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House of Card-inals: After a disappointing loss to the Saint Mary's Cardinals in early December, the Saint Benedict Basketball Team (18-5, 16-4 MIAC) will travel to Winona tomorrow (Feb. 13) for a rematch with the Cardinals(19-4, 16-4 MIAC) in a MIAC matchup of epic playoff proportions. A first-round bye will be on the line for both teams, who are currently in a three-way tie with St. Thomas for second place in the MIAC standings. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
About Saint Mary's: Finished to pick tied for fourth by the coaches in the preseason poll, the Cardinals have raised eyes around the MIAC with their staunch defense and rebounding ability. After losing three of six conference games early in the year the Cardinals have won 11 of their past 12 contests. This was highlighted by a 62-56 over then-No.12 St. Thomas. The only loss was a 64-54 loss to first-place Concordia.
Last Time: On Dec. 8, the Cardinals came to St. Joe and stole one away from the Blazers in Claire Lynch Hall. The game was a tale of two halves, as the Blazers jumped out to a 36-31 halftime lead but couldn't hold off the surging Cardinals in the second. With the game tied at 58-58 with 19 seconds remaining, Cardinal senior Jessica Thone hit a jumper to put her team up 60-58. On the ensuing possession the Blazers failed to find a good shot and lost the game 60-58. In that game the Blazers shot 17-of-48 (35%) from the floor but luckily were able to shoot 19-of-23 from the free throw line to keep themselves in the game.
Storyline: Can the Blazers go on the road to Winona and get back a game they dropped early in the season? In order to secure a first-round bye, this is a must win game. They will also have to show resilience to fight back after suffering a disappointing loss on Saturday against St. Thomas, dropping them out of first place. Hopefully the four-day break has given them plenty of time to rest and prepare for a quality Saint Mary's team, and get back into the conversation to compete for a MIAC championship.
Who To Watch: Nobody has been more consistent than
Brianna Barrett for the Blazers this year. Her 14.8 points per game is third-most for any player in MIAC games this year. Additionally, she leads the MIAC in scoring per 40 minutes in conference games, averaging 20.7. She has led the Blazers in scoring in 12 games this year, most by far of any player on the team. During the Blazers late 10-game win streak, however, nobody was hotter than
Whitney Canton, who scored in double-figures in each game before being stifled for seven against St. Thomas. She is averaging 11.2 points and 4.5 rebounds per game this year.
Morgan Dale continues to dominate the glass for the Blazers. Her 7.4 rebounds per game in conference play are fifth-most in the MIAC this season.
Last Time Out: On Saturday at St. Thomas the Blazers saw their ten-game winning streak come to a close. Perhaps still recovering after an emotional win against Concordia, the Blazers didn't seem to be the same team that beat St. Thomas to spark their win streak in early January. On the flip side neither did St. Thomas. After getting down 32-19 at half, the Blazers never found a way to fight back in the game, eventually dropping it by a score of 65-46.
