WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team, which suffered its first conference loss of the season on Monday, is back in action Sunday, playing host to Concordia in a 3 p.m. game at the SMU Gym.



The Teams:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-1 MIAC / 4-2 Overall)
Concordia Cobbers (3-0 MIAC / 5-0 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals — who had their two-game conference winning streak snapped Monday, falling to Bethel 60-48 in Arden Hills, Minn. — had their game at St. Catherine on Saturday postponed due to weather. Concordia, meanwhile, also had its Saturday game at St. Thomas postponed. The Cobbers have not played since Wednesday, then they cruised to an easy 81-37 conference win in Moorhead, Minn.

A Year Ago:
January 16, 2010 — Jess Miller (Carver, Minn.) scored a team-high 19 points, but a cold-shooting second half proved costly as the Cardinals fell to Concordia 46-43 in Moorhead, Minn.

February 13, 2010 — The Cardinals turned the ball over 26 times, including 18 in the first half, and fell to Concordia 80-51 in an MIAC contest at the SMU Gym.

Up Next:
After today's game against the Cobbers, the Cardinals are off until Jan. 3, when host league-leading St. Thomas in a 7:30 p.m. conference game at the SMU Gym. Concordia, meanwhile, returns to action on Dec. 29, squaring off against UW-River Falls in a 5:45 p.m. nonconference game in Moorhead, Minn.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
Today's game is just the second home game of the year for the Cardinals, who opened their season with a 69-60 nonconference win over UW-Platteville. In between, SMU played five straight road contests. … Monday's loss at Bethel snapped the Cardinals' conference-opening two-game winning streak. … Jess Miller (Carver, Minn.) and Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) scored a team-high 12 points for the Cardinals vs. Bethel on Monday. … Miller has started every game during her four-year career at SMU, a span of 81 straight games. … Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) and Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) each recorded their first double-double of the season last Saturday against Macalester. Thone scored 13 points and added 10 rebounds, while Stefely netted 10 points and hauled in 10 boards. … Eighteen of the 20 rebounds by Thone and Stefely came on the defensive end. … Miller and Cherie Kulig (Independence, Wis.) enter today's game vs. Concordia averaging in double figures. Miller is scoring at a 12.3 ppg pace, while Kulig is averaging 11.0 ppg. … Miller, Kulig or Thone has led the team in scoring in each of the team's first six games. … Thone has netted six of the team's 16 3-pointers this season. … SMU holds a 175-157 first-half scoring advantage, while the Cardinals have outscored their opponents 192-170 after halftime. … Bethel scored 60 points vs. the Cardinals Monday, marking the third time in six games that SMU's opponent has scored 60 points | 2010-2011 Overall Statistics


Concordia Cobbers News and Notes:
The Cobbers enter today's game riding a season-opening five-game winning streak — including back-to-back-to-back conference wins over St. Olaf, Gustavus and Carleton. … Concordia's 5-0 start is its best since winning the first five games of the 1985-86 season. Their 3-0 record in the MIAC is also the first time they've started 3-0 since 2000-2001, when the Cobbers opened 4-0. … After opening the season with a 55-52 nonconference win over Cal Lutheran, the Cobbers have scored 72 or more points in each of their last four games. … Concordia netted a season-high 81, while holding Carleton to a season-low 37, in Wednesday's 81-37 CC victory. … The 37 points were the fewest allowed by Concordia since holding Saint Bendict to 34 in a 49-34 win during the 2007-2008. …  All 13 players who played against Carleton scored at least one point, led by Tricia Sorensen's game-high 19 points. … Erica Nord chipped in 17 points against the Knights and has scored in double figures in all five Cobber games this season. … Nord leads the team with a 14.2 ppg scoring average, while Maggie Bauernfeind is also averaging in double figures at 11.4 ppg. … Emily Thesing has netted a team-best 11 3-pointers. … The Cobbers have outscored their opponents 360 (72.0 ppg)-277 (55.4 ppg). … Wednesday's game vs. Carleton was the first home game of the season for the Cobbers | 2010-2011 Overall Statistics