By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team closes out its 2019-20 season on Saturday, as the Cardinals head to St. Thomas' Schoenecker Arena for a 3 p.m. conference showdown with the nationally ranked Tommies.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (5-14 MIAC, 5-19 Overall) at #20 St. Thomas (15-4 MIAC, 19-5 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's — February 19, 2020 * Saint Mary's Gym * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals capped off the home portion of their schedule in winning fashion — getting 27 points from Shayley Vesel (Austin, Minn.) and a double-double from Ewelina Schlomann (New Berlin, Wis.) — as Saint Mary's knocked off Gustavus 75-66 in overtime | Recap
• St. Thomas — February 19, 2020 * Schoenecker Arena * St. Paul, Minn.: St. Thomas held visiting St. Olaf without a point in the first quarter ­— and just nine third-quarter points — as the Tommies cruised to a 67-48 conference win | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Thomas — Earlier This Year:
• January 18, 2020 * Saint Mary's Gym * Winona, Minn.: The Tommies jumped out to an 11-point halftime lead and never slowed down in the second half in dealing Saint Mary's a 60-35 conference setback | 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: Saturday's game against St. Thomas is the season finale for the Cardinals — and the final collegiate game for senior Michele Remer (Grand Forks, N.D.)
• St. Thomas: The Tommies have already locked down the No. 3 seed for next week's MIAC Tournament and will host the sixth seed in a tournament quarterfinal on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul, Minn.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• With their win over Gustavus on Wednesday, the Cardinals have now posted four of their five wins this season on their home court. Saint Mary's is just 1-13 away from the Saint Mary's Gym this season. … Saint Mary's 75-66 overtime win over Gustavus was the Cardinals' fourth overtime game of the season — a single-season program record. Three of Saint Mary's four 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 on Jan. 11. … 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' victory over Gustavus Wednesday was their second straight win and third in the last four games. … Saint Mary's last three wins have all come against teams either in the MIAC Tournament or still in the playoff hunt — Bethel has already locked down the No. 1 seed in the post-season tournament, Gustavus has clinched the No. 4 spot, and with a win on Saturday, Hamline will also be in the six-team tournament. … Shayley Vesel (Austin, Minn.) scored a team-high 27 points — one shy of her career high — in Wednesday's overtime win over Gustavus. Vesel scored a career-best 28 points against Concordia on Dec. 7 — it was the highest individual single-game total since Alexa Huisman poured in 32 against Hamline on Jan. 20, 2018, and marked the sixth time this season she has netted 20 or more points in a game. … Maggie Robertson (Orland Park, Ill.) scored a career-high 24 points in the Cardinals' 79-61 win over Hamline last Saturday. It was the second straight game in which Saint Mary's leading scorer posted a single-game career high — Ewelina Schlomann (New Berlin, Wis.) scored a career-best 19 points to lead the Cardinals in in their 68-58 loss to Carleton on Feb. 12. … Robertson's 24-point effort — five points better than her previous career high — marked the ninth time this season that the Cardinals have had a player score 20 or more points in a game. Vesel has done it six times and Brooklyn Paulson (Holmen, Wis.) has achieved the feat three times. … Paulson chipped in 16 points against Gustavus Wednesday and has scored 10 or more points 30 times in her first two years as a Cardinal — including seven games of 20 or more points. … The Cardinals have had six different players lead the team in scoring — Robertson, Vesel, Paulson, Schlomann, Ashley Streveler (Colby, Wis.), and Claire Patterson (Marine, Minn.). … The Cardinals boast five players who have scored a single-game career-high of 10 or more points this season — Vesel (28 v. Concordia on Dec. 7), Paulson (27 v. St. Olaf on Jan. 25), Robertson (24 v. Hamline on Feb. 15), Schlomann (19 v. Carleton on Feb. 12), and Streveler (11 v. St. Catherine on Jan. 22). … Paulson netted 26 points and Vesel added 23 in the Cardinals' 82-80 overtime loss to Hamline on Jan. 11, marking the second time this season the Cardinal duo has each scored 20 or more points in the same game — Vesel tallied 25 and Paulson added 23 against UW-Stevens Point on Dec. 30. … Schlomann recorded a career-high 10 rebounds for the second straight game on Wednesday, and added 11 points for her first collegiate double-double. … Vesel heads into season finale at St. Thomas averaging a team-leading 15.8 ppg, while Paulson (13.0 ppg) is also averaging in double figures. … Vesel also holds the team lead in rebounds with 98 (4.5 rpg). … Patterson is the team-leader in assists with 64, nine in front of Hallie Schmeling (Onalaska, Wis.), while Vesel boasts a team-high 43 steals. … Robertson owns a team-high seven blocked shots, one more than Jada Biermeier (Eau Claire, Wis.) and two in front of Vesel. … Paulson — who knocked down a single-game career-high seven 3-pointers against Augsburg in the teams' first meeting on Jan. 5, 2019 — leads the team with 55 treys, followed by Vesel (27), Streveler (17), and Schmeling (15). … The Cardinals are 532-for-1437 (.370) from the field — including 155-for-527 (.294) from behind the 3-point line — while hitting 294 of 429 (.695) from the free throw line. … The Cardinals have netted a season-high 10 3-pointers four this season — vs. Augsburg on Feb. 5, vs. St. Olaf on Jan. 25, vs. Concordia on Dec. 7, and against UW-Stevens Point on Dec. 30. … Saint Mary's has put four players in double figures in scoring in the same game twice this season — against Bethel on Feb. 8 and vs. St. Catherine on Dec. 4. … With their 20-point, 77-57 win over Macalester on Jan. 29, the Cardinals put an end to their 11-game losing streak, dating back to a 70-68 overtime win over the Scots on Dec. 11. … Saint Mary's set a season-high for free throws made (23) against St. Olaf on Jan. 25. … The Cardinals' upset win over fifth-ranked Bethel on Feb. 8 marked the seventh game this season against teams ranked nationally — having also faced No. 7 Wartburg, No. 8 UW-Oshkosh, No. 17 UW-Whitewater, No. 17 Gustavus, No. 22 St. Thomas, and then-No. 25 Bethel in their first meeting. … The Cardinals' 80-point effort in their 82-80 loss to Hamline on Jan. 11 was a season-high. … The Cardinals, who are averaging 63.2 ppg, have scored 70 or more points 10 times this season — including each of their last four wins.
 
Scouting The St. Thomas Tommies:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• The Tommies head into Saturday's regular-season finale having won two straight and five of their last six — the lone loss a 65-49 loss to league-leading Bethel on Feb. 12. … With 19 wins this season, the Tommies are one win away from securing their 11th straight 20-win season. … St. Thomas enters Saturday's matchup against Saint Mary's — its second straight home contest and fourth in the last five games — having gone 7-3 on their home court this season. The Tommies are 12-2 in contests away from Schoenecker Arena. … St. Thomas will take the court Saturday against Saint Mary's boasting two players who are averaging in double figures in scoring — Brynne Rolland (17.7 ppg) and Macy Hatlestad (11.1 ppg). … St. Thomas has had a player score 20 or more points in a game 12 time this season — including a pair of 30-point efforts by Rolland against Carleton (Jan. 15) and Macalester (Jan. 22). … Rolland and Hatlestad are other the Tommies' top rebounders having amassed 154 (6.7 rpg) and 119 (5.0 rpg) boards, respectively. … St. Thomas boasts five players with 40 or more assists through 24 games, led by Hatlestad with 61, and Amber Darge and Shayla Wallin with 45 each. … Hatlestad and Wallin also share the team lead in steals with 30, while Rolland owns the top spot in blocked shots with 24. … The Tommies have knocked down 185 3-pointers this season, led by Hatlestad with 60 and Darge with 53. … As a team, the Tommies are 562-for-1246 (45.1 percent) from the field — including 185-for-512 (36.1 percent) from the 3-point line — and are 258 of 367 from the free throw line. … St. Thomas has scored 70 or more points five times this season, including a season-high 79-point effort in beating Concordia 79-53 on Feb. 8.