By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. PAUL, 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 Macalester's Leonard Center for a 3 p.m. showdown with the Scots.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (8-7 MIAC, 13-9 Overall) at Macalester Scots (4-11 MIAC, 8-14 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—February 7, 2018 * Moorhead, Minn.: The Cardinals got a career-high 14 points from Kirsten Keefe (Chatfield, Minn.) and held off a late Concordia charge in dealing the Cobbers a 49-44 MIAC setback at Memorial Auditorium | Recap
• Macalester—February 7, 2018 * St. Paul, Minn.: Gustavus outscored the Scots 45-28 in the second half—including 26-14 in the third quarter—as the Gusties handed Macalester a 76-54 conference setback at Leonard Center | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Macalester—Earlier This Year:
• January 13, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: Macalester's assistant coaches Courtney Euerle and Sara Schoenthaler—both former standout players for the Cardinals—returned to the Saint Mary's Gym, and learned first-hand just how good Saint Mary's can be, as SMU rolled to a 73-45 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over the Scots | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Macalester—A Year Ago:
• January 4, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals managed just 56 points—and shot a meager 33 percent from the field—against Macalester. But, thanks to three players scoring in double figures, a game-high 16 rebounds from Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.), and a tenacious defense, 56 points and 33 percent shooting suited the Cardinals just fine, as Saint Mary's dropped the visiting Scots 56-52 at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, as Saint Mary's entertains St. Thomas in a 7 p.m. showdown at the Saint Mary's Gym.
• Macalester: The Scots hit the road for their final two games of the regular season, beginning with a 7 p.m. matchup against Bethel on Wednesday in Arden Hills, Minn.
 
MIAC Playoff Chase:
• Four of the six MIAC Playoff berths have already been clinched by St. Thomas (15-0), Saint Benedict (14-1), Gustavus (12-3), and Bethel (11-4). The Cardinals (8-7) are currently sitting in fifth place, one game ahead of Augsburg (7-8) and two in front of St. Catherine (6-9) with three games to play. One Saint Mary's win and one St. Catherine loss will earn the Cardinals their sixth MIAC post-season appearance in the last seven years.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Schedule | 2017-18 Statistics
• Saturday's game against Concordia is the final regular-season road game for the Cardinals, who will close out their regular-season schedule with back-to-back home games against St. Thomas (Feb. 14) and Hamline (Feb. 17). … Wednesday's 49-44 win over Concordia snapped the Cardinals' two-game losing streak. Saint Mary's heads into Saturday's game at Macalester having won six of their last eight. … The Cardinals' 49-44 win over Concordia Wednesday marked just the third time in their last 25 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 Wednesday were the fewest in a Cardinal win since beating St. Catherine 40-22 on Dec. 1, 2012. … Kirsten Keefe (Chatfield, Minn.) scored a career-high 14 points to pace the Cardinals in their 49-44 win over Concordia Wednesday. It was the second straight game in which Saint Mary's leading scorer recorded a single-game career high—Shayley Vesel (Austin, Minn.) scored a career-best 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. … Blattner—who finished with 11 points against Concordia Wednesday—has scored 10 or more points in 21 of the team's 22 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'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 Macalester with 1,088 career points and 689 career rebounds—is just the sixth player in Cardinal history to record 1,000 career points and 650 career rebounds. … 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), Keefe (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 (17.2 ppg) and Huisman (12.9 ppg) enter Saturday's conference game at Macalester averaging in double figures. … Blattner also leads the team in rebounds with 210 (9.5 rpg). … Winter has also eclipsed the 100-rebound plateau with 115 (5.5 rpg). … Saint Mary's boasts seven players with 20 or more assists, led by Keefe (Chatfield, Minn. / 60), Schmeling (46), and Blattner (42). … 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 31, six more than Huisman. … The Cardinals, who finished with 141 3-pointers a year ago, have already knocked down 146 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 Saturday's game at Macalester averaging 65.0 ppg, while limiting their opponents to a 61.7 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). … Six of the Cardinals' nine losses have been by 10 points or less. … Concordia's 44 points in Wednesday's 49-44 loss to Saint Mary's 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 Macalester Scots:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the final home game for the Scots, who are 4-8 at Leonard Center this year, while going 4-6 on the road. … Macalester's 76-54 loss to Gustavus Wednesday dropped the Scots to 1-3 in their last four and 3-7 in their last 10. … Five of the Scot's 14 losses have been by eight points or less—including a pair of overtime setback. Macalester dropped an 80-73 OT decision to Augsburg on Jan. 20, while falling by one point, 60-59, to St. Olaf on Jan. 10. … Regan Fruh scored a team-high 18 points and Viv Gregorich added 15 for the Scots in Wednesday's loss to Gustavus. … All 15 of Gregorich's points came from behind the 3-point line, where she finished 5-for-7. … Fruh—one of just four Scots to have played all 22 games this season—enters Saturday's showdown against Saint Mary's owning a team-leading 14.9 ppg scoring average. Gregorich is second on the team in scoring, averaging 9.1 ppg. … Fruh has recorded the team's top two single-game offensive performances, scoring 26 points against Concordia on Dec. 2 and 27 vs. Luther on Nov. 15. … Fruh also leads the team with 173 rebounds (7.9 rpg), with Leah Gray also topping the 100-rebound mark with 111 (5.3 rpg). … The Scots have four players—Tyana Loiselle (56), Gregorich (34), Justine Barraza (31), and Gray (30)—with 30 or more points. … Fruh (41) and Gray (34) have accounted for 75 of the team's 114 blocked shots, while Fruh also boasts a team-best 31 steals. … As a team, Macalester is shooting 36.8 percent from the field (459-for-1246) and has knocked down 111 3-pointers. … Gregorich is the team's lead in 3-pointers with 35, followed by Gray (29) and Barraza (23). … Macalester is averaging 58.8 ppg, while the Scots' opponents are scoring at a 65.5 ppg clip. … The Scots have scored 70 or more points three times this season—Macalester fell to Luther 82-74 in its season-opener on Nov. 15, while beating Crown 70-57 six days later, and netting a season-high 78 points in beating Bethany Lutheran 78-75 on Dec. 30.