By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team returns home Wednesday for the first of two games at the Saint Mary's Gym to close out the regular season, as the Cardinals entertain St. Catherine in a 7 p.m. conference showdown.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (8-8 MIAC, 12-11 Overall) vs. St. Catherine Wildcats (7-9 MIAC, 10-13 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—February 9, 2019 * St. Paul, Minn.: Macalester erupted for 49 second-half points — including outscoring the Cardinals 27-11 in the fourth quarter — in dealing Saint Mary's a 66-57 MIAC setback at Leonard Center | Recap
• St. Catherine—February 9, 2019 * St. Peter, Minn.: Katie Benjamin scored 17 points — her second 17-point effort in the last 10 days — but it would not be enough, as Gustavus dealt the Wildcats a 69-56 MIAC setback at Gus Young Court | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Catherine — Earlier This Year:
• Tonight's matchup is the only time the Cardinals and Wildcats meet this season.
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Catherine — A Year Ago:
• January 3, 2018 * St. Paul, Minn.: St. Catherine limited Saint Mary's to a combined 14 points in the middle two quarters and held off a late SMU charge in dealing the Cardinals a 63-59 conference setback at Butler Center Gym | Recap
• January 31, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: St. Catherine outscoring Saint Mary's 8-6 in the five-minute overtime period in dealing the Cardinals a 69-67 setback at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
   
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are right back on their home court at the Saint Mary's Gym on Saturday, hosting league-leading St. Thomas in a 1 p.m. Senior Day showdown.
• St. Catherine: The Wildcats return home to Butler Center Gym on Saturday, entertaining Macalester in a regular season-ending 1 p.m. conference matchup.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• After three straight road games, the Cardinals will play the final two games of the regular season on their home court, hosting St. Catherine on Wednesday and league-leading St. Thomas on Saturday. … The Cardinals head into the final two games of the regular-season clinging to the sixth and final MIAC Playoff spot, one game in front of both St. Catherine and Hamline. St. Thomas (16-0), Augsburg (14-2), Bethel (11-5), Gustavus (10-6), and Saint Benedict (10-6) have already locked up the other five playoff spots. … For the third game in a row, Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) was the lone Cardinal in double figures against Macalester Saturday, tossing in 25 points. … Blattner has now led and shared the team lead in scoring a team-high nine times. … Blattner is one of six Cardinals to have led the team in scoring this season. … With her 25-point effort against Macalester last Saturday, Blattner currently ranks No. 4 all-time in scoring with 1,441 career points — 42 points back of Jamie Rattunde — and is just four rebounds shy of becoming just the third player in program history to have 1,000 career points and 900 career rebounds. … Blattner's 25-point performance against Macalester last Saturday marked the seventh time this season the Cardinals have had a player score 20 or more points. Along with her 25 points against Macalester, Blattner has also scored 22 (twice) and 21 points in a game this season, while Brooklyn Paulson (Holmen, Wis.) has put together games of 20, 20, and 23 points. … Blattner has scored 20 or more points 25 times in her four-year collegiate career — including a career-best 30 points against Augsburg on Jan. 27, 2018. … Paulson knocked down a single-game career-high seven 3-pointers en route to her season- and career-high 23-point showing against Augsburg 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 got a pair of double-doubles in their 66-60 win over Saint Benedict on Jan. 23 — Blattner delivered a 22-point, 13-rebound effort, while Abby Winter (Winona, Minn.) chipped in 15 points and a game- and career-high 16 rebounds. … The double, double-double marks the first time since the 2010 season that the Cardinals have had two players with 10 or more points and rebounds in the same game. Jamie Stefely (10 points, 10 rebounds) and Jess Thone (13 points, 10 rebounds) were the last two achieve the feat on Dec. 4, 2010 against Macalester. … Blattner added 15 rebounds to her team- and season-high 25 points against Macalester last Saturday en route to her team-leading sixth double-double of the season — and 36^th for her collegiate career. … Rachel Kedl (Lamberton, Minn.) is second to Blattner with four double-doubles. Winter's 15-point, 16-rebound effort against Saint Benedict on Jan. 23 was her first collegiate double-double, while Maggie Robertson (Orland Park, Ill.) also owns a double-double this season, scoring 19 points and adding 11 rebounds against Carleton on Dec. 1 … Winter's 16 rebounds against Saint Benedict on Jan. 23 were a career-high. Kedl (12) and Robertson (11) have also recorded single-game career-highs of 10 or more rebounds. … Saint Mary's boasts eight players who have recorded a single-game career-high of 10 or more points this season — Paulson (23), Robertson (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). … Saint Mary's has put four players in double figures in a game four times this year. … Blattner heads into Wednesday's matchup against St. Catherine leading the team in scoring, averaging 15.2 ppg. Paulson is also averaging in double figures (11.5 ppg), followed by Kedl (6.4 ppg), Claire Patterson (Marine, Minn. / 6.4 ppg), and Winter (6.2 ppg). … Blattner also leads the team in rebounds with 147 (8.6 rpg), while Kedl has also hauled in 100 or more rebounds this season (127, 6.4 rpg). … Saint Mary's has three players with 40 or more assists — Kirsten Keefe (Chatfield, Minn. / 70), Patterson (60), and Hallie Schmeling (Onalaska, Wis. / 55). … Keefe also leads the team in steals with 28. … Saint Mary's is shooting 39.1 percent from the field (533-for-1363), while knocking down 269 of 388 free throws (69.8 percent). … The Cardinals have drained 134 3-pointers, led by Paulson with 60. … The Cardinals recorded a season-high 10 3-pointers against St. Olaf on Jan. 31 — including five from Paulson. Saint Mary's has now hit seven or more 3-pointers in a game eight times this season. … As a team, the Cardinals are averaging 63.9 ppg, while allowing points at a 64.1 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 seven 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. Catherine Wildcats:
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's is the second straight road game for the Wildcats, who are just 4-10 away from Butler Center Gym this season. … St. Catherine heads into Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's just a game back of the Cardinals in the race for the sixth and final playoff spot. … St. Catherine's 69-56 loss to Gustavus last Saturday was just the second loss in the last five games for the Wildcats. … Katie Benjamin came off the bench to score a team-high 17 points in the Wildcats' 69-56 loss to Gustavus last Saturday, while Danica Cambrice also finished in double figures, netting 15 points. … With her team-leading 17-point showing against Gustavus last Saturday, Benjamin became the third different player to lead the team in scoring in SCU's last three games. … Cambrice, who has now scored in double figures in all but two of the Wildcats' games this season, enters Wednesday's showdown at Saint Mary's leading the team in scoring, averaging 15.9 ppg. … Audra Clark is also averaging in double figures at 14.5 ppg, followed by Benjamin (9.9 ppg). … Cambrice and Clark own the Wildcats' top two single-game scoring performances — Cambrice netted 26 against Augsburg on Jan. 23, while Clark netted a season-high 28 vs. UW-Stout on Nov. 16. … St. Catherine boasts four players who have recorded 100 or more rebounds this season — Jackie Radford (149, 6.8 rpg), Sam Orth (134 (5.8 rpg), Clark (108, 4.9 rpg), and Cambrice (104, 5.5 rpg). … Radford has recorded 10 or more rebounds this season and owns on of the Wildcats' two double-doubles this season — scoring 12 points and adding 13 rebounds against Bethany Lutheran on Nov. 20. Clark boasts SCU's other double-double with a 19-point, 11-rebound effort against Augsburg on Dec. 12. … Clark also leads the team in assists with 101, while Radford boasts a team-leading 51 steals,  six more than Clark. … Benjamin (15), Cambrice (12), and Radford (11) lead the team in blocked shots. … The Wildcats are shooting 38.8 percent from the field (527-for-1358) and have hit on 268 of 408 free throw attempts (65.7 percent). … The Wildcats have drained 100 3-pointers this season, led by Taylor Johnson with 28 and Clark with 18. … As a team, St. Catherine is averaging 61.8 ppg, while the Wildcats' opponents are scoring at a 65.0 ppg clip. … St. Catherine has scored 70 or more points five times this season, including a season-high 83 in beating St. Olaf 83-77 on Jan. 26. … St. Catherine has played three overtime games this season — falling to Northwestern (58-52), Bethany Lutheran (72-67), and Augsburg (79-72).