By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team is back on the road for a second straight game on Saturday, as the Cardinals head to St. Thomas' Schoenecker Arena for a 1 p.m. MIAC showdown with the nationally ranked Tommies.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (6-3 MIAC, 10-6 Overall) at No. 4/5 St. Thomas Tommies (9-0 MIAC, 15-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—January 16, 2019 * Moorhead, Minn.: Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) calmly took the inbounds pass and beat the buzzer with a game-winning turnaround jumper, breaking a 66-66 tie and leading the Cardinals to a nail-biting 68-66 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over Concordia at Memorial Auditorium | Recap
• St. Thomas—January 16, 2019 * St. Paul, Minn.: Lucia Renikoff scored 17 points, including a clinching free throw with two seconds left left, as the Tommies held off Bethel, 66-62, at Schoenecker Arena | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Thomas — A Year Ago:
• February 14, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: St. Thomas outscored the Cardinals 37-30 in the second half, erasing a one-point Saint Mary's lead as the Tommies dealt SMU a 68-62 setback at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
  
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: After back-to-back road games, the Cardinals return home to the Saint Mary's Gym on Wednesday, hosting Saint Benedict in a 7 p.m. conference matchup.
• St. Thomas: The Tommies are back on their home court at Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul, Minn., on Wednesday, playing host to Concordia in a 5:45 p.m. MIAC showdown.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• Saturday's game against St. Thomas is the second of back-to-back road games for the Cardinals, who play their next three contests on their home court at the Saint Mary's Gym. … With their 68-66 win over Concordia on Wednesday, the Cardinals pushed their winning streak to three straight — having beaten Carleton and Macalester last week. … Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) — coming off a season-high 22-point night against Macalester last Saturday — scored a team-high 16 points against Concordia Wednesday to lead three players in double figures. Brooklyn Paulson (Holmen, Wis.) chipped in 13 points and Abby Winter (Winona, Minn.) added 12. … Blattner's 22-point effort against Macalester last Saturday marked the fourth time this season the Cardinals have had a player score 20 or more points in a game. … Blattner has now scored 20 or more points 22 times in her four-year collegiate career — including a career-best 30 points against Augsburg on Jan. 27, 2018. … Along with her 22 points against the Scots last Saturday, Blattner also hauled in 12 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season — and 34th of her collegiate career. … Blattner has now recorded 10 or more rebounds five times this season. … Blattner shares the team lead in double-doubles with Rachel Kedl (Lamberton, Minn.), who notched her fourth double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds against Hamline on Jan. 2. … Paulson scored a game- and career-high 23 points in the Cardinals' 73-62 loss to Augsburg on Jan. 5. Paulson has accounted for Saint Mary's other three games of 20 or more points this season — having also scored 20 points against both Carleton on Dec. 1 and St. Scholastica on Nov. 20. … Paulson knocked down a single-game career-high seven 3-pointers en route to her 23-point showing against the Auggies on Jan. 5. Paulson's seven 3-pointers were one shy of the school record, set by Ashley Luehmann on Jan. 22, 2005. … The Cardinals have had six different players lead the team in scoring this season. … Saint Mary's boasts eight players who have recorded a single-game career-high of 10 or more points this season — Paulson (23), Maggie Robertson (Orland Park, Ill. / 19), Kedl (16), Jada Biermeier (Eau Claire, Wis. / 15), Caily Landers (Palos Heights, Ill. / 12), Isabel Bettag (Maple Park, Ill. / 11), Michele Remer (Grand Forks, N.D. / 11), and Mary Wintroath (Suffern, N.Y. / 10). … Robertson recorded her first collegiate double-double against Carleton on Dec. 1, scoring a career-best 19 points and added a career-high 11 rebounds. … Kedl hauled in a career-high 12 rebounds against Bethany Lutheran on Nov. 24. … Saint Mary's has put four players in double figures in a game three times this year — vs. Nebraska Wesleyan on Nov. 17, against Bethany Lutheran on Nov 24, and vs. North Central (Ill.) on Dec. 22. … Blattner heads into Saturday's conference showdown at St. Thomas leading the team in scoring, averaging 14.9 ppg. Paulson is also averaging in double figures (12.4 ppg), followed by Kedl (7.1 ppg), Claire Patterson (Marine, Minn. / 6.1 ppg), and Robertson (6.0 ppg). … Kedl is the team's rebounding leader with 104 (6.9 rpg), while Blattner (87, 8.7 rpg), Kirsten Keefe (Chatfield, Minn. / 65, 4.3 rpg), Remer (56, 4.0 rpg), and Robertson (53, 3.3 rpg) have also recorded 50 or more boards this season. … Saint Mary's has three players with 40 or more assists — Keefe (55), Patterson (46), and Hallie Schmeling (Onalaska, Wis. / 44). … Keefe also leads the team in steals with 17, five more than Kedl, Paulson, and Patterson. … Saint Mary's is shooting 40.2 percent from the field (387-for-962), while knocking down 182 of 271 free throws (67.2 percent). … The Cardinals have drained 91 3-pointers, led by Paulson with 43. … The Cardinals recorded a season-high nine 3-pointers against Augsburg on Jan. 5. Saint Mary's has now hit seven or more 3-pointers in a game six times this season. … As a team, the Cardinals are averaging 65.3 ppg, while allowing points at a 61.3 ppg clip. … Saint Mary's hauled in a season-high 56 rebounds against Carleton in the teams' first meeting on Dec. 1. … The Cardinals have scored 70 or more points five times this season — including two games of 80 or more points. … Saint Mary's season-high 87 points against Nebraska Wesleyan on Nov. 17 are the most since tossing in 88 in beating Crown 88-34 on Nov. 21, 2015. … Carleton's 48 points on Jan. 9 were the fewest allowed by the Cardinals this season. … Saint Mary's 72-57 win over North Central (Ill.) on Dec. 22 was the final nonconference game of the season for the Cardinals, who went 4-3 against non-MIAC opponents. … The Cardinals picked up their first win under head coach David Foley with their 87-76 triumph over Nebraska Wesleyan on Nov. 17. … Three of the Cardinals' first four games were against teams they had never faced before — Bethany Lutheran on Nov. 24, and Simpson and Nebraska Wesleyan on Nov. 16-17. … The Cardinals — picked sixth in the MIAC Preseason Coaches' Poll — made their sixth MIAC Playoff appearance in the last seven years last season.
 
Scouting The St. Thomas Tommies:
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the second of three straight home games for the Tommies. … St. Thomas — winners of five straight — heads into Saturday's matchup against Saint Mary's ranked No. 4 in the latest D3hoops.com Poll and No. 5 in the latest WBCA Top 25. … With their win against Bethel on Wednesday, St. Thomas improved to 7-0 on its home court this season — and unbeaten in their last 17 contests at Schoenecker Arena. … The Tommies' 60-40 loss to Wartburg — an NCAA Division III Final Four finalist a year ago — on Dec. 30 snapped their season-opening 10-game winning streak. … The Tommies entertain the Cardinals riding a 64-game conference winning streak. Only NCAA Division I Connecticut owns a longer conference win streak (104-0 in American Athletic Conference). … Lucia Renikoff scored a team-high 17 points, while Hannah Spaulding added 15 and Kaylie Brazil chipped in 13 in the Tommies' win over Bethel Wednesday. … With her 15 points against Bethel Wednesday, Spaulding has now posted 52 double-figure scoring games in her career, while fellow senior Renikoff has 50. … Spaulding has amassed 1,095 points, 556 rebounds, 153 blocks, 79 assists and 55 steals in 98 career games. … Renikoff played her 100th career game earlier this month — and has made 55 consecutive starts. In 104 games, she has 968 points, 279 rebounds, 214 assists, and 108 steals. … The Tommies enter Saturday's match-up against Saint Mary's boasting three players who are averaging in double figures — Spaulding 16.1 ppg, Kaia Porter (13.1 ppg) and Lucia Renikoff (10.8 ppg). One of the three has led the team in scoring in each of their 16 games this season. … Along with her team-leading 16.1 ppg scoring average, Spaulding is also the team's rebounding leader with 154 (9.6 rpg). … Spaulding has scored 10 or more points in all 16 games this season — and owns a team-leading seven double-doubles. … St. Thomas boasts five players with 20 or more assists, led by Renikoff (51), Brazil (40), and Porter (33). … Renikoff also boasts a team-best 22 steals, while Spaulding has recorded 36 blocked shots. … As a team, the Tommies are shooting 49.2 percent from the field (436-for-886) and have made 165 of 240 free throw attempts (68.8 percent). … St. Thomas has knocked down 117 3-pointers, led by Renikoff (33) and Porter (20). … The Tommies averaging 72.1 ppg, while limiting their opponents to just a 50.6 ppg scoring average. … St. Thomas has scored 80 or more points four times this season — including a season-high 92 points twice. UST beat Carleton 92-30 on Dec. 8, while adding a 92-50 win over Trinity (Texas) on Dec. 16. … St. Thomas' 40 points in their 60-40 loss to Wartburg on Dec. 30 was its lowest offensive output in 10 years.