ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals head to St. Catherine for a 3 p.m. contest at the Wildcats' Butler Center Gym.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (7-8 MIAC, 13-9 Overall) vs. St. Catherine Wildcats (8-6 MIAC, 14-8 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—February 8, 2017 * Arden Hills, Minn.: For the second time in as many meetings, Bethel erupted for 24 four-quarter points in pulling away from the Cardinals, dealing Saint Mary's a 69-54 MIAC setback at Robertson Center Gym | Recap
• St. Catherine—February 8, 2017 * St. Paul, Minn.: The Wildcats avenged their early season loss to Concordia in thrilling fashion—getting a last-second basket by Audra Clark to lift St. Catherine to a 63-61 victory over the Cobbers at Butler Center Gym | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Catherine—Earlier This Year:
• January 7, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's boasted five players in double figures, led by Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) with 19 points, as the Cardinals picked up their fourth straight win—and snapped the Wildcats' four-game winning streak—beating St. Catherine 80-73 at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Catherine—A Year Ago:
• January 6, 2016 * St. Paul, Minn.: Saint Mary's got a career-high 27 points from Brandi Blattner—including 11 of the team's final 17 points—and the Cardinals rallied from a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit en route to a 71-67 victory over the Wildcats at Butler Center | Recap
• February 3, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals—coming off a heart-stopping, 65-59 come-from-behind win over Carleton in their last conference contest—held off a St. Catherine late-game charge en route to a 62-60 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back in action on Wednesday, returning home to the Saint Mary's Gym for a 7 p.m. showdown against St. Thomas.
• St. Catherine: The Wildcats return to Butler Center Gym for the last time this season on Wednesday, hosting Gustavus in a 7 p.m. conference contest.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Saturday's game against St. Catherine is the second straight road game for the Cardinals who are in the midst of playing eight of 10 contests away from the Saint Mary's Gym. Saint Mary's will close out its regular season with back-to-back home contests against St. Thomas (Wednesday) and Saint Benedict (Saturday). … The Cardinals own a 7-4 record at home this season and are 52-9 on their home court over the past five seasons. … Ten of the Cardinals' 13 wins have come during two, five-game winning streaks. … With their 64 points in their 64-48 win at Hamline on Feb. 1, the Cardinals have now scored 60 or more points in 12 of their 13 wins—the lone exception, a 56-52 win over Macalester on Jan. 4. … Saint Mary's has been held under 60 points in all nine of its losses this season—including last Saturday's 60-57 setback against St. Olaf. … Saint Mary's 69-54 loss to Bethel on Wednesday marked the second time in as many meetings that the Royals scored 24 fourth-quarter points—69 points overall points—in beating the Cardinals. … Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn.) netted a team-high 17 points for the Cardinals against Bethel Wednesday. … Huisman has now led the Cardinals in scoring in five of their last eight games. … Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) hauled in a team- and game-high 16 rebounds against Bethel Wednesday. It was the 10^th time this season the sophomore has hauled in 10 or more boards in a game. … Blattner's 16 rebounds vs. Bethel were one shy of her season high—a 17-rebound effort against Carleton on Nov. 30—and just three shy of her school-record 19-rebound performance against UW-Eau Claire on Dec. 29, 2015. … Blattner equaled her career high, scoring 28 points in the Cardinals' 60-57 loss to St. Olaf on Feb. 4. Blattner also netted 28 points against Bethel in the teams' first meeting on Dec. 7. … Blattner's 28-point efforts are the highest single-game performance since Shelby Auseth recorded 28 points and Bridget Pethke scored 32 during the 2013-14 season. … Blattner has scored 10 or more points in 18 of the team's 22 games—including four games of 20 or more points. … Blattner is one of three Cardinals who have posted career-high games of 20 or more points this season. Huisman netted a career-best 20 points in both of the Cardinals' meetings against Concordia this season, while Sam Jones (White Bear Lake, Minn.) finished with 21 against the University of Dubuque on Nov. 15. … Blattner picked up her team-leading eighth double-double of the season—and 16^th of her collegiate career—with 12 points and 11 rebounds against Hamline on Feb. 1. … Jones scored 14 points and hauled in a career-high 10 rebounds against Concordia on Jan. 21 en route to her first collegiate double-double. … 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 have had six different players lead or share the team lead in scoring this season—Blattner (10 times), Huisman (6 times), Schaefer (4 times), Jones (3 times), Keefe, and Brigette Audette (Big Lake, Minn.). … Blattner heads into the Cardinals' conference showdown with St. Catherine Saturday averaging a team-best 14.5 ppg. Emma Schaefer (10.5 ppg) and Jones (10.2 ppg) are also averaging in double figures. … Blattner owns a team-leading 210 rebounds (9.5 rpg). … Blattner is just 23 rebounds shy of her career-high 233 rebounds, recording a year ago. … The Cardinals have drained 129 3-pointers in 22 games this season—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 leads the team with 42 3-pointers—including a season- and career-high five against both Concordia on Jan. 21 and St. Olaf on Feb. 4. … Six Cardinals own 10 or more 3-pointers and 10 of the 13 players on the Saint Mary's roster have drained at least one 3-pointer this season. … Schaefer, recorded a career-high 12 assists against Concordia in the teams' first meeting on Dec. 3, leads the team with a career-best 108 helpers this season. … 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 has put five players in double figures twice this season, having achieved the feat against both the University of Dubuque and St. Catherine. Saint Mary's had five players score in double figures just once a year ago. … The Cardinals had 10 players score two or more points in their 66-40 win over Viterbo on Nov. 22. … Saint Mary's finished with 59 rebounds against Lawrence on Dec. 30, two shy of its school-record 61-rebound effort against Carleton on Nov. 30. … Saint Mary's is averaging 61.5 ppg, while limiting its opponents to a 60.0 ppg scoring average. … The Cardinals posted back-to-back games of 80 or more points earlier this 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. Saint Mary's eclipsed the 80-point plateau five times last year, including a season-high 88-point showing against Crown on Nov. 21, 2015. … Saint Mary's 61-60 win over Carleton in the teams' first meeting on Nov. 30 was its first overtime game of the season—and first since a 79-73 win over Concordia on Feb. 7, 2015. … Saint Mary's has now won its last four overtime games. The last Cardinal loss in OT was against Concordia on Jan. 29, 2012, falling 60-59. … The Cardinals won at least 11 of their first 15 games for the fourth time in their last five seasons. … With their 76-64 win over the University of Dubuque on Nov. 15, the Cardinals have now 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. … Saint Mary's—picked to finish third in the MIAC Preseason Coaches' Poll—made its fifth straight MIAC Playoff appearance last season—and the Cardinals have reached at least the semifinals each time.
 
Scouting The St. Catherine Wildcats:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the second of three straight home games for the Wildcats, who are 6-2 at Butler Center Gym this season. … Wednesday's 63-61 win over Concordia was the Wildcats' sixth win by four points or less. … St. Catherine heads into Saturday's rematch with Saint Mary's having won three of its last four games—the lone setback, a 63-52 loss to St. Thomas on Feb. 4. … Audra Clark scored a career-high 26 points, while LaShay Holt chipped in 11 for the Wildcats in Wednesday's win over Concordia. … Clark has now scored 10 or more points in 18 of the team's 22 games—including seven games of 20 or more points. … St. Catherine enters Saturday's matchup with Saint Mary's boasting four players averaging 10 or more points—Clark (15.6 ppg), Holt (15.1 ppg), Alexis Garcia (10.5 ppg), and Kennedy Jennings (10.0 ppg). … Holt poured in a season-high 29 points against Gustavus on Jan. 18. … Holt is also the team's rebounding lead with 169 (8.9 rpg), while Clark leads the team in assists (82) and steals (49). … The Wildcats have blocked 75 shots this season, led by Jennings (16) and Mari Lee (14). … SCU has drained 120 3-pointers through 22 games, and have four players—Holt (27), Lee (26), Garcia (24), and Clark (21)—with 20 or more treys. … St. Catherine is averaging 69.4 ppg, while limiting their opponents to 64.0 ppg. … SCU has scored 80 or more points six times this season—including 93 in a 93-91 overtime win over Augsburg on Dec. 10, and a season-high 94 in a 94-81 win vs. Baruch on Nov. 20.