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 Wednesday, as the Cardinals play host to St. Catherine in a 7 p.m. contest at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (7-5, MIAC, 12-7 Overall) vs. St. Catherine Wildcats (4-8 MIAC, 8-11 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—January 27, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) scored a career-high 30 points and hauled in 15 rebounds in leading the Cardinals to a convincing 77-58 win over Augsburg at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• St. Catherine—January 27, 2018 * Northfield, Minn.: The Wildcats avenged an early season loss to Carleton, getting 29 points from Alexis Garcia in beating the Knights 64-61 at West Gym | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Catherine—Earlier This Year:
• January 3, 2018 * St. Paul, Minn.: St. Catherine limited Saint Mary's to a combined 14 points in the middle two quarters and held off a late SMU charge in dealing the Cardinals a 63-59 conference setback at Butler Center Gym | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Catherine—A Year Ago:
• 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 run—beating St. Catherine 80-73 | Recap
• February 11, 2017 * St. Paul, Minn.: Just three days after surrendering 24 points in the game's final 10 minutes in a heartbreaking 69-54 loss to Bethel, the game's final quarter haunted the Cardinals again against St. Catherine. Leading by eight, 42-34, after three quarters, the Cardinals were outscored 21-10 in the fourth—including a game-ending, 7-0 run that erased a four-point Saint Mary's lead and lifted St. Catherine to a 55-52 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory at Butler Center | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, as Saint Mary's heads to Bethel's Robertson Center in Arden Hills, Minn., for a 3 p.m. showdown against the Royals.
• St. Catherine: The Wildcats return home to Butler Center in St. Paul, Minn., on Saturday, entertaining St. Thomas in a 3 p.m. conference matchup.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Schedule | 2017-18 Statistics
• Wednesday's game against St. Catherine is the second straight home contest for the Cardinals, who are 6-2 on their home court this season. … With their 77-58 win over Augsburg last Saturday, the Cardinals pushed their winning streak to a season-high five straight. … All five of the Cardinals' wins during their recent run have been decided by 10 points or more. … Saint Mary's 80 points in its 80-68 win over Hamline on Jan. 20 were one point shy of their season-high—the Cardinals netted a season-high 81 against UM-Morris on Nov. 18. … The Cardinals' 81-point effort against UM-Morris on Nov. 18 was their highest single-game offensive output 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. … The Cardinals' 59-49 win over Carleton on Jan. 17 marked just the second time in their last 24 wins that Saint Mary's has not scored 60 or more points—the other exception, a 56-52 win over Macalester on Jan. 4, 2017. … Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) scored a career-high 30 points—two better than her previous career best—and added 15 rebounds in Saint Mary's win over Augsburg last Saturday. … Blattner's 30-point effort against Augsburg marked the second time in the last three games that Saint Mary's has had a player net 30 or more points in a game. Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn.) scored a career-high 32 points—12 more than her previous career high—against Hamline on Jan. 20. … Huisman's 32 points were the most since Bridget Pethke poured in 32 against St. Olaf on Jan. 29, 2014. … Along with her 32 points, Huisman also hauled in a career-best 10 rebounds en route to the first double-double of her collegiate career. … Blattner has now led or shared the team lead in scoring in 13 of their 19 games this season, while Huisman has been the team's scoring leader six times. … Blattner has scored 10 or more points in 18 of the team's 19 games this season—including eight games of 20 or more points. … Blattner's 30-point, 15-rebound double-double against Augsburg last Saturday was her ninth of the season—and 27^th of her three-year collegiate career. … Blattner has recorded 10 or more rebounds nine times this season and 33 times as a Cardinal. … The Cardinals have had a player score 20 or more points nine times this season—seven times by Blattner, and once each by Huisman and Abby Winter (Winona, Minn.). … Blattner's 3-pointer with 2:05 remaining in the third quarter against Hamline last Saturday gave the Cardinal junior her 1,000^th career point. Blattner is the 11^th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point mark. … Blattner—who enters Wednesday's game vs. St. Catherine with 1,050 career points and 667 career rebounds—is just the sixth player in Cardinal history to record 1,000 career points and 650 career rebounds. … Claire Patterson (Marine, Minn.) chipped in a career-best 10 points against Augsburg last Saturday, becoming the seventh player to record a single-game, career-high of 10 or more points—joining Huisman (32), Blattner (30), Winter (25), Hallie Schmeling (Onalaska, Wis. / 15), Vesel (14), 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 (13.2 ppg) enter Wednesday's conference game against St. Catherine averaging in double figures. … Blattner also leads the team in rebounds with 188 (9.9 rpg). … Blattner's 17.9 ppg scoring average and 9.9 rpg average both rank No. 2 in the MIAC. … Winter—who pulled down 10 boards against Augsburg last Saturday—has also eclipsed the 100-rebound plateau with 104 (5.8 rpg). … Saint Mary's boasts five players with 20 or more assists, led by Kirsten Keefe (Chatfield, Minn. / 48), Schmeling (41), and Blattner (37). … Schmeling recorded a single-game team-, season-, and career-high eight assists vs. St. Olaf last Wednesday. … Blattner holds the team lead in steals with 23, two 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 129 3-pointers through 19 games—with 15 different players knocking down at least one. … Huisman—who notched a single-game season- and career-high seven 3-pointers against Hamline on Jan. 20—leads the Cardinals with 56 treys. … Saint Mary's had six different players net a 3-pointer against UM-Morris on Nov. 18. … The Cardinals enter Wednesday's game against St. Catherine averaging 65.8 ppg, while limiting their opponents to a 61.3 ppg scoring average. … Macalester's 45 points in its 73-45 loss to Saint Mary's on Jan 13 were the fewest allowed by the Cardinals this season. … 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. … 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 St. Catherine Wildcats:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's is the second straight road game for the Wildcats, who will play their next three contests on their home court at Butler Center. … Last Saturday's 64-61 win over Carleton snapped St. Catherine's two-game losing streak. … The Wildcats' two games against Carleton this season have been decided by a combined nine points—SCU fell to the Knights 61-56 in their first meeting on Dec. 2. … Alexis Garcia was the only Wildcat in double figures against Carleton last Saturday, scoring a game-high 29 points—including 16 in the second half. … With her 29-point effort against Carleton, Garcia now owns the three of the Wildcats' top four single-game scoring performances. Along with her showing against Carleton, Garcia netted 26 points in SCU's first meeting against Saint Mary's on Jan. 3, and netted a season-high 32 against Hamline on Jan. 13. … Garcia enters Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's as the team's offensive scoring leader, averaging 11.7 ppg. SCU has been without the services of Danica Cambrice (17.8 ppg) and Audra Clark (15.8 ppg) since mid-December. … Meg Clark owns a team-leading 81 rebounds (4.3 rpg), while also leading the Wildcats with 40 assists. … Clark is one of three SCU players with 20 or more assists, followed by Jackie Radford (35) and Garcia (25). … Radford is the team's leader in steals (29) and blocks (9). … The Wildcats are shooting 36 percent from the field (398-for-1104) and have knocked down 71 3-pointers. … Garcia owns a team-high 18 3-pointers, followed by Meg Clark with 13. … As a team, St. Catherine is averaging 58.5 ppg, while the Wildcats' opponents are scoring at a 63.3 ppg clip. … St. Catherine's 64 points in last Saturday's 64-61 win over Carleton were the most since the Wildcats netted a season-high 72 in beating Macalester 72-67 on Dec. 13. … Twelve of St. Catherine's 19 games have been decided by 10 points of less.