By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball is back in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals entertain nationally ranked St. Thomas in a 3 p.m. contest at the Saint Mary's Gym.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-7 MIAC, 1-12 Overall) vs. #22 St. Thomas Tommies (7-2 MIAC, 11-3 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's­­ — January 15, 2020 * Saint Mary's Gym * Winona, Minn.: Saint Benedict outscored Saint Mary's 18-6 in the first quarter, and the Cardinals never recovered in falling to the Bennies 62-49 in a conference matchup | Recap
• St. Thomas — January 15, 2020 * Schoenecker Arena * St. Paul, Minn.: Brynne Rolland scored a career-high 30 points and grabbed nine rebounds as No. 22 St. Thomas held off a fourth-quarter Carleton comeback bid to win 63-59 | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Thomas — A Year Ago:
• January 19, 2019 * Schoenecker Arena * St. Paul, Minn.: St. Thomas caught fire midway through the second quarter and never looked back en route to a 68-41 home win over the Cardinals | Recap
• February 16, 2019 * Saint Mary's Gym * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals could not keep pace with the third-ranked Tommies — who locked up a perfect 18-0 run through the conference slate and secured the No. 1 seed in upcoming MIAC Playoffs with a 76-55 win over SMU — but, despite the loss, still earned the conference's final conference playoff invitation and will head to Bethel for a 5 p.m. opening-round game | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are right back in action on Monday, traveling to Saint Benedict's Claire Lynch Hall in St. Joseph, Minn., for a 7 p.m. matchup against the Bennies — a game that was originally scheduled for Nov. 26, but was postponed due to inclement weather.
• St. Thomas: The Tommies return home to Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul, Minn., on Wednesday, entertaining Macalester in a 7 p.m. MIAC showdown.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Saturday's matchup against No. 22 St. Thomas is the second of back-to-back home games fort he Cardinals, who had played their previous six games away from the Saint Mary's Gym. … Brooklyn Paulson (Holmen, Wis.) — coming off a career-high 26-point effort in the Cardinals' 82-80 overtime loss to Hamline last Saturday — and Jada Biermeier (Eau Claire, Wis.) each scored 10 points to lead the Cardinals in Wednesday's 62-49 loss to Saint Benedict. … Shayley Vesel (Austin, Minn.) added 23 points to Paulson's 26 against Hamline last Saturday, and the duo have now both scored 20 or more points in the same game twice this season — Vesel netted 25 and Paulson added 23 against UW-Stevens Point on Dec. 30. … Vesel has scored in double figures in 12 of the Cardinals' 13 games this season. … Vesel has scored 20 or more points four times this season — netting 23 against Hamline last Saturday, 23 against Bethel on Jan. 4, and 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. … Paulson has scored 10 or more points 23 times in her first two years as a Cardinal — including six 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 against St. Thomas averaging a team-leading 15.8 ppg, while Paulson (13.8 ppg) is also averaging in double figures. … Vesel owns a team-high 59 rebounds (4.5 rpg), with Biermeier second (56, 4.3 rpg) and Rachel Kedl (Lamberton, Minn.) third (54, 4.9 rpg). … Hallie Schmeling (Onalaska, Wis.) is the team-leader with 34 assists, seven more than Patterson, while Vesel boasts team-highs with 24 steals. … Vesel and Biermeier share the team lead in blocks with five each. … Paulson — who knocked down a single-game career-high seven 3-pointers against Augsburg on Jan. 5, 2019 — leads the team with 29 treys, followed by Vesel with 17. … The Cardinals are shooting 36.5 percent from the field (294-for-805) — including 72-for-267 from behind the 3-point line — and are 164-for-243 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. … Saint Mary's 82-80 loss to Hamline on Jan. 11 was the Cardinals' third overtime game of the season. The three overtime games are the most since Saint Mary's went into OT three times during the 1997-98 campaign. … All three of Saint Mary's OT games have been decided by two points — the Cardinals beat Macalester 70-68 in OT on Dec. 11, while falling to St. Catherine 79-77 in double overtime on Dec. 4, and losing to Hamline 82-80 last Saturday. … 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. … The Cardinals' 80-point effort in their 82-80 loss to Hamline last Saturday were a season-high. … Saint Mary's, which is averaging 63.4 ppg, has scored 70 or more points five times this season. … The Cardinals have already played five games this season against teams ranked nationally — having faced No. 7 Wartburg, No. 8 UW-Oshkosh, No. 17 UW-Whitewater, No. 17 Gustavus, and No. 25 Bethel. … With their 70-68 MIAC win over Macalester on Dec. 11, the Cardinals snapped their season-opening five-game losing streak. … Five of the Cardinals' 12 losses have been decided by five points or less. … 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 St. Thomas Tommies:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• St. Thomas is in the midst of playing four of five games on their home court, the lone exception Saturday's matchup at Saint Mary's. The Tommies are 3-2 on their home court, while going 8-1 away from Schoenecker Arena. … UST enters Saturday's game at Saint Mary's ranked No. 22 in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25 and winners of four straight and five of its last six. … St. Thomas opened the season with six consecutive wins, before dropping back-to-back games against Gustavus and Augsburg. UST's other loss came at the hands of UW-Stevens Point at the JustAGame Holiday Classic on Dec. 29. … Brynne Rolland scored a career-high 30 points and added nine rebounds against Carleton on Wednesday. … Rolland has now led the team in scoring in each of the Tommies' last two games and in eight of its 14 games overall. … The Tommies head into Saturday's matchup boasting three players who are averaging in double figures in scoring — Rolland (16.6 ppg), Macy Hatlestad (11.7 ppg), and Amber Darge (10.7 ppg). … Along with her team-leading 16.6 scoring average, Rolland also shares the team lead in rebounds (89) with Shayla Wallin. … Hatlestad and Madi Schirmer have each eclipsed the 30-assist mark this season, boasting 38 and 36 helpers, respectively. … Wallin also boasts a team-high 22 steals, while Rolland has accounted for 12 of the team's 35 blocked shots. … St. Thomas has poured in 110 3-pointers this season, led by Hatlestad with 38, Darge with 37, and Wallin with 12. … As a team, St. Thomas is shooting 45.6 percent from the field (329-for-721), while going 110-for-292 from behind the 3-point line and 155-for-228 from the free throw line. … The Tommies are averaging 65.9 ppg, while limiting their opponents to just 56.1 ppg. … St. Thomas has scored 70 or more points four times this season, including a season-high 780oint effort in beating UW-Superior 78-60 on Nov. 20.