By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team—fresh off an upset of fourth-seeded Bethel on Tuesday—is back on the road for Thursday's MIAC Playoff semifinal, heading St. Thomas' Schoenecker Arena for a 7 p.m. match against the top-seeded Tommies.
 
The Matchup:
• #5 Saint Mary's Cardinals (10-8 MIAC (5th), 16-10 Overall) vs. #1 St. Thomas Tommies (18-0 MIAC (1st), 23-2 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | MIAC Championships Homepage
 
MIAC Playoff Schedule
Quarterfinals | Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2018
• #3 Gustavus 65, #6 St. Catherine 38 | Recap
• #5 Saint Mary's 58, #4 Bethel 54 | Recap
Semifinals | Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018 | 7 p.m.
• #5 Saint Mary's at #1 St. Thomas
• #3 Gustavus at # 2 Saint Benedict
Championship | Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018 | 3 p.m.
• Semifinal winners at highest remaining seed
 
Admission
• MIAC Playoff admission is $7 for adult and $3 for any student (5 years old and younger are free). There is no senior discount. Only MIAC Passes will be honored—no other passes are to be accepted.
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—February 20, 2018 * Arden Hills, Minn.: Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) scored 27 points and hauled in 11 rebounds for her 12th double-double of the season in leading the fifth-seeded Cardinals to a 58-54 victory over the fourth-seeded Royals in the teams' MIAC Playoff quarterfinal game at Robertson Center Gym | Recap
• St. Thomas—February 17, 2018 * St. Paul, Minn.: St. Thomas raced out to a 33-8 lead in the opening quarter but needed a missed 3-pointer in the closing seconds to avoid overtime and post a 67-64 win over No. 23 Saint Ben's in the teams' regular-season finale at Schoenecker Arena | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Thomas—Earlier This Year:
• February 14, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's coach Brent Pollari knew his Cardinals were in for a tough test when they squared off against eighth-ranked St. Thomas—which entered the teams' showdown unbeaten in conference play. Unfortunately, in a back-and-forth contest that went right down to the wire, it was the Tommies who escaped the Saint Mary's Gym with the victory, handing the Cardinals a 68-62 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback | Recap
 
Up Next:
• The winner of Thursday's Saint Mary's/St. Thomas matchup will advance to the MIAC Playoff championship game on Saturday, at the site of the highest remaining seed.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Schedule | 2017-18 Statistics
• The Cardinals are making their sixth MIAC Playoff appearance in the last seven years—having reached the semifinals in each of those six appearances. … Saint Mary's is searching for its third MIAC Playoff title-game appearance in the last seven seasons—playing in the championship game in both 2013-14 and 2015-16. … With their 58-54 win over fourth-seeded Bethel on Tuesday in the teams' playoff quarterfinal, the Cardinals have now won two straight and nine of their last 12. … Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) scored a team- and game-high 27 points and added 11 rebounds in the Cardinals' playoff-opening win over Bethel Tuesday—it was her second straight double-double, her 12th of the season and the 30th of her collegiate career. … Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn.) and Shayley Vesel (Austin, Minn.) also scored in double figures against the Royals Tuesday, finishing with 14 and 10 points, respectively. … Blattner scored 25 points and added a career-high and school-record 20 rebounds in the Cardinals' 69-57 win over Macalester on Feb. 10. 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 10 or more points in 25 of the team's 26 games this season—the lone exception a nine-point effort against Gustavus on Jan. 10—while also recording 10 or more rebounds in a game 12 times this season and 35 times as a Cardinal. … Blattner has scored 20 or more points nine times this season. … 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—the lone senior on the Cardinals' roster—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 on Jan. 20 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 Thursday's playoff semifinal against St. Thomas with 1,172 career points and 740 career rebounds—is just the fourth player in Cardinal history to record 1,000 career points and 700 career rebounds. … Vesel 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 (9 times), Huisman (2 times) and Abby 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 (17.8 ppg) and Huisman (12.9 ppg) enter Thursday's playoff semifinal against St. Thomas averaging in double figures. … Blattner also leads the team in rebounds with 261 (10.0 rpg). … Winter and Huisman have also reached the 100-rebound plateau with 132 (5.3 rpg) and 105 (4.2 rpg), respectively. … Saint Mary's boasts eight players with 20 or more assists, led by Keefe (71), Schmeling (52), and Blattner (46). … 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 34, six more than Keefe. … The Cardinals, who finished with 141 3-pointers a year ago, have already knocked down 169 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 71 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 Thursday's playoff game against St. Thomas averaging 64.4 ppg, while limiting their opponents to a 60.8 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. … 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 St. Thomas Tommies:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• The Tommies, ranked No. 8 in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25, head into Thursday's showdown against Saint Mary's riding a 15-game winning streak—including a thrilling, 67-64 win over conference runner-up Saint Benedict in the teams' regular-season finale last Saturday. UST's last loss was a 77-72 loss to Luther on Dec. 16. … St. Thomas is 5-1 this season against 20-win teams—losing to once-beaten and third-ranked Bowdoin in its second game of the season; beating No. 15 George Fox in November at home; and sweeping No. 21 Saint Benedict and Gustavus in MIAC play. … With their three-point win over Saint Benedict last Saturday, the Tommies have now won 52 straight games against conference opponents. UST also owns a 29-game road winning streak—third longest in all of NCAA basketball (men or women)—and has won 28 consecutive MIAC home games. … The Tommies—167-16 against MIAC foes since January 2010—have won 23 consecutive January games over the last three seasons and 34 consecutive February games over the last four seasons. With their 23-2 overall record, the Tommies have secured the program's 12th consecutive winning season. … After mostly cruising along in a 14-0 MIAC start, the Tommies were pushed to the end in three of their last four games. UST needed overtime—and Lauren Fischer's buzzer-beating trey at the end of the fourth quarter—to edge Augsburg 70-66; and last week were pushed at Saint Mary's (W, 68-62) and at home against Saint Benedict (W, 67-64)—the latter after letting an early 33-8 lead and a later 16-point fourth-quarter lead evaporate. … St. Thomas went 31-1 last season and lost in the national semifinals to Tufts. That team graduated National Player of the Year Kaitlin Langer and two other senior starters. … St. Thomas enters Thursday's showdown against Saint Mary's boasting two players—Hannah Spaulding (19.9 ppg) and Lucia Renikoff (13.8 ppg)—averaging in double figures. … Spaulding leads all conference players in scoring (19.9 ppg) and leads all NCAA women in field-goal proficiency at 71.4 percent. … Spaulding has led the team in scoring 17 times this season, including eight of the Tommies' last 10 games. … Spaulding also leads UST in rebounds with 208 (8.3 rpg), while Lauren Fischer has also recorded more than 100 rebounds, owning 111 boards (4.4 rpg). … The Tommies have knocked down 203 3-pointers through 25 games—led by Renikoff with 59. Renikoff is one of four Tommies with 25 or more treys—being joined by Fischer (43), Maddie Wolkow (36), and Kaylie Brazil (28). … Wolkow is the team's assist leader with 78, while Renikoff and Wolkow share the team lead in steals (34), and Spaulding boasts a team-high 61 blocks. … The Tommies are averaging 73.8 ppg, while limiting their opponents to a 53.0 ppg scoring average. … St. Thomas has scored 80 or more points four times this season, including a season-high 95-point showing in beating Macalester 95-37 on Jan. 3.