vs.
Saint Mary's Cardinals   0-4 MIAC / 0-7 Overall		Saint Benedict Blazers   4-0 MIAC / 6-1 Overall

Listen Live / Live In-Game Statistics / GameDay Online / Media Notebook

Last Action: The Cardinals saw their season-opening losing streak reach seven straight Wednesday, as Coe handed SMU a 79-54 setback in the team's final nonconference game of the season … Saint Benedict, meanwhile, is coming off a 23-day layoff, having not played since a 66-61 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory over Macalester on Dec. 10.

Last Meeting: Saint Benedict escaped with a pair of nailbiting victories over SMU a year ago. The Blazers survived a 22-point, 13-rebound double-double from SMU's Jessica Weisbrod to beat the Cardinals 73-61 in their first meeting St. Joseph, Minn., on Dec. 1, 2007, then completed the sweep on Jan. 26, 2008, as Saint Benedict's Ariel Tauer nailed a wide-open jumper with less than a second on the clock to lift the Blazers to a 68-66 victory at the SMU Gym.

All-Time Series Record: The Blazers, fueled by their current six-game winning streak vs. SMU, boasts a 30-6 all-time record vs. the Cardinals. SMU's last win vs. CSB was a 61-54 triumph on Feb. 7, 2005.


Probable Starters:

Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-4 MIAC / 0-7 Overall)	Pos.
#4 Jesa Hall (So., 1.6 rpg, 5.6 ppg)	G
#12 Cherie Kulig (So., 3.4 rpg, 9.1 ppg)	G
#34 Michelle Carne (Fr., 3.4 rpg, 8.0 ppg)	G
#30 Jess Miller (So., 2.3 rpg, 9.6 ppg)	F
#54 Jennifer Rietzler (Fr., 2.6 rpg, 3.3 ppg)	F
Saint Benedict Blazers (4-0 MIAC / 6-1 Overall)	Pos
#24 Nikki Carter, (Sr., 1.1 rpg, 3.4 ppg)	G
#23 AMy Stifter (So., 2.0 rpg, 13.0 ppg)	W
#34 Mindy Schmidt (Jr., 3.9 rpg, 13.3 ppg)	W
#43 Ariel Tauer (Sr., 3.6 rpg, 7.6 ppg)	F
#41 Danielle Frank (So., 11.2 rpg, 11.3 ppg)	P

Cardinal Notes: After seven straight road games to open the season, today's game is the home opener for the Cardinals. … With their Dec. 10 loss at St. Thomas, the Cardinals saw their season-opening losing streak hit six straight for the second straight season. SMU's current seven-game, season-opening slide leaves the Cardinals searching for their first win since a 63-48 win over St. Olaf on Feb. 2 — a span of 14 straight games (SMU closed out the 2007-08 season with seven consecutive losses). … Brittany Begrowicz (Des Plaines, Ill.) scored a team-high 13 points in SMU's loss to Coe Wednesday. It was the first time in her collegiate career that Begrowicz has scored in double figures. … Begrowicz became the fourth person to lead the team in scoring in the Cardinals' first seven games. … Jess Miller (Carver, Minn.) and Cherie Kulig (Independence, Wis.) lead the team in scoring boasting 9.6 and 9.1 ppg averages, respectively. … SMU's 54 points vs. Coe were the second-most scored by the Cardinals this season. SMU netted a season-best 60 points in a 77-60 loss at Bethel on Dec. 6. … The Cardinals' 102 points allowed vs. St. Thomas on Dec. 10 were the most in program history. The previous record, 101 came in a 101-46 loss to — who else? — St. Thomas on Dec. 11, 1996. … SMU's 40 points scored vs. the Tommies equaled the Cardinals' lowest offensive output of the season. It was the Cardinals' lowest offensive output since managing 32 points in a loss to Gustavus on Feb. 3, 2007. …  SMU's loss to St. Thomas was the first time in MIAC history that two teams from the same school allowed 100 points on the same day to the same team. The SMU men also surrendered 102 points vs. UST on Dec. 10, falling 102-64. … After being held under 20 points in the first half of five of their first six games, SMU netted a season-high 28 first-half points vs. Coe Wednesday. …  Michelle Carne (Escanaba, Mich.) scored a team-high eight points vs. St. Thomas on Dec. 10. It was the first time since Alysse Coates and Jess Weisbrod scored eight points vs. Carleton vs. Carleton on Feb. 9, 2008 — and just the sixth time in their last 82 games — that SMU failed to have a double-figure scorer. … With Wednesday's loss, the Cardinals are now 1-17 in their last 17 road games, with their lone road win a 57-54 victory over St. Olaf on Jan. 5, 2008.

Blazer Notes: The Blazers come into today's game riding a five-game winning streak and have won six of their first seven games — with their lone loss an 81-70 overtime setback vs. Texas Tyler on Nov. 21. … After scoring 70 or more points in each of its first five games, CSB has netted 66 in back-to-back wins over St. Catherine and Macalester. … CSB's 66-61 win over Macalester was the 500th career coaching victory for Blazer head coach Mike Durbin, who improved to 500-135 in his 24 seasons as a collegiate head coach, including the last 23 at Saint Benedict. Durbin is the 13th coach in NCAA Division III women's basketball history to reach 500 wins and is the winningest women's college basketball coach in Minnesota. … Four of CSB's six wins have come at home, where the Blazers are 4-0 this season and 96-10 in their last nine seasons. … Amy Stifter scored a season-high 24 points in CSB's Dec. 10 win over Macalester. It was the second time this season the Blazer have boast a 20-plus point scorer — Mindy Schmidt netted a team-best 28 points in a 74-56 victory over Carleton on Dec. 6. … Danielle Frank has recorded 10 or more rebounds in five of the Blazers' six games and enters tonight's game averaging a double-double of 11.2 rpg and 11.3 ppg. … Three of CSB's six wins have been by seven points or less. … The Blazers held Crown to a season-low 33 points in the teams' season opener on Nov. 15.