vs.
Saint Mary's Cardinals   0-2 MIAC / 0-4 Overall		Gustavus Gusties   2-0 MIAC / 4-0 Overall

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Last Action: The Cardinals scored a season-high 23 first-half points, but it was not enough as Bethel pulled away for a 77-60 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory Saturday. … Gustavus, meanwhile, stayed unbeaten Saturday, collecting a 71-60 conference win over Concordia.

Last Meeting: The Gusties collected two conference wins in the teams' regular-season meetings a year ago. After trailing by as many as seven points early in the second half, the Cardinals cut the Gusties' lead to one twice in the game's final six minutes, only to have GAC pull away again, as Gustavus used an 18-11 run over the final 5:58 to hand SMU its first loss of 2008, 75-67 at the SMU Gym on Jan. 7. In their second meeting on Feb. 6, Gustavus scored the game's final three points in beating the Cardinals 58-55 in St. Peter, Minn.

All-Time Series Record: With their two wins a year ago, Gustavus improved to 28-11 in the teams' all-time series. Gustavus has won the last six meetings with SMU, with the Cardinals' last win a 77-67 victory in the first round of the 2005 MIAC Tournament.


Probable Starters:

Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-2 MIAC / 0-4)	Pos.
#4 Jesa Hall (So., 6.3 ppg, 1.3 rpg)	G
#12 Cherie Kulig (So., 11.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg)	G
#34 Michelle Carne (Fr., 8.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg)	G
#30 Jess Miller (So., 9.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg)	F
#54 Jennifer Rietzler (Fr., 3.3 ppg, 2.0 rpg)	F
Gustavus Gusties (2-0 MIAC / 4-0)	Pos
#5 Brianna Radtke (Jr., 8.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg)	G
#14 Julia Schultz (Jr., 8.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg)	G
#23 Molly Geske (Fr., 11.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg)	F
#30 Emily Nelson (Sr., 12.8 pg, 3.8 rpg)	G
#43 Katie Layman (Jr., 13.8 ppg, 6.8 rpg)	P

Cardinal Notes: With Saturday's loss at Bethel, the Cardinals saw their season-opening losing streak hit four straight. It's the second straight season in which SMU has opened 0-4. The Cardinals dropped their first six games a year ago. … SMU's four season-opening losses leave the Cardinals searching for their first win since a 63-48 win over St. Olaf on Feb. 2 — a span of 11 straight games (SMU closed out the 2007-08 season with seven consecutive losses). … The Cardinals' 65-50 loss to Macalester last Wednesday was the fourth straight conference-opening loss for the Cardinals, who have not opened MIAC play with a win since dispatching of St. Catherine 78-70 on Dec. 1, 2004. … Cherie Kulig (Independence, Wis.) scored a team-high 13 points in SMU's loss at Bethel Saturday. Kulig had been held to just seven points vs. Macalester last Wednesday, marking the first time this season the SMU sophomore had been held under 10 points. … Kulig leads the team in scoring, averaging 11.0 ppg. …  After being held to a season-low 15 first-half points against Macalester last Wednesday, SMU scored a season-high 23 first-half points vs. Bethel. … The Cardinals' 15-point first half vs. the Scots was SMU's lowest offensive output for a half since St. Thomas held the Cardinals to 13 second-half points in an 86-35 UST win on Nov. 29, 2006. … SMU has now been held to 20 points or less in the first half of each of its first three games. … After making just 11 of 28 3-pointers in their first two games, the Cardinals drained six 3-pointers vs. Macalester and a season-high eight more against Bethel. … Jessa Hall (Glenwood City, Wis.) hit three of SMU's eight treys vs. Bethel en route to her season-high 12-point effort. … SMU has been outscored 147-74 in the first half. … Today's game is the fifth of seven straight road games for the Cardinals, who do not play on their home floor until a Jan. 3 meeting against Saint Benedict. … The Cardinals are now 1-14 in their last 15 road games, with their lone road win a 57-54 victory over St. Olaf on Jan. 5, 2008.

Gustie Notes: With Saturday's win over Concordia, the Gusties extended their season-opening winning streak to four straight. … GAC has scored 70 or more points in three of their four games, netting 69 in the other game. … The Gusties held Carleton to a season-low 53 points in a 7-53 win last Wednesday. … Molly Geske scored a team-leading 21 points against the Cobbers Saturday. Geske became the third different GAC player to lead the team in scoring in their first four games. Katie Layman has led the team twice — scoring 28 in a season-opening win over Austin College and 19 in GAC's MIAC-opening 77-53 win over Carleton. … Layman and Julie Schultz have each led the team in rebounding twice in GAC's firstfour games. … Layman enters tonight's game averaging 13.8 ppg, leading three players who are averaging in double figures. Emily Nelson (12.8 ppg) and Geske (11.5 ppg) are the other two. … As a team, the Gusties are shooting 44 percent from the field (105-for-238), have made 20 of 54 3-pointers and are hitting free throws at a 76 percent clip (66-for-87). … GAC has outscored its opponents 141-116 in the first half and 155-117 in the second.