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 close out the regular-season portion of their schedule with a 1 p.m. showdown against Saint Benedict at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (7-10 MIAC, 13-11 Overall) vs. Saint Benedict Blazers (10-7 MIAC, 14-10 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program | Senior Salute
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—February 15, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: St. Thomas raced out to a 22-7 lead after the first quarter, and took a 41-19 lead into the locker room at the break en route to a 77-66 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory over the Cardinals at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• Saint Benedict—February 15, 2017 * St. Paul, Minn.: Saint Benedict locked up a home game in the opening round of the MIAC Playoffs, thanks to a 66-48 conference win over Hamline at Hutton Arena | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Saint Benedict—Earlier This Year:
• January 14, 2017 * St. Joseph, Minn.: Saint Benedict, which managed just four third-quarter points, outscored the Cardinals 16-11 in the game's final 10 minutes, as the Blazers dealt Saint Mary's a 47-45 conference setback at Claire Lynch Hall | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Saint Benedict—A Year Ago:
• November 22, 2015 * St. Joseph, Minn.: Saint Mary's collected its second nonconference win in as many days, as the Cardinals outscored Saint Benedict 48-40 in the second half in pulling away for a 75-67 victory at Claire Lynch Hall | Recap
• February 6, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: Bridget Pethke (New London, Wis.) scored a team-best 18 points, knocking down 6 of 15 field goals attempts—including a season-high five 3-pointers—as the Cardinals won their third straight and remained tied atop the conference standings with a 61-53 win over Saint Benedict at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: Saturday's game against Saint Benedict is the regular-season finale for the Cardinals.
• Saint Benedict: Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the regular-season finale for the Blazers. Saint Benedict will host St. Catherine in an MIAC Playoff opening-round game on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Claire Lynch Hall in St. Joseph, Minn.
 
MIAC Playoff Picture:
• With one game remaining in the regular season, five of the MIAC's six post-season tickets have been punched—St. Thomas (17-0), Gustavus (16-1), Bethel (15-2), Saint Benedict (10-7), and St. Catherine (9-8) have all locked up playoff berths. The Cardinals need to beat Saint Benedict Saturday—or have Augsburg lose to St. Olaf (4-13)—to lock up their sixth straight MIAC Playoff berth. No. 1 St. Thomas and No. 2 Gustavus have already locked up the top two seeds and the first-round playoff byes, while No. 4 Saint Benedict will host No. 5 St. Catherine on Wednesday, with No. 3 Bethel hosting either Saint Mary's or Augsburg, also on Wednesday.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Saturday's game is the second of back-to-back home games for the Cardinals, who are 52-10 on their home court over the past five seasons. … Ten of the Cardinals' 13 wins this season have come during two, five-game winning streaks. … The Cardinals have 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 10 of its 11 losses this season—the lone exception, Wednesday's 77-66 loss to unbeaten and nationally ranked St. Thomas. … Emma Schaefer (Roseville, Minn.) scored a team-high 17 points against St. Thomas Wednesday. It was the third time the Cardinal senior has netted 17 points in a game and was one point shy of her season-best 18-point effort against UW-Eau Claire on Dec. 11. … Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) and Sam Jones (White Bear Lake, Minn.) also scored in double figures against the Tommies Wednesday, finishing with 11 and 10 points, respectively. … Blattner scored 18 points and hauled in 14 rebounds against St. Catherine last Saturday. It was her ninth double-double of the season and 17^th of her collegiate career. … Blattner has hauled in 10 or more rebounds in two of the Cardinals' last three games and 11 times this season. … Blattner's 16 rebounds against Bethel on Feb. 8 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 20 of the team's 24 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. Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn.) netted a career-best 20 points in both of the Cardinals' meetings against Concordia this season, while Jones finished with 21 against the University of Dubuque on Nov. 15. … 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 (11 times), Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn. / 6 times), Schaefer (5 times), Jones (3 times), Keefe, and Brigette Audette (Big Lake, Minn.). … Blattner heads into the Cardinals' regular-season finale against Saint Benedict averaging a team-best 14.5 ppg. Schaefer (10.6 ppg) and Jones (10.2 ppg) are also averaging in double figures. … Blattner owns a team-leading 231 rebounds (9.6 rpg). … Blattner is just two rebounds shy of her career-high 233 rebounds, recorded a year ago. … The Cardinals have drained 135 3-pointers in 24 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 44 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, who recorded a career-high 12 assists against Concordia in the teams' first meeting on Dec. 3, leads the team with a career-best 116 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 61.2 ppg, while limiting its opponents to a 60.5 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 69-54 loss to Bethel on Feb. 8 marked the second time in as many meetings that the Royals scored 24 fourth-quarter points—and 69 points overall points—in beating the Cardinals. … Saint Mary's 61-60 win over Carleton 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.
 
Scouting The Saint Benedict Blazers:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Saturday's regular-season finale against Saint Mary's is the second straight road game for the Blazers, who are 4-8 away from Claire Lynch Hall this season. … With its win over Hamline Wednesday, CSB earned its first home MIAC Playoff game since the 2012-13 season, when the Blazers were also the No. 4 seed. … Wednesday's victory over Hamline snapped the Blazers' three-game losing streak. CSB comes into Saturday's showdown with Saint Mary's 2-4 in its last six games. … Saint Benedict boasted four players in double figures in its win over Hamline Wednesday, led by Chelsey Guetter with 12 points. Megan Schroeder chipped in 11, and Sidney Schiffler and Niki Fokken each added 10. … Fokken also recorded a team-best 10 rebounds en route to her second double-double of the season. … Guetter is the only Blazer averaging in double figures through 24 games, boasting a 10.3 ppg scoring average. … Fokken has notched the team's top two single-game scoring performances this season, netting 21 points against Hamline on Jan. 18, while pouring in a season-high 25 points against Carleton on Dec. 3. … Guetter is also the team's rebounding leader with 189 (7.9 rpg), while Fokken has also eclipsed the 100-rebound plateau, owning 111 boards (4.6 rpg). … Alison Newton has dished out a team-best 61 assists, while Guetter is the team-leader in steals (30) and blocks (12). … Saint Benedict has knocked down 114 3-pointers, led by Newton with 24 and Schiffler with 20. … As a team, the Blazers are averaging 58.2 ppg, while limiting their opponents to just 56.2 ppg. … Saint Benedict has scored 70 or more points in a game just four times this season, including a season-high 88-point showing against Carleton on Dec. 3.