By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director

LA CROSSE, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team steps out of Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals travel to Viterbo's R.W. Beggs Sr. Gymnasium for a 2 p.m. nonconference game against the V-Hawks.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (6-4 Overall) at Viterbo V-Hawks (4-11 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—December 12, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn.) and Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) combined to score 26 second-half points, as the Cardinals collected a 61-55 MIAC win over St. Olaf at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• Viterbo—December 18, 2017 * Daytona Beach, Fla.: The V-Hawks were held to just 20 points—combined—in the second, third, and fourth quarters, as Viterbo dropped a 68-35 decision to Southeastern | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Winona State—A Year Ago:
• November 22, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's put on a defensive clinic in its nonconference game against Viterbo. The Cardinals limited the V-Hawks to just 40 points—including a combined 16 in the middle two quarters—and forced Viterbo into 14 turnovers and 28 percent shooting from the field in cruising to a 66-40 victory at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, traveling to St. Catherine's Butler Center in St. Paul, Minn., for a 7 p.m. matchup with the Wildcats.
• Viterbo: The V-Hawks hit the road this weekend, traveling to Mayville, N.D., for a 5:30 p.m. contest against Mayville State on Friday, before heading to Aberdeen, S.D., to take on Presentation in a 3 p.m. matchup the following day.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Schedule | 2017-18 Statistics
• With their win over St. Olaf on Dec. 12, the Cardinals improved to 3-1 on their home court this season—the lone blemish a 70-67 conference loss to Bethel on Dec. 9. … With their 61-57 win over St. Olaf on Dec. 12, seven of the Cardinals' 10 games—including four of their six wins—have been decided by seven points or less. … The Cardinals have scored 60 or more points in 18 of their last 19 wins—the lone exception, a 56-52 win over Macalester on Jan. 4, 2017. … Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn.) equaled her season high with a team- and game-high 19 points against St. Olaf on Dec. 12. … Huisman's 19-point effort was one shy of her career best. … Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) also scored in double figures against St. Olaf on Dec. 12, finishing with 13 points. … Blattner has now recorded back-to-back games of 13 points and has scored 10 or more points in all 10 of the Cardinals' games this season. … Along with her 13 points vs. the Oles on Dec. 12, Blattner also hauled in 13 rebounds en route to her sixth double-double of the season and 24^th of her collegiate career. … With her 13 boards against St. Olaf on Dec. 12, Blattner has hauled in 10 or more rebounds 31 times over the last three seasons. … Blattner poured in a season-high 27 points in the Cardinals' 69-59 loss to Augsburg on Dec. 2. The 27-point effort was just one shy of her single-game career high—28-point showings against both Bethel and St. Olaf last season. … Along with her 27 points against Augsburg on Dec. 2, Blattner also hauled in a season-high 15 rebounds. … Abby Winter (Winona, Minn.) scored a game- and career-high 25 points against Bethel on Dec. 9, while Savannah Bleess (Kenyon, Minn.) also netted a career-high 13 points against the Royals. … With her 25-point effort against Bethel, Winter became the first Cardinal besides Blattner to score 20 or more points this season. … Saint Mary's boasts four players who have recorded single-game career highs of 10 or more points this season—Winter (25), Hallie Schmeling (Onalaska, Wis. / 15), Bleess (13), and Rachel Kedl (Lamberton, Minn. / 10). … Kedl recorded a career-best 10 rebounds against Augsburg on Dec. 2. She is the second Cardinal freshman to post 10 or more boards in a game this season—Winter recorded an 11-rebound effort in Saint Mary's season-opening win over Martin Luther on Nov. 15. … The Cardinals put a season-high five players in double figures in their 74-70 win over the University of Dubuque on Nov. 21. … Blattner (17.9 ppg) and Huisman (12.8 ppg) enter Saturday's nonconference game against Viterbo averaging in double figures. … Blattner also leads the team in rebounds with 99 (9.9 rpg). … Saint Mary's boasts seven players—Kirsten Keefe (Chatfield, Minn. / 25), Blattner (25), Schmeling (18), Bleess (16), Winter (13), Ewelina Schlomann (New Berlin, Wis. / 12), and Huisman (13)—with 10 or more assists. … Blattner and Keefe hold the team lead in steals with 12 each. … … 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 76 3-pointers through 10 games—with 12 different players knocking down at least one. … Huisman—who equaled her season high with six 3-pointers against St. Olaf on Dec. 12—leads the Cardinals with 32 treys. … Saint Mary's had six different players net a 3-pointer against UM-Morris on Nov. 18. … The Cardinals enter Saturday's game against Viterbo averaging 66.6 ppg, while limiting their opponents to a 63.6 ppg scoring average. … 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 Viterbo V-Hawks:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is just the fourth home contest of the season for the V-Hawks—and their first home game since Nov. 12. Viterbo has played its last nine games away from R.W. Beggs Sr. Gymnasium in La Crosse, Wis. … The V-Hawks' loss to Southeastern on Dec. 18 pushed their losing streak to three straight. Viterbo has now lost six of its last seven—the lone win a 77-47 victory over Dickinson State on Dec. 8. … Viterbo has netted just 35 points in two of its last three games—falling to the University of Jamestown (84-35) and Southeastern (68-35). … The V-Hawks boast two players—Allyssa Nilssen (11.5 ppg) and Ambree Schlosser (10.0 ppg)—averaging in double figures. … Nilssen and Schlosser (combined 21.5 ppg) have accounted for nearly half of the V-Hawks' points-per-game offensive average (55.6 ppg). … Nilssen is the team's rebounding leader with 122 (8.1 rpg), followed by Schlosser with 56 (3.7 rpg). … Schlosser owns a team-high 27 assists and is one of eight V-Hawks with 10 or more helpers through 15 games. … Schlosser also boasts a team-high 27 steals, while Nilssen has amassed 11 of the team's 33 blocked shots. … The V-Hawks are shooting 35 percent from the field (292-for-828) and have knocked down 66 3-pointers. … Kassi Hofschild is the team-leader in 3-pointers with 13, one more than Schlosser and two in front of Madison Doerr. … As a team, the V-Hawks have scored 70 or more points twice this season—netting 75 in a 75-58 win over Crown on Nov. 17, while pouring in a season-high 77 in beating Dickinson State on Dec. 8. On the flip side, the V-Hawks have allowed 80 or more points on four occasions—including a season-high 101 in a 101-43 loss to Concordia (Neb.) on Nov. 3.