By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
MOORHEAD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, as the Cardinals travel to Concordia's Memorial Auditorium for a 7 p.m. showdown with the Cobbers.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (7-7 MIAC, 12-9 Overall) at Concordia Cobbers (5-9 MIAC, 8-13 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—February 3, 2018 * Arden Hills, Minn.: Bethel outscored the Cardinals 29-13 in the fourth quarter, breaking a 49-49 tie and leading the Royals to an 80-62 MIAC win over Saint Mary's at BU's Robertson Center Gym | Recap
• Concordia—February 3, 2018 * Moorhead, Minn.: The Cobbers outscored the Auggies 25-22 in the fourth quarter and held off a late Augsburg charge in recording a 78-74 MIAC victory at Memorial Auditorium | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Concordia—A Year Ago:
• December 3, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: Just three days after needing a pair of buzzer-beaters—one at the end of regulation and another with 0.5 seconds remaining in overtime—to beat Carleton, the Cardiac Cardinals were at it again against Concordia.  But, thanks to the Herculean effort of Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn.), overtime was averted—but not a second straight nailbiter­—as the Cardinals held off Concordia 60-56 in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• January 21, 2017 * Moorhead, Minn.: In the Cardinals' first meeting with the Cobbers in early December, Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn.) poured in a career-high 20 points—including 13 of the team's 17 fourth-quarter points—in leading Saint Mary's to a 60-56 conference win at the Saint Mary's Gym. The two teams were back on the court Saturday—this time at the Cobbers' Memorial Auditorium—and once again, Huisman was at her best. Huisman equaled her career-best performance, scoring a game-high 20 points in helping the Cardinals complete the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference sweep of the Cobbers with a 75-61 victory | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back on the road on Saturday, traveling to Macalester's Leonard Center in St. Paul, Minn., for a 3 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown with the Scots.
• Concordia: After back-to-back home games, the Cobbers take to the road for their next two, beginning Saturday with a 3 p.m. MIAC contest in Northfield, Minn., against Carleton.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Schedule | 2017-18 Statistics
• Wednesday's game against Concordia is the second 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 last Wednesday snapped their season-high five-game winning streak. … Last 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). … Six of the Cardinals' nine 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. … Shayley Vesel (Austin, Minn.) scored a career-high 23 points—including 19 in the second half—in the Cardinals' 80-62 loss at Bethel last Saturday. … Vesel is the fourth Cardinal to eclipse the 20-point barrier this season—Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) has reached the 20-point mark eight times, while Alexa Huisman (Adrian, Minn.) had done it twice and Abby Winter (Winona, Minn.) owns one 20-plus point game. … 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 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. … Claire Patterson (Marine, Minn.) recorded a career-best 13 points against St. Catherine last Wednesday. … Blattner has scored 10 or more points in 20 of the team's 21 games this season. … 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 21 games this season, while Huisman has been the team's scoring leader seven times and Vesel has led the team once. … 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 1,077 career points and 681 career rebounds—is just the sixth player in Cardinal history to record 1,000 career points and 650 career rebounds. … The Cardinals boast seven players who have recorded a single-game, career-high of 10 or more points this season—joining Huisman (32), Blattner (30), Winter (25), Vesel (23), Hallie Schmeling (Onalaska, Wis. / 15), 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 (17.5 ppg) and Huisman (13.3 ppg) enter Wednesday's conference game against Concordia averaging in double figures. … Blattner also leads the team in rebounds with 202 (9.6 rpg). … Winter has also eclipsed the 100-rebound plateau with 112 (5.6 rpg). … Saint Mary's boasts seven players with 20 or more assists, led by Kirsten Keefe (Chatfield, Minn. / 59), Schmeling (43), and Blattner (40). … 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 30, six more than Keefe. … The Cardinals, who finished with 141 3-pointers a year ago, have already knocked down 142 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 63 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 Wednesday's game at Concordia averaging 65.7 ppg, while limiting their opponents to a 62.5 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 Concordia Cobbers:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's is the second of back-to-back home games for the Cobbers, who are 5-5 on their home court, while going just 3-8 away from Memorial Auditorium. … With last Saturday's win, the Cobbers have now won two of their last three contests. … Four of Concordia's eight wins have been by seven points or less—including last Saturday's four-point, 78-74 win over Augsburg. … CC snapped a season-high eight-game losing streak with a 65-46 win over St. Olaf on Jan. 20. On the flip side, the Cobbers have posted season-high winning streaks to two straight twice. … Concordia had three players score in double figures against Augsburg last Saturday, led by Lincoln Halby and Grace Wolhowe with 20 points each, while Kirstin Simmons chipped in 13 points. … Halby and Wolhowe became the first two Cobbers to score 20 points or more in the same game this season. Wolhowe owns CC's other 20-point performance, netting a season-best 23 points against St. Scholastica on Dec. 31. … Wolhowe enters Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's averaging a team-high 10.6 ppg, while Jamie Mentzer (9.8 ppg), Mira Ellefson (8.7 ppg), and Simmons (8.7 ppg) are all averaging eight or more points. … Simmons is the Cobbers' rebounding leader with 117 (5.6 rpg), followed by Cassidy Rahman (85, 4.0 rpg) and Halby (81 (3.9 rpg). … Wolhowe has dished out a team-best 58 assists, while also leading the team in steals with 18, one more than Mentzer. … CC has nine players with 10 or more steals through 21 games. … Aleya Parker has accounted for nine of the team's 24 blocked shots. … The Cobbers are shooting 40.2 percent from the field (430-for-1069) and have drained 126 3-pointers, led by Raman with 24, and Wolhowe, Halby, and Amber Lingen with 18 each. … Concordia is averaging 58.8 ppg, while the Cobbers opponents are scoring at a 62.0 ppg clip. … The Cobbers hold a 305-280 scoring advantage in the first quarter, but they have been outscored in each of the other three quarters—350-281 in the second, 334-321 in the third, and 339-328 in the fourth.