By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team kicks off post-season play on Tuesday, as the Cardinals head to Bethel's Robertson Center Gym for a 5 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament match-up against the Royals.
 
The Matchup:
• #6 Saint Mary's Cardinals (9-9 MIAC (6th), 13-12 Overall) at #3 Bethel Royals (13-5 MIAC (3rd), 19-6 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | MIAC Tournament Homepage
 
Ticket Information:
• Admission to all MIAC Playoff games are $10 for Adults and $2 for students while children 5 & under are free. There is no senior discount. MIAC Passes will be honored. No other passes are to be accepted.
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—February 16, 2019 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals got 20 points from Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) and 10 from Brooklyn Paulson (Holmen, Wis.), but it was not enough, as Saint Mary's dropped a regular season-ending 76-55 decision to MIAC regular-season champion St. Thomas at the Saint Mary's Gym | Recap
• Bethel—February 16, 2019 * St. Paul, Minn.: The Royals got double-figure scoring from four players, as they closed out the regular-season with a convincing 89-55 win over Hamline at Hutton Arena | Recap
 
How They Got Here:
• Bethel: The Royals completed the regular season with a 13-5 conference record — including five wins to close out the regular-season and eight wins in their final nine — to lock up the No. 3 seed in the six-team tournament.
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals closed out the regular season 9-9 in conference play en route to landing the No. 6 seed.
 
Saint Mary's vs. Bethel — Earlier This Year:
• February 6, 2019 * Arden Hills, Minn.: Bethel outscored Saint Mary's in all four quarters — including 20-15 in the second and 20-13 in the third — as the Royals slowly pulled away in handing Saint Mary's an 86-68 conference setback at Robertson Center Gym | Recap
 
Up Next:
• A Saint Mary's win on Tuesday would earn the Cardinals a 7 p.m. showdown against top-seeded and third-ranked St. Thomas at Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul, Minn. If the Royals win, they will travel to Minneapolis, Minn., for a 7 p.m. semifinal matchup against second-seeded Augsburg at Si Melby Hall.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• The Cardinals are making their seventh  MIAC Tournament appearance in the last eight years — reaching the semifinals each of the previous six times. … Brandi Blattner (Eyota, Minn.) scored a team-high 20 points in the Cardinals' loss to third-ranked St. Thomas in the teams' regular-season finale Saturday. It was the fifth straight game — and team-leading 11th time this season — in which the senior has led the team in scoring. … Brooklyn Paulson (Holmen, Wis.) also scored in double figures against the Tommies Saturday, finishing with 10 points. … 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 1,477 career points — six points back of Jamie Rattunde — and third in career rebounds with 914. … Blattner (1477 points, 914 rebounds) is just the third player in program history to have 1,000 career points and 900 career rebounds. … Blattner's 20-point performance against St. Thomas last Saturday marked the eighth time this season the Cardinals have had a player score 20 or more points. Along with her 20 points against St. Thomas, Blattner has also scored 25, 22 (twice) and 21 points in a game this season, while Paulson 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 on Feb. 9 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. … Hallie Schmeling (Onalaska, Wis.) finished with 10 points — without making a field goal in the Cardinals' win over St. Catherine last Wednesday. The sophomore was a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line. … 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 Tuesday's playoff-opener against Bethel leading the team in scoring, averaging 15.5 ppg. Paulson is also averaging in double figures (11.1 ppg), followed by Claire Patterson (Marine, Minn. / 6.2 ppg), Winter (5.9 ppg), and Kedl (5.9 ppg). … Blattner also leads the team in rebounds with 165 (8.7 rpg), while Kedl has also hauled in 100 or more rebounds this season (136, 6.2 rpg). … Saint Mary's has three players with 40 or more assists — Kirsten Keefe (Chatfield, Minn. / 74), Patterson (62), and Hallie Schmeling (62). … Keefe also leads the team in steals with 30. … Saint Mary's is shooting 39.0 percent from the field (574-for-1472), while knocking down 302 of 430 free throws (70.2 percent). … Saint Mary's and St. Thomas combined to attempt one free throw in the first half of last Saturday's game. … The Cardinals have drained 145 3-pointers, led by Paulson with 62. … 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 63.8 ppg, while allowing points at a 64.3 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 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.
 
Scouting The Bethel Royals:
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• The Royals enter post-season play seeded No. 3, after closing out the conference season with a 13-5 conference record. … Bethel is making its straight MIAC Tournament appearance — and its eighth in the last nine years. … The Royals head into Tuesday's tournament-opener against Saint Mary's riding a five-game winning streak — not to mention having beaten Saint Mary's in seven of the teams' last eight meetings. … Bethel owns a 9-2 record on its home court at the Robertson Center Gym — the lone losses a 73-64 setback against regular-season champion St. Thomas on Dec. 5 and a 74-67 setback to playoff-bound Augsburg on Jan. 9. … The Royals enter post-season play boasting three players — Taite Anderson (16.5 ppg), Hannah Johnson (16.5 ppg), and Makenna Pearson (12.5 ppg) — averaging in double figures. … Johnson also leads the team with 256 rebounds (10.2 rpg). Johnson is one of three Royals with 100 or more boards through 25 games — Elizabeth Schwarz (127, 5.1 rpg) and Anderson (124, 5.0 rpg) are the other two. … Johnson's 256 rebounds and 10.2 rpg average rank No. 2 in the MIAC. … Bethel boasts four players with 40 or more assists, led by Haylee Barker with a team- and conference-leading 118. … Barker also leads BU and the MIAC with 77 steals, while Johnson owns a team-high 49 blocked shots. … The Royals are shooting 47.2 percent from the field (737-for-1560 and have knocked down 348 of 534 free throws (65.2 percent). … The Royals have drained 126 3-pointers, led by Pearson with 44. … As team, Bethel is averaging 77.9 ppg, while the Royals' opponents are averaging 55.8 ppg. … Bethel has scored 80 or more points 11 times this season — including back-to-back performances of 100 or more points. BU netted 100 points in drubbing Carleton 100-52 on Jan. 23, and followed that up with a season-high 104 points in a 104-59 rout of Macalester two days later. … The Royals' 104 points against Macalester on Jan. 25 were a single-game program record, eclipsing the previous mark of 101, set against Bethany Lutheran on Nov. 20, 2013