By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball is back on the road for the sixth straight game on Saturday, as the Cardinals travel to Hamline's Hutton Arena for a 3 p.m. MIAC matchup against the Pipers.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-5 MIAC, 1-10 Overall) at Hamline Pipers (4-3 MIAC, 9-3 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's­­ — January 8 * Gus Young Court * St. Peter, Minn.: Gustavus outscored the Cardinals 40-26 over the middle two quarters, as the 17th-ranked Gusties dealt Saint Mary's an 82-65 conference setback | Recap
• Hamline — January 8 * West Gym * Northfield, Minn.: The Pipers continued their road dominance, improving to 8-1 away from Hutton Arena with a 70-56 MIAC victory over Carleton | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Hamline — A Year Ago:
• January 2, 2019 * Hutton Arena * Winona, Minn.: Hamline erupted for 28-points in the game's final 10 minutes — including a buzzer-beating 3-point bomb by Kaeli Stayer — as the Pipers rallied from a nine-point deficit with 3:19 remaining to deal the Cardinals a 67-66 setback | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals finally return home after six straight road games on Wednesday, playing host to Saint Benedict in a 7 p.m. conference matchup at the Saint Mary's Gym.
• Hamline: The Pipers are back on their home court at Hutton Arena on Wednesday, entertaining Macalester in a 7 p.m. MIAC contest.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Saturday's game at Hamline is the sixth straight road game for the Cardinals, who return home next week for back-to-back home games vs. Saint Benedict (Wednesday) and St. Thomas (Saturday). … With Wednesday's game against No. 17 Gustavus, the Cardinals have now played five games against teams ranked nationally — having also faced No. 7 Wartburg, No. 8 UW-Oshkosh, No. 17 UW-Whitewater, and No. 25 Bethel. … Shayley Vesel (Austin, Minn.) scored a team-high 14 points in Wednesday's 82-65- loss to Gustavus. … Vesel has now scored in double figures in all 11 of the Cardinals' games this season. … Vesel has scored 20 or more points three times this season — netting 23 against Bethel last Saturday, while adding 25 against UW-Stevens Point on Dec. 30 and a season- and career-high 28-point showing vs. Concordia on Dec. 7. … Vesel's 28-point effort against Concordia on Dec. 7 was the highest individual single-game total since Alexa Huisman poured in 32 against Hamline on Jan. 20, 2018. … Jada Biermeier (Eau Claire, Wis.) also scored in double figures against the Gusties on Wednesday, finishing with 10 points. … Vesel and Brooklyn Paulson (Holmen, Wis.) scored 25 and 23 points, respectively, against UW-Stevens Point on Dec. 30, marking the first time this season Saint Mary's has had two players score 20 or more points in the same game. … Paulson has scored 10 or more points 21 times in her first two years as a Cardinal — including five games of 20 or more points. … Ewelina Schlomann (New Berlin, Wis.) equaled her career-high with 15 points against Macalester on Dec. 11. … Schlomann's team-high 15-point effort against Macalester on Dec. 11 marks the only time this season Vesel or Paulson has not led the team in scoring. … 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 Saturday's conference game at Hamline averaging a team-leading 16.5 ppg, while Paulson (13.1 ppg) is also averaging in double figures. … Vesel owns a team-high 53 rebounds (4.8 rpg), with Biermeier second (51, 4.6 rpg) and Schlomann third (43, 4.3 rpg). … Hallie Schmeling (Onalaska, Wis.) is the team-leader with 30 assists, eight more than Patterson, while Vesel boasts team-highs with 22 steals. … Vesel and Biermeier share the team lead in blocks with four each. … Paulson — who knocked down a single-game career-high seven 3-pointers against Augsburg on Jan. 5, 2019 — leads the team with 25 treys, followed by Vesel with 16. … The Cardinals are shooting 36.6 percent from the field (245-for-670) — including 62-for-227 from behind the 3-point line — and are 138-for-201 from the free throw line. … The Cardinals have netted a season-high 10 3-pointers twice this season — vs. Concordia on Dec. 7 and against UW-Stevens Point on Dec. 30. … The Cardinals' 79-point effort in their 82-79 loss to UW-Stevens Point on Dec. 30 were a season-high. … Saint Mary's, which is averaging 62.5 ppg, has scored 70 or more points four times this season. … 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. … With their 70-68 MIAC win over Macalester on Dec. 11, the Cardinals snapped their season-opening five-game losing streak. … Four of the Cardinals' 10 losses have been decided by five points or less — including a three-point, 82-79 loss to UW-Stevens Point on Dec. 30, a two-point, overtime win over Macalester on Dec. 11, a two-point, double-overtime setback to St. Catherine on Dec. 4, and a five-point loss to Concordia three days later. … 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 Hamline Pipers:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the first of back-to-back home games for the Pipers, who have played just three games at Hutton Arena this season, going 1-2. … With Wednesday's 70-56 win over Carleton, Hamline improved to 8-1 on the road this season — including a pair of neutral-site victories. … Hamline heads into Saturday's showdown against Saint Mary's riding a season-high five-game winning streak. … The Pipers have lost back-to-back games just once this season, while putting together winning streaks to three and five games. … Hamline put three players in double figures against Carleton Wednesday — Lydia Lecher finished with 22 points, with Reilly Geistfeld and Chan'el Anderson-Manning chipping in 17 and 11 points, respectively. … Geistfeld also hauled in a game-high 17 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season. … Lecher has now led the team in scoring in back-to-back games and four times this season. … Geistfeld leads the team in scoring, averaging 14.1 ppg, while Lecher and Anderson-Manning are also scoring in double figures, boasting 12.3 ppg and 11.0 ppg scoring averages. … Along with her team-leading 14.1 ppg scoring average, Geisfeld also leads the team — and the conference — in rebounds with 126 (10.5 rpg). … Kaeli Stayer (31) and Sophie Findell (20) are the team's assist leaders, with Anderson-Manning (23) and Geistfeld (22) leading the team in steals. … Geistfeld has accounted for 14 of Hamline's 29 blocked shots through 12 games. … Hamline has knocked down 75 3-pointers this season, led by Geistfeld with 16, Stayer with 13, and Lecher with 11. … As a team, the Pipers are shooting 40.1 percent from the field (285-for-710) and are 143-for-235 (60.9 percent) from the free throw line. … Hamline scored a season-high 31 points in the second quarter against Carleton Wednesday, connecting on 11 of 13 field-goal attempts. It was the highest single-quarter offensive performance since the 2015-16 season for the Pipers. … The Pipers are averaging 65.6 ppg, and have scored 70 or more points four times this season. … HU netted a season-high 84 points in dropping Macalester 84-52 on Nov. 26.