By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WAVERLY, Iowa — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball steps out of conference play on Friday, heading to nationally ranked Wartburg for a 7 p.m. nonconference game against the Knights.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-5 Overall) at #7 Wartburg Knights (8-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's­­ — December 11, 2019 * Saint Mary's Gym * Winona, Minn.: Brooklyn Paulson (Holmen, Wis.) knocked down a game-tying 3-pointer in the waning seconds of regulation, and the Cardinals outscored St. Catherine 11-9 in the five-minute overtime period, giving Saint Mary's the 70-68 conference victory | Recap
• Wartburg — December 14, 2019 * LeVick Arena * Waverly, Iowa: Wartburg broke the century mark for the second time this season, earning a 108-68 American Rivers Conference victory over Nebraska Wesleyan University | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Wartburg — Their Last Meeting:
• November 23, 2002 * Decorah, Iowa: The Cardinals, who could not hold an eight-point halftime lead in falling to Luther 66-61 in the opening game of the Luther Tip-Off Classic, saw a nine-point halftime advantage go up in flames again, as nationally ranked Wartburg escaped with an 82-76 victory | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are now off until Dec. 29-30, when they head to Wisconsin Dells, Wis., to take part in the JustAGame Holiday Tournament. Saint Mary's will face UW-Whitewater at 1 p.m. on Dec. 29, before squaring off against UW-Stevens Point at 3 p.m. on Dec. 30.
• Wartburg: The Knights do not play again until Dec. 29-30, when they return home to LeVick Arena in Waverly, Iowa, to host the Wartburg Holiday Tournament. Wartburg will face Baldwin-Wallace at 1 p.m. on Dec. 29, and square off against either UW-La Crosse or Washington (Mo.) University the following day.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• After three straight home games, Friday's nonconference matchup against nationally ranked Wartburg is the first of six straight road games for the Cardinals, who do not return to the Saint Mary's Gym until Jan. 15, when they host Saint Benedict in a 7 p.m. conference contest. … With their 70-68 MIAC win over Macalester on Dec. 11, the Cardinals snapped their season-opening five-game losing streak. … The Cardinals' last four games have all been decided by nine points or less — including a two-point, overtime win over Macalester on Dec. 11, and a two-point, double-overtime setback to St. Catherine last on Dec. 4 and a five-point loss to Concordia three days later. … The Cardinals' 70-68 win over Macalester on Dec. 11 was its second overtime game of the season — marking the first time since the 2016-17 season that Saint Mary's has played two overtime games in the same year. … The Cardinals' 79-77 loss to St. Catherine on Dec. 4 was its first double-overtime game since beating Bethel 73-69 on Jan. 24, 2009. … Ewelina Schlomann (New Berlin, Wis.) scored a team-high 15 points against Macalester on Dec. 11 — equaling her career-high — while Brooklyn Paulson (Holmen, Wis.) and Shayley Vesel (Austin, Minn.) chipped in 14 and 12 points, respectively. … Schlomann's team-high 15-point effort against Macalester on Dec. 11 marked the first time this season Vesel or Paulson has not led the team in scoring. … Vesel scored a career-high 28 points in the Cardinals' 76-71 loss to Concordia on Dec. 7. The effort was three points better than her previous career best, and the highest individual single-game total since Alexa Huisman poured in 32 against Hamline on Jan. 20, 2018. … With her 12-point effort against Macalester on Dec. 11, Vesel has now scored in double figures in all six of the Cardinals' games this season. … Paulson has scored 10 or more points 18 times in her first two years as a Cardinal — including four games of 20 or more points. … The Cardinals put a season-high four players in double figures against St. Catherine on Dec. 4 — Vesel (18), Paulson (18), Schlomann (15), and Claire Patterson (Marine, Minn. / 12). … Vesel heads into Friday's nonconference game at Wartburg averaging a team-leading 16.2 ppg, while Paulson (14.6 ppg) and Schlomann (10.2 ppg) are also averaging in double figures. … Vesel owns a team-high 35 rebounds (5.8 rpg), with Jada Biermeier (Eau Claire, Wis.) second (31, 5.2 rpg) and Schlomann (22, 4.4 rpg) third. … Hallie Schmeling (Onalaska, Wis.) is the team-leader with 17 assists, three more than Patterson, while Vesel boasts team-highs with nine steals and four blocks. … Paulson — who knocked down a single-game career-high seven 3-pointers en route to her career-high 23-point showing against Augsburg on Jan. 5, 2019 — leads the team with 14 treys, followed by Vesel with eight. … The Cardinals are shooting 35.9 percent from the field (135-for-376) — including 33-for-127 from behind the 3-point line — and are 83-for-118 from the free throw line. … The Cardinals netted a season-high 10 3-pointers against Concordia on Dec. 7. … The Cardinals' 77-point effort in their 79-77 double-overtime loss to St. Catherine was a season high. … Saint Mary's enters Friday's matchup against Wartburg averaging 64.3 ppg. … The Cardinals made their seventh MIAC Tournament appearance in the last eight years a year ago, falling to Bethel 66-52 in the quarterfinals. … The Cardinals picked up their first win under head coach David Foley with their 87-76 triumph over Nebraska Wesleyan on Nov. 17, 2018.
 
Scouting The Wartburg Knights:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Wartburg enters Friday's nonconference game against Saint Mary's ranked No. 7 in both the WBCA and D3hoops.com Polls. … Wartburg has made four straight NCAA tournament appearances — including an NCAA Final Four showing two years ago and a trip to the Elite 8 last season. … Friday's game against Saint Mary's is the third of eight straight home games for the Knights, who opened the season with seven consecutive road contests. … With this 108-68 win over Nebraska Wesleyan last Saturday, the Knights pushed their winning streak to six straight. After opening the season with back-to-back wins over UW-Eau Claire and UW-Platteville, Wartburg suffered its first loss of the season, a 91-66 loss to Westminster on Nov. 24. … The Knights' 108-point effort against Nebraska Wesleyan last Saturday marked the second time this season Wartburg has scored 100 or more points in a game — having defeated Central-Iowa 103-69 on Dec. 4. … The Knights' 108 points against Nebraska Wesleyan are the most since 2003, when Wartburg netted a school-record 113 points vs. the University of Dubuque. … The Knights have now scored 80 or more points in five of their six games during their current six-game winning streak. … Wartburg boasted four player sin double figures and got 60 points from its bench in last Saturday's win over Nebraska Wesleyan. … Emma Gerdes netted a game-high 19 points for the Knights — all in the first half — while Payton Draper, Tori Hazard, and Bailey Naig all chipped in 11 points. … Draper (11.0 ppg) and Gerdes (10.9 ppg) enter Friday's nonconference game against Saint Mary's averaging in double figures in scoring for the Knights, with Macy Harris (9.9 ppg) and Amanda Brainerd (9.3 ppg) close behind. … Wartburg has six players with 30 or more rebounds through nine games, led by Hazard (40, 4.4 rpg), Naig (38, 4.2 rpg), and Gerdes (37, 4.1 rpg). … Gerdes owns a team-leading 48 assists, and Harris has the team lead in steals with 17, one more than Gerdes. … As a team, the Knights are shooting 49.5 percent from the field (263-for-531) and are 131-for-163 (.804 from the free throw line. … Wartburg has knocked down 86 3-pointers this season, and has five players with 10 or more treys — Brainerd (15), Gerdes (14), Ally Conrad (11), Hannah Anderson (11), and Alecia Kimball (10). … Wartburg is averaging 82.5 ppg, while limiting its opponents to just 60.2 ppg. …