By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team closes out the regular-season portion of its schedule on Saturday, as the Cardinals entertain nationally ranked St. Thomas in a 1 p.m. MIAC showdown at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (9-8 MIAC, 13-11 Overall) vs. #3 St. Thomas Tommies (17-0 MIAC, 23-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | Senior Salute: Web * PDF  | MIAC Playoff Scenarios

Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—February 13, 2019 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals outscored St. Catherine 46-32 in the second half en route to a 71-56 victory that eliminated the Wildcats from post-season contention and kept Saint Mary's one-game ahead of Hamline for the sixth and final MIAC Playoff spot | Recap
• St. Thomas—February 13, 2019 * St. Paul, Minn.: The Tommies got 16 points from Hannah Spaulding and never let Saint Benedict in the game, as UST secured the regular-season MIAC title — and the MIAC Playoff No. 1 seed — with a 90-31 rout of Saint Benedict at Schoenecker Arena | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Thomas — Earlier This Year:
• January 19, 2019 * St. Paul, Minn.: St. Thomas caught fire midway through the second quarter and never cooled off en route to a 68-41 win over Saint Mary's 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
 • February 22, 2018 * St. Paul, Minn.: Top-seeded St. Thomas took advantage of Saint Mary's frigid shooting in the opening quarter in dealing Saint Mary's a season-ending 65-44 setback at Schoenecker Arena in the semifinals of the MIAC Playoffs | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: With a win over St. Thomas — or a loss by Hamline at Bethel — the Cardinals would earn the No. 6 seed in next week's MIAC Playoffs and be at third-seeded Bethel on Tuesday.
• St. Thomas: The Tommies have already locked up the top seed in the upcoming MIAC Playoffs and will host a semifinal game on Thursday, Feb. 21 at Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul, Minn.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the final collegiate home game for Cardinal seniors Kirsten Keefe (Chatfield, Minn.), Mary Wintroath (Suffern, N.Y.) and Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.). … With their 71-56 win over St. Catherine on Wednesday, the Cardinals eliminated the Wildcats from post-season contention, and maintained their one-game lead over Hamline for the sixth and final MIAC Playoff spot heading into the final game of the regular-season. A Saint Mary's win over the conference-champion Tommies — OR a Hamline loss at Bethel — and the Cardinals will earn their seventh post-season appearance in the last eight years. A Hamline win and a Saint Mary's loss, however, would give the Pipers the final spot thanks to their 67-66 win over the Cardinals on Jan. 2. … Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) scored a team-high 16 points in the Cardinals' win over St. Catherine Wednesday. It was the fourth straight game — and team-leading 10 time this season — in which the senior has led the team in scoring. … Hallie Schmeling (Onalaska, Wis.) also scored in double figures, finishing with 10 points — without making a field goal. The sophomore was a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line. … Blattner is one of six Cardinals to have led the team in scoring this season. … With her 16-point effort against St. Catherine Wednesday, Blattner currently ranks No. 4 all-time in scoring with 1,457 career points — 26 points back of Jamie Rattunde — and with her nine rebounds against the Wildcats, Blattner (1457 points, 905 rebounds) became 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 36th 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 a season-high four players in double figures in a game four times this year. … Blattner heads into Saturday's regular-season finale against St. Thomas leading the team in scoring, averaging 15.2 ppg. Paulson is also averaging in double figures (11.2 ppg), followed by Claire Patterson (Marine, Minn. / 6.3 ppg), Winter (6.2 ppg), and Kedl (6.1 ppg). … Blattner also leads the team in rebounds with 156 (8.7 rpg), while Kedl has also hauled in 100 or more rebounds this season (131, 6.2 rpg). … Saint Mary's has three players with 40 or more assists — Kirsten Keefe (Chatfield, Minn. / 72), Patterson (61), and Hallie Schmeling (Onalaska, Wis. / 59). … Keefe also leads the team in steals with 28. … Saint Mary's is shooting 39.1 percent from the field (553-for-1413), while knocking down 292 of 416 free throws (70.2 percent). … The Cardinals have drained 142 3-pointers, led by Paulson with 61. … 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 nine times this season. … As a team, the Cardinals are averaging 64.2 ppg, while allowing points at a 63.8 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 eight 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
• The Tommies enter Saturday's regular-season finale against Saint Mary's ranked No. 3 in the latest WBCA Top 25. … With their lopsided, 90-31 win over Saint Benedict on Wednesday, the Tommies pushed their winning streak to 13. St. Thomas also improved to 11-0 on its home court this season — and unbeaten in their last 22 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 71-game conference winning streak. Only NCAA Division I Connecticut owns a longer conference win streak (110-0 in American Athletic Conference). … With their win over Saint Benedict on Wednesday, St. Thomas locked up the MIAC regular-season title. … Sitting at 23-1, the Tommies have now won 20 or more games in 10 consecutive seasons. … Hannah Spaulding — the reigning MIAC Athlete of the Week — scored a team-high 16 points to lead four Tommies in double figures against Saint Benedict Wednesday. … Fourteen of the 16 players who saw action for UST vs. Saint Benedict scored at least two points Wednesday. … Spaulding — who leads the Tommies in scoring, averaging 16.9 ppg — has helped UST to a 107-9 record in her four years, while scoring 1,227 points. St. Thomas is 52-4 when she scores in double figures and 16-1 when she records a double-double. … Spaulding is one of three Tommies who are averaging in double figures — Kaia Porter (13.9 ppg) and Lucia Renikoff (11.7 ppg) are the other two. … Spaulding also leads the Tommies in rebounds with 211 (9.2 rpg), while Porter has also eclipsed the 100-rebound plateau, entering Saturday's game with 122 (5.1 rpg). … Renikoff is the team-leading in assists with 75, followed by Kaylie Brazil with 69 while Spaulding owns the team lead in both steals (33) and blocked shots (49). … The Tommies are shooting 50-3 percent from the field (685-for-13612) and have knocked down 258 of 372 free throws (69.4 percent). … UST has drained 193 3-pointers, led by Renikoff (54), Porter (34), and Brazil (27). … St. Thomas, which is averaging 75.9 ppg, has scored 80 or more points 11 times this season — including each of their last five games. … St. Thomas netted a season-high 99 points in routing Macalester 99-51 on Jan. 31. …  The Tommies have posted six wins by 40 or more points — including a 59-point win over Saint Benedict on Wednesday (90-31) and a 62-point victory over Carleton (92-30) on Dec. 8. … St. Thomas' 40 points in their 60-40 loss to Wartburg on Dec. 30 was its lowest offensive output in 10 years.