ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team, coming off an 86-59 loss at St. Catherine, returns home for a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown against St. Olaf on Wednesday. Tip off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the SMU Gym.
The Records:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-6 MIAC / 3-8 Overall)
St. Olaf Oles (1-7 MIAC / 1-10 Overall)
Last Action: Jess Miller (Carver, Minn.) scored a team-high 15 points, but it was not enough, as St. Catherine erupted for 46 first-half points en route to an
86-59 victory over the Cardinals in St. Paul, Minn. St. Olaf, meanwhile, erased a 13-point second-half Bethel lead to take a 61-58 advantage with 3:19 left. Bethel, however, nailed eight free throws in the closing minutes to get the
68-64 win in Northfield, Minn.
A Year Ago: The Cardinals picked up a pair of conference wins over St. Olaf a year ago — both by the same 65-62 score.
January 17, 2009: Fueled by a 42-point second half, the Cardinals rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit to beat St. Olaf
65-62 at the SMU Gym.
February 14, 2009: The Cardinals knocked down 11 3-pointers — including eight in the first half, when SMU rallied form a 12-3 deficit to take a 13-point, 35-22 advantage at the break — in completing their conference sweep over the Oles with their second
65-62 victory in Northfield, Minn.
Saint Mary's Cardinal Notes: Jess Miller (Carver, Minn.) scored a team-best 15 points in Saturday's loss at St. Catherine. It was the second straight 15-point performance from the SMU junior and the eighth time in the Cardinals' 11 games that Miller has scored 10 or more points. … Saturday's game snapped a run of back-to-back games in which SMU had a 20-point scorer —
Cherie Kulig (Independence, Wis.) scored a career-high 24 points in leading the Cardinals over Hamline last Wednesday, while
Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) tallied a career-best 27 points vs. Carleton last Monday. … Kulig, whose 24-point showing was two points better than her previous high of 22 scored vs. Concordia on Jan. 11, 2009, was a perfect 11-for-11 from the free throw line. … Last Wednesday was also a career night for freshman
Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.), who notched career-bests in points (16) and rebounds (16) en route to her first collegiate double-double. … After pulling down 24 boards in the Cardinals' first seven games, Stefely has hauled in 37 rebounds in SMU's last four — including 11 vs. Saint Benedict on Jan. 2 and last Wednesday's 16 vs. Hamline. … Stefely's double-double was the first of the season for the Cardinals. … Wednesday's win over Hamline snapped SMU's season-high four-game losing streak. … The Cardinals' 77 points vs. Hamline last Wednesday were a season high, as were their 26 field goals, 69 field goal attempts, 20 free throws made, 23 free throws attempted and 47 rebounds. … The Cardinals' 80-70 loss vs. Carleton on Jan. 4 was the first OT game of the season and just the second in the last three seasons for SMU. The Cardinals beat Bethel 73-69 in double overtime a year ago. … Miller, who has started every game in her collegiate career — a span of 61 straight starts, enters tonight's game vs. St. Olaf boasting a team-best 13.3 ppg scoring average, while Kulig is also averaging in double figures at 10.5 ppg. … Miller currently ranks fourth in the MIAC in scoring (15.7 ppg) through eight games, while Kulig is the conference's assist leader (32 assists, 4.57 apg).
St. Olaf Ole Notes: Saturday's loss was the third straight for the Oles, who, after this week's games at Saint Mary's and Macalester, will have played just three of their first 13 games at home. … The Oles snapped a season-opening seven-game losing streak with a 58-4 over Augsburg on Jan. 2, but have since dropped three straight. … Eileen O'Donohue scored a team-high 14 points vs. the Royals Saturday, while Erin Hagland chipped in 12 points and Kathryn Thompson tallied 11 points and seven rebounds. … Katie Lauer leads the Oles in scoring, averaging 12.6 ppg. She also boasts team highs in field goals (44), field goals attempted (115), 3-pointers (16) and free throws (35). … Mackenzie Wolter, who is second to Lauer in scoring at 9.4 ppg, is the team leader in steals (22), while Terin Euerle has a team-high 28 assists.
