ST. PAUL, MINN. – The St. Catherine University basketball team is ending January the same way it started the month. The Wildcats will take on Saint Mary's University at 7 p.m. in Winona, Minnesota Wednesday evening, the very first team St. Kate's played this month.
The rematch between the Wildcats and Cardinals promises to be a good one, as St. Kate's won by the slimmest of margins the first time these two teams met.
Live stats and
video will be available for fans who can't make the drive to Winona, while score updates can be found on St. Kate's official Twitter page (@stkateswildcats).
Here are the five things to know before tip off:
4 – The Wildcats earned their second Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) win of the season in dramatic fashion, stunning Saint Mary's 63-59 in regulation. After falling behind 11-0 in the first quarter, St. Kate's rallied to outscore the Cardinals 45-37 in the remaining quarters to earn the win.
48- Seniors
Alexis Garcia (Minnetonka, Minn. / Hopkins) and
Meg Clark (Kenyon, Minn. / Kenyon-Wanamingo) went off in the last meeting between the Wildcats and Saint Mary's, scoring a combined 48 of the team's 63 points. Garcia scored what was then a career high 26 in the win, while Clark added a career high 22 of her own. The next highest scorer was first year
Bailee Sillman (Chippewa Falls, Wis. / Chippewa Falls) who also scored a then career high eight points that night.
12 – If St. Kate's hopes to beat the Cardinals for the second time this season, the team has to hold Brandi Blattner at bay. Saint Mary's best player currently ranks in the top-5 in the MIAC in 12 different categories, including scoring and rebounds. This season, Blattner averages 17.9 points and 9.9 rebounds per game, both of which rank second in the conference. However, the junior forward is even better against MIAC opponents, as she averages a league-leading 18.3 points and 10.2 rebounds per game against conference foes.
2 – Since scoring 26 points against Saint Mary's, Garcia has tallied two-more games with 25+ points in the month of January. The senior scored a career high 32 in a loss to Hamline on January 13 before scored 29 in a thrilling win over Carleton this past Saturday. Additionally, Garcia has led the Wildcats in scoring six times this month and seven times since the team returned to action on December 31.
5 – While St. Kate's scored a MIAC victory over Carleton on Saturday, the Cardinals enter the game riding a five-game win streak, all against conference opponents. Since losing to Gustavus on January 10, Saint Mary's has beaten Macalester, Carleton, Hamline, St. Olaf and Augsburg by an average of 16.4 points per game. The Cardinals have also outscored their opponents 357-275 during the win streak.
