ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team, coming off a 66-60 win over Macalester Saturday, travels to Bethel Monday evening for a 7:30 p.m. game against the Royals




The Teams:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-0 MIAC / 4-1 Overall)
Bethel Royals (0-2 MIAC / 0-2 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals picked up their second straight conference win on Saturday, outlasting Macalester 66-60 in St. Paul, Minn. Bethel, meanwhile, dropped its second straight MIAC game Saturday, falling to St. Thomas 61-38 in Arden Hills, Minn.

A Year Ago:
December 5, 2009 — Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) drilled a 3-pointer with 18 seconds remaining in regulation to snap a 55-55 tie and lift the Cardinals to a 58-55 MIAC victory over Bethel at the SMU Gym.

January 23, 2010 — The Royals outscored SMU 23-15 in the opening half and never looked back en route to a 58-45 conference win in Arden Hills, Minn.

Up Next:
The Cardinals are off until Saturday, when they travel to St. Paul, Minn., for a 3 p.m. conference showdown at St. Catherine. Bethel, meanwhile, is right back in action on Wednesday, hosting Saint Benedict in a 7:30 p.m. contest at the Robertson Center.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
With Saturday's win over Macalester, the Cardinals improved to 4-1 overall, marking their best start since the 2004-2005 season, when SMU opened 5-0. … The Cardinals second straight MIAC win also marks their first 2-0 conference start since that same 2004-2005 season, when SMU beat St. Catherine, Augsburg and Macalester to open the conference schedule. … Cherie Kulig (Independence, Wis.) scored a game-high 14 points for the Cardinals vs. Macalester Saturday, while Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) and Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) each recorded their first double-double of the season. 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. … Jess Miller (Carver, Minn.) — who extended her consecutive-starts streak to 80 straight Saturday vs. Macalester — enters today's game vs. Bethel averaging a team-best 12.4 ppg. Kulig (11.8 ppg) and Thone (10.4 ppg) are also averaging in double figures heading into tonight's contest. … The Cardinals have outscored their opponents 159-126 in the first half. … Tonight's game vs. Bethel is the fifth of six straight road games for the Cardinals, whose next home game isn't until Dec. 12, when they host Concordia in their final game before the Christmas break | 2010-2011 Overall Statistics

Bethel Royals News and Notes:
The Royals come into tonight's contest searching for their first win of the season, having lost to both Gustavus (62-53) and St. Thomas (61-38) to open the season. … Tonight's game is the second of three straight home games for Bethel. … Taylor Sheley scored a team-high eight points in Saturday's loss to St. Thomas, while Alicia Montbriand's eight rebounds led the team. … Kelly Swenson, who scored a team-best 16 points in Bethel's season-opening loss at Gustavus, enters tonight's game with a team-leading 9.0 ppg | 2010-2011 Overall Statistics