By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals travel to Bethel's Robertson Center for a 3 p.m. matchup with the Royals.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (7-6 MIAC, 12-8 Overall) at Bethel Royals (9-4 MIAC, 14-6 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—January 31, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals lost a heartbreaker to visiting St. Catherine, as the Wildcats outscored Saint Mary's 8-6 in the five-minute overtime period to lift SCU to a 69-67 MIAC win at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• Bethel—January 31, 2018 * Arden Hills, Minn.: The Royals gave coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer his 300^th collegiate coaching win, rolling to a convincing 87-51 win over St. Olaf at Robertson Center | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Bethel—Earlier This Year:
• January 3, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: The Royals outscored Saint Mary's 16-9 in the second quarter and 21-18 in the third and held off a furious fourth-quarter rally in dealing the Cardinals a 70-67 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Bethel—A Year Ago:
• December 7, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: Despite a Herculean effort by Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.)—who scored a game- and career-high 28 points—the Cardinals could not keep pace with the Royals down the stretch, as Bethel handed Saint Mary's a 69-56 setback at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• February 8, 2017 * Arden Hills, Minn.: For the second time in as many meetings this season, Bethel had scored 45 points through three quarters and were clinging to yet another narrow advantage—this time a two-point, 45-43 edge. And, unfortunately for the Cardinals, the Royals were unstoppable in the final 10 minutes, putting up 24 points—to once again finish with 69 points for the game—in dropping Saint Mary's 69-54 at BU's Robertson Center Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back on the road on Wednesday, traveling to Concordia's Memorial Auditorium in Moorhead, Minn., for a 7 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown with the Cobbers.
• Bethel: The Royals head across town on Wednesday, heading to Hamline's Hutton Arena in St. Paul, Minn., for a 7 p.m. conference matchup.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Schedule | 2017-18 Statistics
• Saturday's game against Bethel is the first of three straight road games for the Cardinals, who will then close out the regular-season with back-to-back home games against St. Thomas (Feb. 14) and Hamline (Feb. 17). … The Cardinals' 69-67 loss to St. Catherine Wednesday snapped their season-high five-game winning streak. … Wednesday's game against St. Catherine 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). … With Wednesday's 69-67 loss to St. Catherine, six of the Cardinals' eight losses have been by 10 points or less. … 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. … Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn.) scored a team-high 21 points against St. Catherine on Wednesday—it was the second time this season the Cardinal senior has scored 20 or more points in a game. 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. … Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) chipped in 15 points and eight rebounds, while Claire Patterson (Marine, Minn.) chipped in a career-best 13 points against St. Catherine Wednesday. … Blattner—who scored a career-high 30 points against Augsburg on Jan. 27—has scored 10 or more points in 19 of the team's 20 games this season—including eight games of 20 or more points. … Blattner has recorded nine double-doubles this season, giving her 27 for her three-year career—and has recorded 10 or more rebounds nine times this season and 33 times as a Cardinal. … Blattner has led or shared the team lead in scoring in 13 of their 20 games this season, while Huisman has been the team's scoring leader seven times. … The Cardinals have had a player score 20 or more points 10 times this season—seven times by Blattner, twice by Huisman, and once by 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 Saturday's game at Bethel with 1,065 career points and 675 career rebounds—is just the sixth player in Cardinal history to record 1,000 career points and 650 career rebounds. … Patterson, who has now scored in double figures in back-to-back games for the Cardinals, is the seventh player to record a single-game, career-high of 10 or more points this season—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 (17.8 ppg) and Huisman (13.6 ppg) enter Saturday's conference game against Bethel averaging in double figures. … Blattner also leads the team in rebounds with 196 (9.8 rpg). … Winter has also eclipsed the 100-rebound plateau with 107 (5.6 rpg). … Saint Mary's boasts five players with 20 or more assists, led by Kirsten Keefe (Chatfield, Minn. / 56), Schmeling (42), and Blattner (39). … 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 Wednesday. … Blattner holds the team lead in steals with 27, three more than Keefe. … The Cardinals, who finished with 141 3-pointers a year ago, have knocked down 137 treys this season—including a season-best 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. … Huisman—who notched a single-game career-high seven 3-pointers against Hamline on Jan. 20—leads the Cardinals with 61 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 Bethel averaging 65.9 ppg, while limiting their opponents to a 61.7 ppg scoring average. … 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. … 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 Bethel Royals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the fourth straight home game for the Royals, who are 5-2 at Robertson Center this season. … With their 87-51 win over St. Olaf on Wednesday, the Royals have now won three of their last four. … After opening the season 3-3, the Royals have gone 11-3 over the last 14 games. … Bethel had its season-high eight-game winning streak snapped with a 63-51 loss to league-leading St. Thomas on Jan. 17. … Jasmin Bretoi came off the bench to score a team-high 14 points in the Royals' win over St. Olaf Wednesday, while Hannah Johnson—the reigning MIAC Athlete of the Week—chipped in 13 points, five rebounds and three steals. … Bethel heads into Saturday's home matchup against Saint Mary's boasting three players—Johnson (14.2 ppg), Taite Anderson (14.2 ppg), and Abby Miller (13.7 ppg)—averaging in double figures. … Miller owns the team's top single-game offensive performance, scoring 29 points against Buena Vista on Nov. 18. … Johnson and Anderson are also the team's rebounding leaders with 200 (10.0 rpg) and 136 (6.8 rpg) boards, respectively. … The Royals have six players with 20 or more assists, led by Haylee Barker (50), Angie Kirchoff (43), and Bretoi (32), while ­Barker has amassed a team-best 33 steals and Johnson has accounted for 60 of the team's 115 blocked shots. … The Royals are shooting 45.8 percent from the field through 20 games (518-for-1131) and have drained 127 3-pointers. … Miller has been the Royals' top long-range shooter, knocking down a team-high 51 3-pointers, followed by Bretoi with 36. … The Royals have scored 80 or more points five times—including 96 points in a 96-64 win over Augsburg on Jan. 10 and a season-high 97 in beating MacMurray 97-47 on Dec. 21. … Wednesday's 87-51 win over St. Olaf was career coaching win No. 300 for Royals' head coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer, who is in his 16^th season with the Royals.