ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The 2013-14 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Winter Playoffs continue Saturday with the busiest - and most important -day yet. The first postseason championship plaque will be handed out following the MIAC Women's Basketball Playoff championship game, and the participants in the MIAC Hockey Playoffs title games will also be determined with four semifinals on the schedule.

The Saturday spotlight shines brightest on Winona, Minn., as the top-seeded Saint Mary's women's basketball team hosts No. 3-seeded St. Thomas in the MIAC Playoff Championship game, with an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament on the line, along with the conference tourney title.

However, it will also be an action-packed day on the ice in both Mendota Heights, Minn., and St. Peter, Minn., as all four hockey semifinals will take place in those two arenas. St. Thomas is the top seed in both tournaments, and the women will host Concordia in their semifinal, while the men will welcome St. Olaf. Gustavus is seeded second in both fields, and the Gustie women will host Bethel and the Gustie men will host Saint John's in a pair of postseason rematches from a year ago.

When Saturday is all said and done, there will be one MIAC Playoff champion, and four more teams will be a step closer to realizing the same goal.

MIAC CHAMP MEETS DEFENDING PLAYOFF CHAMP FOR TITLE | Playoff Page | Bracket |
The 2013-14 MIAC Women's Basketball Playoff title game will be a star-powered showdown between a pair of contenders with championship pedigree. The Cardinals captured their first conference title since 1985-86 this season, and earned a trip to the postseason championship game with an impressive 94-63 win over No. 4 Bethel Thursday night. St. Thomas returns to the title game as the two-time defending MIAC Playoff champion. The Tommies beat No. 6 Gustavus 66-51 in Tuesday's quarterfinals, and scored a 71-56 win over No. 2 Concordia on the road Thursday.

Saint Mary's enters the title game with an impressive 24-2 overall record in 2013-14, and St. Thomas is 23-4. Combined, the two teams have gone 47-6 this season for a .887 winning percentage. Saturday's game won't just be a championship clash, it will also be a Top 25 matchup. The Tommies are ranked 15th and the Cardinals are 17th in the latest D3hoops.com Women's Top 25.

These two teams split their regular-season series, with both teams winning on their home court. Saint Mary's scored a narrow 56-54 victory in Winona on Jan. 11, while St. Thomas evened the series at 1-1 with a 65-48 victory in St. Paul on Feb. 8. Now, the two will get to settle the score on the court with a title - and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament - on the line.

The Cardinal offense was at its best in Thursday's win over Bethel. Bridget Pethke had 23 points, four assists and three rebounds in a red-hot 8-for-9 shooting performance. Darcey Rice and star post player Courtney Euerle each added 15 points, and Mariam Awoniyi had 10 points in the win. Shelby Auseth had a team-high seven rebounds to go along with her nine points, as Saint Mary's nearly reached the century mark.

St. Thomas has exhibited depth and balance throughout the postseason, with surprise stars in each win. Thursday, it was Elaine Warner going 4-for-4 from three for 18 points off the bench, after Katie Stone led the way with a career-high 21 points in Tuesday's win over Gustavus. The Tommies have also gotten great contributions from Taylor Young, Kelly Brandenburg and Jenna Dockter en route to another trip to the title game.

Saturday's championship game will tip off in Winona at 3 p.m. Saint Mary's will have live video and live stats of Saturday's championship game. Fans can follow all the postseason action on the Playoff home page and tournament's interactive bracket.

WOMEN'S HOCKEY SEMIFINALS START AT 2 P.M. | Playoff Page | Bracket |
The 2013-14 MIAC Women's Hockey Playoffs got off to a fantastic start Friday, as No. 4 Concordia (13-9-4) got a goal 2:55 into overtime to defeat No. 5 St Catherine (11-13-1), and complete the semifinal pairings. If Saturday's schedule looks familiar, it's because these same four teams were in the semifinals a year ago, with the same matchups in the very same arenas. The Cobbers will take on No. 1-seeded St. Thomas (17-5-3) in Mendota Heights, Minn., and No. 3 Bethel (17-6-2) will travel to St. Peter, Minn., to take on No. 2 Gustavus (16-7-2), with both games dropping the puck at 2 p.m.

Concordia hopes to take momentum into Saturday's quick turnaround, after Libby Fransdal's game-winning goal Friday punched their semifinal ticket in the first Playoff win for rookie Head Coach Sarah Erickson. The Cobbers also got a goal from Amber Schaack, and goalie Madison Denny stopped 30 of the 31 shots she faced in the win. The regular-season champion Tommies will send out star goalie Alise Riedel, who has a 1.31 goals against average, a .946 save percentage and a 15-1-3 record in goal this season. Courtney Umland leads a balanced UST offense with 15 points (six goals, nine assists), and Christina Rozeske has a team-best eight goals.

Gustavus is looking to win its 11th-straight MIAC Playoff title, and heads into Saturday's semifinal led by Allison Eder-Zdechlik and her 26 points (19 goals, seven assists). Courtney Boucher adds a team-best 13 assists, and goalie Lindsey Hibbard has a .932 save percentage and a 1.44 goals against average. Hibbard will face the Royals' high-powered offense, as Bethel players all posses the top four point totals in the conference. Cristina Masten leads with 34 points (19 goals, 15 assists) and Lindsay Burman is just a point behind her at 33 (12 goals, 21 assists). Kalie Johnson has 22 assists and 30 points, and Kathryn Larson has 27 points on 12 goals and 15 assists.

In last season's semifinals, Concordia upset the Tommies on the road, and Gustavus battled back from a 2-0 deficit to beat Bethel in a pair of instant classics. Fans can hope for the same Saturday, as the league's top four teams battle for a spot in the championship game. This season, St. Thomas got a 3-0 win in its first game against Concordia, and the two skated to a 1-1 overtime tie in the other, while the Gusties and Royals split their regular-season series just a week ago. Both were one-goal games, with Gustavus winning 3-2 last Friday, and the Royals returning the favor in a 1-0 game last Saturday.

Amazingly, three of the four semifinalists are ranked in the top 10 in the nation. St. Thomas is No. 7, Gustavus is No. 8 and Bethel is No. 10 in the latest USCHO.com Division III Women's Poll. Fans can follow all of Saturday's Women's Hockey Playoff semifinal action on the MIAC's Playoff page and interactive bracket. Links to live stats and live video of each game will be available in both spots, as well as results, recaps and stats following the conclusion of Saturday's action.

TRIP TO MEN'S HOCKEY TITLE GAME ON THE LINE | Playoff Page | Bracket |
The 2013-14 MIAC Men's Hockey Playoffs got off to an exciting, high-scoring start Friday, as No. 4 St. Olaf (12-10-4) beat No. 5 Concordia 5-3 (12-9-5) to join the conference's Final Four. As a result, the Oles will travel to Mendota Heights, Minn., to take on No. 1-seeded St. Thomas (19-4-2) at 7 p.m. The other game is a rematch of last season's MIAC Playoff title game, as No. 3 Saint John's (16-9) travels to No. 2 Gustavus (15-6-4) for a 7:05 p.m. semifinal. The Johnnies are the defending tournament champ.

Friday, St. Olaf got a goal and an assist each from Dan Cecka and Mark Rath, and Marc Richards added two assists in the Oles' high-scoring win over Concordia. Steve Papciak also had a busy night while earning the win in goal, stopping 37 of the Cobbers' 40 shots. The three-time regular-season champion Tommies' success starts with star goalie Drew Fielding, whose 1.40 goals against average, .943 save percentage and .783 win percentage all lead the MIAC. St. Thomas will lean on Alex Aletenbernd (22 points, 10 goals) and Nick Nielsen (23 points, 16 assists) to lead its balanced offense.

Saturday's rematch of the 2012-13 title game should be a great one in St. Peter, starting with stars in the net for both teams. Gustavus' John McLean has a 1.96 goals against average and a .920 save percentage, and Johnnie sophomore Saxton Soley - the MIAC's Co-MVP a year ago - has nearly identical numbers with a 1.97 goals against average and a .924 save percentage. Each team will employ a highly-skilled scorer to lead their offensive attack as well. The Gusties' Corey Leivermann has 27 points on 17 goals and 10 assists this season, and Saint John's John Haeg has 16 assists and seven goal for 23 points.

This season, St. Thomas took five of six points from St. Olaf in the regular season, winning a shootout in the first game after a 2-2 overtime tie in Northfield, and adding a 3-0 victory at home a day later. Gustavus swept its regular-season series with Saint John's, winning 2-1 at home and 4-1 on the road.

Fans can follow Saturday's action live as both games will have live stats and live video. Links to live coverage, scores, schedules, recaps, stats and more will be available on both the MIAC Men's Hockey Playoff home page, and the tournament's interactive bracket.

| 2013-14 MIAC Playoffs and Championships |