By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director

WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team bids farewell to its lone graduating senior—Alexa Huisman—before squaring off against Hamline in a 3 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matchup at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (9-8 MIAC, 14-10 Overall) vs. Hamline Pipers (3-14 MIAC, 4-20 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program | Senior Salute (PDF * HTML)
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—February 14, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: League-leading St. Thomas knocked down 8 of 8 free throws in the game's final 15 seconds in dealing the Cardinals a 68-62 conference setback at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• Hamline—February 14, 2018 * St. Paul, Minn.: Reilly Geistfeld scored 14 points and added eight rebounds, but it was not enough, as Concordia dealt the Pipers a 65-49 conference loss in HU's home finale at Hutton Arena | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Hamline—Earlier This Year:
• January 20, 2018 * St. Paul, Minn.: On a day when Saint Mary's junior Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) became the 11^th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points, it was the Cardinals' lone senior—Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn.)—who shined the brightest. Huisman started hot—and stayed hot—in leading the Cardinals to an 80-68 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over Hamline at Hutton Arena | Recap 
 
Saint Mary's vs. Hamline—A Year Ago:
• February 1, 2017 * St. Paul, Minn.: Through the game's opening 20 minutes, Saint Mary's boasted one player—Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.)—who had nearly as many points as the entire Hamline team, as the Cardinals raced to a 38-15 halftime lead. 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 at Hutton Arena | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saturday's conference matchup is the regular-season finale for both the Cardinals and the Pipers. The Cardinals will learn their post-season positioning following Saturday's round of MIAC games.
 
MIAC Playoff Chase:
• Five of the six MIAC Playoff berths have already been clinched by St. Thomas (16-0), Saint Benedict (15-1), Gustavus (13-3), Bethel (11-5), and Saint Mary's (9-8). St. Catherine (8-9) and Augsburg (7-10) are currently tied for the sixth and final spot—with the two squaring off against each other on Wednesday. A win against the Pipers will assure Saint Mary's the No. 5 spot, and a Tuesday date at fourth-seeded Bethel.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Schedule | 2017-18 Statistics
• Saturday's matchup against Hamline is the final collegiate home game for Cardinal senior Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn.). … Wednesday's 68-62 loss to St. Thomas snapped the Cardinals' two-game winning streak. Saint Mary's heads into Saturday's regular-season finale having won seven of their last 10. … With their 69-57 win over Macalester last Saturday, the Cardinals locked up their sixth MIAC Playoff berth in the last seven seasons. … Huisman scored a team-high 16 points against league-leading St. Thomas Wednesday, while Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn. / 13) and Abby Winter (Winona, Minn. / 12) also scored in double figures vs. the Tommies. … With her team-leading 16 points against St. Thomas Wednesday, Huisman became the fourth different player in the last four games to lead the team in scoring. … Blattner scored 25 points and added a career-high and school-record 20 rebounds in the Cardinals' 69-57 win over Macalester last Saturday. The 20 rebounds against the Scots were one more than Blattner's previous school record total, set against UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 29, 2015. … Blattner has scored 20 or more points eight times this season, while the double-double was her 10^th of the season and 28^th of her collegiate career. … Blattner has scored 10 or more points in 23 of the team's 24 games this season, while also recording 10 or more rebounds in a game 10 times this season and 34 times as a Cardinal. … Blattner scored a career-high 30 points—two better than her previous career best—and added 15 rebounds in Saint Mary's win over Augsburg on Jan. 27. … Huisman scored a career-high 32 points—12 more than her previous career best—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'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 Saturday's game against Hamline with 1,126 career points and 717 career rebounds—is just the fourth player in Cardinal history to record 1,000 career points and 700 career rebounds. … Shayley Vesel (Austin, Minn.) scored a career-best 23 points in the Cardinals' 80-62 loss at Bethel on Feb. 3 to become the fourth Cardinal to eclipse the 20-point barrier this season— joining Blattner (8 times), Huisman (2 times) and Winter (Winona, Minn. / 1 time). … The Cardinals boast eight players who have recorded a single-game, career-high of 10 or more points this season—Huisman (32), Blattner (30), Winter (25), Vesel (23), Hallie Schmeling (Onalaska, Wis. / 15), Kirsten Keefe (Chatfield, Minn. / 14), Claire Patterson (Marine, Minn. / 13), 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 (17.4 ppg) and Huisman (12.7 ppg) enter Saturday's matchup against Hamline averaging in double figures. … Blattner also leads the team in rebounds with 238 (9.9 rpg). … Winter has also eclipsed the 100-rebound plateau with 120 (5.2 rpg). … Saint Mary's boasts eight players with 20 or more assists, led by Keefe (67), Schmeling (48), and Blattner (44). … Schmeling and Keefe have each recorded a single-game career-high eight assists this season—Schmeling did it against St. Olaf on Jan. 24, while Keefe equaled that feat against St. Catherine on Jan. 31. … Blattner holds the team lead in steals with 33, eight more than Huisman. … The Cardinals, who finished with 141 3-pointers a year ago, have already knocked down 160 treys this season—including a season-best 13 against UM-Morris on Nov. 18, not to mention 12 in both meetings against St. Olaf. … 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. … Huisman—who notched a single-game career-high seven 3-pointers against Hamline on Jan. 20—leads the Cardinals with 67 treys. … Fifteen Cardinals have netted at least one 3-pointer this season. … Saint Mary's had six different players net a 3-pointer against UM-Morris on Nov. 18. … The Cardinals enter Saturday's game against Hamline averaging 65.0 ppg, while limiting their opponents to a 61.8 ppg scoring average. … Saint Mary's netted a season-high 81 points 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' 69-67 loss to St. Catherine on Jan. 31 was the first overtime game of the season for the Cardinals, who played a pair of overtime games last season—beating Carleton (61-60) and falling to Saint Benedict (60-55). … Seven of the Cardinals' 10 losses have been by 10 points or less. … The Cardinals' 49-44 win over Concordia on Feb. 7 marked just the third time in their last 26 wins that Saint Mary's has not scored 60 or more points—the other exceptions, a 56-52 win over Macalester on Jan. 4, 2017 and a 59-49 victory over Carleton on Jan. 17, 2018. … Saint Mary's 49 points in its 49-44 win over Concordia on Feb. 7 were the fewest in a Cardinal win since beating St. Catherine 40-22 on Dec. 1, 2012. … Concordia's 44 points in its 49-44 loss to Saint Mary's on Feb. 7 were the fewest points allowed by the Cardinals this season—and the second time SMU has held a team to 45 points or less. Macalester managed just 45 points in the Cardinals' 73-45 victory on Jan. 13. … 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 Hamline Pipers:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• Wednesday's 65-49 loss to Concordia was the final home game of the season for the Pipers, who finished 2-8 on their home court, while heading to Saint Mary's with a 2-12 record on the road. … Wednesday's loss to Concordia pushed Hamline's losing streak to eight straight. It's the second time this season the Pipers have dropped eight consecutive games. … Reilly Geistfeld netted a team-best 14 points and added eight rebounds against Concordia Wednesday. Kaeli Stayer also scored in double figures against the Cobbers, finishing with 10 points. … Alaina Quaranta and Geistfeld both head into Saturday's finale averaging in double figures at 11.8 ppg and 10.7 ppg, respectively. … Hamline has had a player score 20 or more points in a game six times—Quaranta has achieved the feat four times, while Geistfeld has done it twice. … Quaranta owns the top two single-game scoring performances, netting 25 against St. Catherine on Feb. 10 and a season-best 27 against Carleton on Jan. 10. … Geistfeld is also the team's rebounding lead with 149 (6.2 rpg). … Hamline boasts three players—Molly Wampler (56), Geistfeld (43), and Quaranta (40)—with 40 or more assists, while Quaranta leads the team in steals with 59. … Hamline is averaging 56.2 ppg, while the Pipers' opponents are scoring at a 67.5 ppg clip. …