By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals entertain Bethel in a 3 p.m. showdown at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-1 MIAC, 5-3 Overall) vs. Bethel Royals (0-2 MIAC, 3-4 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—December 6, 2017 * Northfield, Minn.: The Cardinals scored the game's final eight points in rallying for a 71-64 MIAC win over Carleton at West Gym | Recap
• Bethel—December 6, 2017 * St. Paul, Minn.: The Royals outscored St. Thomas 29-20 in the fourth quarter, but it was not enough, as Bethel's comeback bid fall short in a 72-65 loss to the Tommies at Schoenecker Arena | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Bethel—A Year Ago:
• December 7, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: Despite a Herculean effort by Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.)—who scored a game- and career-high 28 points—the Cardinals could not keep pace with the Royals down the stretch, as Bethel handed Saint Mary's a 69-56 setback at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• February 8, 2017 * Arden Hills, Minn.: For the second time in as many meetings this season, Bethel had scored 45 points through three quarters and were clinging to yet another narrow advantage—this time a two-point, 45-43 edge. And, unfortunately for the Cardinals, the Royals were unstoppable in the final 10 minutes, putting up 24 points—to once again finish with 69 points for the game—in dropping Saint Mary's 69-54 at BU's Robertson Center Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back on their home court at the Saint Mary's Gym on Tuesday, hosting St. Olaf in a 7 p.m. MIAC matchup.
• Bethel: The Royals are now off until Dec. 20-21, when they head to Daytona Beach, Fla., to take part in the Daytona Beach Shootout. BU will face Saint Vincent on Dec. 5 at 4 p.m., and will square off against MacMurray the following day at 2 p.m.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Schedule | 2017-18 Statistics
• Saturday's game against Bethel is just the third home game of the season for the Cardinals, who are a perfect 2-0 on their home court—having beaten Martin Luther (61-60) and St. Scholastica (76-53). … With Wednesday's 71-64 win over Carleton, the Cardinals enter Saturday's game against Bethel having won four of their last six. … Including Wednesday's 71-64 win over Carleton, the Cardinals have now scored 60 or more points in 17 of their last 18 wins—the lone exception, a 56-52 win over Macalester on Jan. 4, 2017. … The Cardinals put three players in double figures in Wednesday's win over Carleton—Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) scored a game-high 20 points, followed by Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn.) with a season-high 19 and Abby Winter (Winona, Minn.) with 10. … Blattner's 20-point effort against Carleton Wednesday was her fourth straight game scoring 20 or more points. … Blattner poured in a season-high 27 points in the Cardinals' 69-59 loss to Augsburg last Saturday. 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 last Saturday, Blattner also hauled in a season-high 15 rebounds en route to her fifth double-double of the season and 23 of her career. … Blattner has hauled in 10 or more rebounds 30 times over the last three seasons. … Rachel Kedl (Lamberton, Minn.) recorded a career-best 10 rebounds against Augsburg last Saturday. 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. … Winter scored a career-high 15 points and missed her first collegiate double-double by one rebound against St. Scholastica on Nov. 29. … 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 Savannah Bleess (Kenyon, Minn.) and 10 from Kedl. … Saint Mary's boasts four players who have recorded single-game career highs of 10 or more points this season—Winter (15), Hallie Schmeling (Onalaska, Wis. / 15), Bleess (12), and Kedl (10). … Blattner (19.1 ppg) and Huisman (12.0 ppg) enter Saturday's conference game against Bethel averaging in double figures. … Blattner also leads the team in rebounds with 79 (9.9 rpg). … Saint Mary's boasts six players—Blattner (19), Kirsten Keefe (Chatfield, Minn. 18), Schmeling (17), Ewelina Schlomann (New Berlin, Wis. / 12), Bleess (12), and Huisman (10)—with 10 or more assists. … Blattner holds the team lead in steals with 10, one more than Keefe. … 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 62 3-pointers through eight games—with 11 different players knocking down at least one. … Huisman—who delivered six 3-pointers against Carleton on Wednesday—leads the Cardinals with 26 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 Bethel averaging 67.2 ppg, while limiting their opponents to a 63.9 scoring average. … Three of Saint Mary's five wins this season have been decided by seven points or less. … 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 Bethel Royals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the fourth of eight straight road games for the Royals, who have played six of their first seven games away from Robertson Center. BU won its lone home game, beating Buena Vista 85-79 on Nov. 18. … Wednesday's loss to St. Thomas pushed the Royals' losing streak to three straight—Bethel has not won since beating George Fox 68-64 on Nov. 25. … Five of Bethel's eight games have been decided by seven points or less. … Bethel finished with four players in double figures against the Tommies. Taite Anderson scored a team-high 17 points, followed by Hannah Johnson (16), Abby Miller (14), and Angie Kirchoff (11). … Bethel enters Saturday's game at Saint Mary's boasting three players—Johnson (15.0 ppg), Anderson (14.9 ppg), and Miller (14.4 ppg)—averaging in double figures. … Miller owns the team's top single-game offensive performance, scoring 29 points against Buena Vista on Nov. 18. … Johnson also leads the team in rebounds with 73 (10.4 rpg) and blocks (21). … BU has three players with 10 or more assists, led by Kirchoff with 15. Anderson (13) and Jassmin Bretoi (10) are the other two. … As a team, the Royals are shooting 40 percent from the field (153-for-383) and have knocked down 41 3-pointers. … Miller leads the Royals with 18 3-pointers, followed by Bretoi with 10. … Eight of Bethel's nine players who have seen action this season have recorded at least one 3-pointer through seven games. … The Royals, who are averaging 65.3 ppg, scored a season-high 85 points in an 85-79 win over Buena Vista on Nov. 18.