ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team, coming off a streak-snapping 77-69 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory over Hamline on Wednesday, hits the road on Saturday, traveling to St. Catherine for a 3 p.m. conference tilt against the Wildcats.
The Records:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-5 MIAC / 3-7 Overall)
St. Catherine Wildcats (4-3 MIAC / 5-5 Overall)
Last Action: The Cardinals got a career-high 24 points from
Cherie Kulig (Independence, Wis.) and a double-double from
Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) in beating Hamline
77-69 on Wednesday. St. Catherine, meanwhile, got a double-double of its own from Laura Kalbfell to beat Carleton
64-51 on Wednesday.
A Year Ago: St. Catherine had the upper hand in both meetings with Saint Mary's during the 2008-09 season.
January 10, 2009: St. Catherine erased a five-point halftime deficit by scoring 21 of the first 27 points of the second half and never looked back in dropping SMU
74-58 in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game at the SMU Gym.
February 7, 2009: The Cardinals, trailing by just one, 15-14, with less than seven minutes remaining in the first half, were outscored 15-6 to end the opening 20 minutes — and they never recover, as St. Catherine held off a late rally with a game-ending 17-5 run to hand the Cardinals a
60-51 conference setback in St. Paul, Minn.
Saint Mary's Cardinal Notes: Cherie Kulig (Independence, Wis.) scored a career-high 24 points in leading the Cardinals over Hamline Wednesday. It was two points better than her previous high of 22 scored vs. Concordia on Jan. 11, 2009. … Kulig, who scored the Cardinals' first five points vs. the Pipers, was a perfect 11-for-11 from the free throw line. … 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 34 rebounds in SMU's last three — including 11 vs. Saint Benedict on Jan. 2 and 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. …
Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) scored 22 of her career-high 27 points in the second half in last Monday's 80-70 overtime loss. … Thone's 27-point effort eclipsed her previous career best by 15 points. It was also just two-points shy of
Jess Miller's (Carver, Minn.) team-best 29-point effort vs. Gustavus on Dec. 7. … Kulig's 24-point effort vs. Hamline marked the fourth straight game in which the Cardinals have had a different player lead them in scoring. … The Cardinals' 77 points vs. Hamline were a season high, as were their 26 field goals, 69 field goal attempts, 20 free throws made, 23 field attempted and 47 rebounds. … Last Monday's game vs. Carleton 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 60 straight starts, enters tonight's game vs. St. Catherine boasting a team-best 13.1 ppg scoring average. … Miller currently ranks fourth in the MIAC in scoring (15.7 ppg) through seven games, while Kulig is the conference's assist leader (32 assists, 4.57 apg). … Today's game is the fourth in an eight-day stretch for the Cardinals, who are also playing just their second road game in the last eight games.
St. Catherine Wildcat Notes: Wednesday's win over Carleton was the second straight for the Wildcats, who have not won — or lost — more than two games in a row all season. … Today's game is the second of three straight home games for the Wildcats, who also host Concordia next Monday. … Laura Kalbfell scored 17 of her team-high 26 points in the second half vs. Carleton. The junior forward also pulled down 14 rebounds in recording St. Catherine's second double-double in as many games. Molly Peterson had scored 23 points and added 10 rebounds in the Wildcats' 64-62 overtime win over St. Thomas last Monday. … Kalbfell and Peterson enter today's game as the Wildcats' offensive leaders, averaging 17.1 ppg and 13.6 ppg, respectively. … Kalbfell is third in the MIAC in scoring, averaging 16.0 ppg in seven conference contests. … As a team, St. Catherine is scoring at a 69.8 ppg clip, while the Wildcats' opponents are averaging 67.9 ppg.
