WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team's run against the MIAC's elite continues Saturday, as SMU — which fell to league-leading Gustavus 68-49 in St. Peter, Minn., on Wednesday — squares off against third-place Saint Benedict Saturday in a 3 p.m. conference contest at the SMU Gym.
The Records:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-11 MIAC / 4-13 Overall)
Saint Benedict Blazers (11-3 MIAC / 13-4 Overall)
Last Action: The Cardinals made just eight first-half field goals, falling behind 43-22 at the break, and never recovered in falling to Gustavus
68-49 in St. Peter, Minn., Wednesday. Saint Benedict, meanwhile, needed overtime to record its third straight win, as the Blazers outlasted St. Catherine
84-77 Wednesday in St. Paul, Minn.
Last Meeting — January 2, 2010: Saint Benedict erupted for 35 second-half points — while holding SMU to just 18 — as the Blazers cruised to a
64-41 conference win over the Cardinals in St. Joseph, Minn.
Saint Mary's Cardinal Notes: Jess Miller (Carver, Minn.) scored a team-leading 13 points against Gustavus Wednesday, marking the third straight game — and the ninth time this season — that the SMU junior has led the team in scoring. … Miller, who extended her consecutive starts streak to 67 Wednesday, netted a career-best 29 points in the Cardinals' first meeting with Gustavus on Dec. 7. … Miller has now scored in double figures in 13 of the team's 17 games. …
Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) — who scored 13 points and added 11 rebounds vs. Bethel last Saturday en route to her first collegiate double-double — chipped in 10 points against the Gusties Wednesday. … Thone's double-double was the second of the season for the Cardinals, who also got a 16-point, 16-rebound effort from
Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) vs. Hamline on Jan. 6. … Thone has accounted for three of the Cardinals' five 20-point performances this season (27, 22 and 21 points). Miller (27 points) and
Cherie Kulig (Independence, Wis. / 24 points) are the other two. …
Sarah Adie (Chanhassen, Minn.) pulled down a team-high six rebounds against the Gusties Wednesday. Adie was the fourth different player in SMU's last four games to lead the team in rebounds. … Miller enters today's game boasting a team-best 13.6 ppg scoring average, while Thone (10.2 ppg) is also averaging in double figures. … All three of SMU's wins this season have come at home. … 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.
Saint Benedict Blazer Notes: After dropping back-to-back games to St. Thomas and Gustavus on Jan. 16 and 18, the Blazers have now won three straight. … CSB's win over St. Catherine Wednesday was its first overtime game of the season, and first since the Blazers played back-to-back OT games on Nov. 21-22 in Tyler, Texas, a year ago — losing to Texas-Tyler 81-70 and beating U. of Dallas 75-67. … Heather Gillund scored a team-high 23 points vs. St. Catherine Wednesday and was one of three Blazers to score 10 or more points vs. the Wildcats. Amy Stifter (18) and Laura Canton (17) were the other two. … Wednesday's performance was the second time this season Gillund has scored 20 or more points. … Gillund and Stifter enter today's game vs. SMU as the team's scoring leaders, boasting 15.6 ppg and 13.2 ppg scoring averages, respectively. … CSB is coming off a season in which the Blazers won the MIAC regular-season title — going 20-2 — while also winning the conference's post-season tournament crown. CSB advanced to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen, where the Blazers were eliminated by Washington University in St. Louis. … Head coach Mike Durbin, who picked up his 500th win as a head coach last season, enters his 24th year as the Blazers' head coach. Durbin holds a 533-141 coaching record, making him the winningest women's basketball coach in MIAC history.
