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 St. Olaf in a 1 p.m. showdown at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (7-6 MIAC, 13-7 Overall) vs. St. Olaf Oles (2-11 MIAC, 6-14 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—February 1, 2017 * St. Paul, Minn.: Fueled by Brandi Blattner's (Eyota, Minn.) 12 first-half points, the Cardinals raced out to a 38-15 halftime advantage in the teams' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matchup at Hutton Arena. Over the final 20 minutes, the Pipers clamped down on Blattner and did not allow the sophomore to add to her 12-point first-half effort—but they did not have an answer to the trio of Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn.), Emma Schaefer(Roseville, Minn.), and Sam Jones (White Bear Lake, Minn.), who combined for 22 of the team's 27 second-half points in leading Saint Mary's to a 65-49 victory | Recap
• St. Olaf—February 1, 2017 * St. Joseph, Minn.: Saint Benedict outscored the Oles 31-20 in the game's final two quarter, as the Blazers dealt St. Olaf a 72-53 MIAC setback at Claire Lynch Hall | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Olaf—A Year Ago:
• January 9, 2016 * Northfield, Minn.: The final margin of victory may have been 11 points, but the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game between Saint Mary's and St. Olaf was anything but an 11-point contest. The Cardinals got a 27 points from Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.)—the Saint Mary's freshman's second straight 27-point performance—and outscored the Oles 13-2 in the game's final six minutes in handing St. Olaf a 57-46 MIAC setback at Skoglund Center | Recap
• February 13, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: Playing in her final regular-season home game as a Cardinal, Bridget Pethke (New London, Wis.) poured in a game-high 18 points, added nine assists, and hauled in seven rebounds in leading Saint Mary's to an 85-56 win Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over St. Olaf at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals hit the road on Wednesday, traveling to Bethel's Robertson Center for a 7 p.m. conference showdown with the Royals.
• St. Olaf: The Oles return home to Skoglund Center in Northfield, Minn., on Wednesday, entertaining league-leading Gustavus in a 7 p.m. conference matchup.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is just the second home game in the last eight contests for the Cardinals, who return to the road for back-to-back contests next week, before closing out the regular-season with home games against St. Thomas and Saint Benedict. … The Cardinals own a 7-3 record at home this season and are 52-8 on their home court over the past five seasons. … Six of Saint Mary's seven losses have come via three, two-game losing streaks. On the flip side, 10 of the Cardinals' 13 wins have come during two, five-game winning streaks. … With their 64 points in their win at Hamline on Wednesday, 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 seven of its losses this season. … Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn.) scored a team-high 14 points to lead four Cardinals in double figures against Hamline on Wednesday. Sam Jones (White Bear Lake, Minn.) added 13 points, while Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) and Emma Schaefer (Roseville, Minn.) chipped in 12 and 11 points, respectively. … Huisman has now led the team in scoring in four of its last six games. … Huisman equaled her career high with 20 points in the Cardinals' 75-61 win over Concordia on Jan. 21. It was the second time in as many meetings against the Cobbers that Huisman has scored a career-best 20 points. … Huisman is one of three Cardinals who have posted career-high games of 20 or more points this season. Blattner scored a career-best 28 points against Bethel on Dec. 7, while Jones finished with 21 against the University of Dubuque on Nov. 15. … Blattner's 28-point showing against Bethel on Dec. 7 was the highest individual offensive 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 17 of the team's 20 games—including three games of 20 or more points. … Along with her 12 points, Blattner also hauled in 11 rebounds against Hamline Wednesday en route to her eighth double-double of the season—and 16^th of her collegiate career. … Blattner has recorded 10 or more rebounds nine times this season—including a season 17-rebound effort against Carleton on Nov. 30. … Blattner's 17 rebounds against Carleton were just two shy of her school-record 19-rebound performance against UW-Eau Claire on Dec. 29, 2015. … 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 (9 times), Huisman (5 times), Schaefer (4 times), Jones (3 times), Keefe, and Brigette Audette (Big Lake, Minn.). … Blattner heads into the Cardinals' conference showdown with St. Olaf averaging a team-best 14.4 ppg. Schaefer (10.9 ppg) and Jones (10.8 ppg) are also averaging in double figures. … Blattner owns a team-leading 186 rebounds (9.3 rpg). … The Cardinals, who made 163 3-pointers last season, have drained 118 treys in 120 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 34 3-pointers—including five against Concordia on Jan. 21. … 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 dished out a career-high 12 assists against Concordia in the teams' first meeting on Dec. 3, leads the team with 95 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 62.0 ppg, while limiting its opponents to a 59.5 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 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. … With their 21-6 overall record last season, the Cardinals have now reached the 20-win plateau in three of the last four seasons.
 
Scouting The St. Olaf Oles:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Saturday's game at Saint Mary's is the second straight road contest for the Oles, who play three of their final three contests on their home court. … St. Olaf has posted four of its six wins on the road this season—the Oles are just 2-6 at Skoglund Center this season. … The Oles head into Saturday's match against Saint Mary's having dropped five straight and eight of their last nine—the lone win, a 60-50 victory over Augsburg on Jan. 14. … Margaret Andersen and Makenna Ash each scored 11 points to pace the Oles in their loss to Saint Benedict Wednesday. … Nine of Andersen's 11 points came from behind the 3-point line, where she was a perfect 3-for-3. … Ash and Betsey Daly head to Saint Mary's on Saturday leading the team's offense, averaging 13.5 ppg and 11.9 ppg, respectively. … Ash has recorded three games of 20 or more points—including a season-best 22 against Carleton on Jan. 18. … Daley and Andersen have also scored 22 points this season—Daly vs. Martin Luther on Dec. 13 and Andersen against Bethany Lutheran on Nov. 15. … Daly is also the team's rebounding leader with 204 (10.2 rpg), with Ash close behind with 181 boards (9.1 rpg). … St. Olaf boasts four players—Daly (44), Andersen (37), Ella Skrien (36), and Lother (35)—with 30 or more assists through 20 games. … Daly has posted a team-best 43 steals, while Ash owns a team-high 14 blocks. … The Oles have knocked down 121 3-pointers this season, led by Lother with 34, Andersen with 29, and Skrien with 26. … St. Olaf is shooting 34 percent from the field (395-for-1153) and is averaging 56.5 ppg. … The Oles have scored 70 or more points just twice this season—beating St. Scholastica 78-69, while falling to Macalester 82-78.