 25 points, and Abby Winter (Winona, Minn.) netted a career-best 15 points and chipped in nine rebounds, as the Cardinals cruised to a 76-53 nonconference win over St. Scholastica at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• Augsburg—November 24-25, 2017 * Los Angeles, Calif.: The Auggies—who split a pair of exhibition games last week against Northwestern (L, 74-61) and Crown (W, 73-57)—picked up a pair of wins at the Caltech/Occidental Tournament over the Thanksgiving weekend, beating Caltech 81-54 and Occidental 74-59 | Caltech Recap * Occidental Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Augsburg—A Year Ago:
• January 11, 2017 * Minneapolis, Minn.: Saint Mary's started fast—and finished faster—Wednesday evening in its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game against Augsburg. The start: The Cardinals scored the game's first six points, and 11 of the opening 13. The finish: The Cardinals netted 15 of the game's final 20 points—including 4 of 8 free throws in the final minute. Thanks to that start-finish one-two punch, the Cardinals pushed their winning streak to five straight with an 81-79 conference win over the Auggies at Si Melby Hall | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, traveling to Carleton's West Gym in Northfield, Minn., for a 7 p.m. matchup against the Auggies.
• Augsburg: The Auggies hit the road on Wednesday, heading to Gus Lund Court in St. Peter, Minn., for a 7 p.m. conference matchup against Gustavus.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Schedule | 2017-18 Statistics
• Wednesday's game against St. Scholastica was just the second home game of the season for the Cardinals, who are a perfect 2-0 on their home court—having dropped Martin Luther (61-60) and the Saints (76-53). … The Cardinals enter Saturday's MIAC opener against Augsburg having won three of their last four—the lone loss a 71-57 setback to unbeaten UW-Eau Claire last Sunday. … With Wednesday's 76-point effort against St. Scholastica, the Cardinals have now scored 60 or more points in 16 of their last 17 wins—the lone exception, a 56-52 win over Macalester on Jan. 4. … Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) scored a season-high 25 points to lead the Cardinals in scoring against St. Scholastica Wednesday. Blattner has now scored 20 or more points in three of the Cardinals' six games—having netted 22 points against both UW-Eau Claire and Martin Luther. … Abby Winter (Winona, Minn.) scored a career-high 15 points and missed her first collegiate double-double by one rebound against St. Scholastica Wednesday, while Savannah Bleess (Kenyon, Minn.) also scored in double figures with 11 points. … Blattner's 25 points vs. St. Scholastica Wednesday were just three shy of her career high. The Cardinal junior netted a career-best 28 points twice last season—vs. Bethel on Dec. 7 and St. Olaf on Feb. 4. … Blattner, who leads the team in both scoring (106 points, 17.7 ppg) and rebounding (57 rebounds / 9.5 rpg) has recorded four double-doubles this season and 22 in her three-year collegiate career. … Blattner has hauled in 10 or more rebounds 29 times over the last three seasons. …  The Cardinals put a season-high five players in double figures in their 74-70 win over the University of Dubuque on Nov. 21—including career-highs of 12 points from Bleess and 10 points from Rachel Kedl (Lamberton, Minn.). … Bleess and Kedl are two of four Cardinals to have posted single-game career-highs of 10 points or more this season—Winter (15) and Hallie Schmeling (Onalaska, Wis. / 15) are the other two. … Winter also recorded a career-best 11 rebounds in her first collegiate game against Martin Luther on Nov. 15. … Blattner (17.7 ppg) and Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn. / 12.0 ppg) enter Saturday's conference game against Augsburg averaging in double figures. … Saint Mary's boasts four players—Blattner (15), Schmeling (15), Ewelina Schlomann (New Berlin, Wis. / 12), and Kirsten Keefe (Chatfield, Minn. / 12)—with 10 or more assists. … Blattner holds the team lead in steals with 10. … The Cardinals, who finished with 141 3-pointers a year ago, knocked down a season-best 13 treys against UM-Morris on Nov. 18. … The Cardinals' 13 3-pointers vs. UM-Morris on Nov. 18 are the most since raining in 14 against St. Catherine on Jan. 22, 2005. … Saint Mary's has drained 47 3-pointers through six games—with 11 different players knocking down at least one. … Huisman leads the Cardinals with 17 3-pointers. … Saint Mary's had six different players net a 3-pointer against UM-Morris on Nov. 18. … The Cardinals enter Saturday's game at Augsburg averaging 68.0 ppg, while limiting their opponents to a 63.0 scoring average. … Two of Saint Mary's four wins this season have been decided by four points or less—61-60 over Martin Luther on Nov. 15 and 74-70 over the University of Dubuque on Nov. 21. … Saint Mary's one-point victory over Martin Luther on Nov. 15 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 on Nov. 18 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. … With their 61-60 win over Martin Luther on Nov. 15, 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.
 
Scouting The Augsburg Auggies:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is just the second home game for the Auggies, who went 7-6 on their home court a year ago and have won their only contest at Si Melby Hall this season. … After dropping back-to-back games to UW-Superior and Martin Luther to open the season, the Auggies have rattled off three straight wins—beating St. Scholastica (70-63), Caltech (81-54), and Occidental (74-59). … Tamira McLemore scored a team-high 13 points in the Auggies' win over Caltech on Nov. 24, while pouring in a team-leading 24 points in Augsburg's win over Occidental the following day. … McLemore's 24 points against Occidental were a season-high and marked the fourth time in five games the sophomore has scored in double figures. … McLemore has led the team in scoring in each of its last three games, while K'Aezha and Aiza Wilson have each been the team's scoring leader once. … Jazmyn Solseth recorded career highs of 12 points and 11 rebounds en route to her first collegiate double-double against Occidental on Nov. 25. … McLemore enters Saturday's game against Saint Mary's averaging 13.8 ppg. She is the only Auggie averaging in double figures through the first five games of the season. … McLemore has hauled in a team-high 24 rebounds (4.8 rpg), three more than Arianna Jones (21 (4.2 rpg). … Jones boasts a team-leading 17 assists as well as a team-high 14 steals. … The Auggies are shooting 40 percent from the field (122-for-307) and have knocked down 32 3-pointers. … Seven players have accounted for the Auggies' 32 treys, led by McLemore with nine and Wilson with eight. … Augsburg, which is averaging 68.0 ppg, scored a season-high 81 points in its 81-54 win over Caltech on Nov. 24.