NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team, looking to rebound from last Saturday's 80-51 loss to Concordia in the Cardinals' final home game of the season, head to St. Olaf on Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown against the Oles.
The Records:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-16 MIAC / 5-18 Overall)
St. Olaf Oles (4-16 MIAC / 4-19 Overall)
Last Action: Concordia took advantage of 26 SMU turnovers and handed the Cardinals an
80-59 conference setback in their final home game of the season Saturday. St. Olaf, meanwhile, had its second-half rally cut short, as the Oles missed their last four field goal attempts in falling to Macalester
64-53 Saturday in Northfield, Minn.
Last Meeting — January 13, 2010: With St. Olaf holding SMU leading scorer
Jess Miller (Carver, Minn.) to just five points, SMU coach
Mandy Pearson turned to
Sarah Adie (Chanhassen, Minn.), who picked up Miller's slack to the tune of a career-high 17 points in helping guide Saint Mary's to a
62-53 conference win at the SMU Gym.
Saint Mary's Cardinal Notes: Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) scored a team-high 13 points — knocking down 5 of 7 field goal attempts — against Concordia on Saturday. … Thone, who has now led the team in scoring in back-to-back games, has accounted for three of the Cardinals' five 20-point performances this season (27, 22 and 21 points).
Jess Miller (Carver, Minn.) (27 points) and
Cherie Kulig (Independence, Wis.) (24 points) are the other two. … Miller, who extended her consecutive starts string to 73 Saturday against Concordia, was held to just eight points against the Cobbers Saturday. It was just the sixth time in SMU's 23 games in which the Cardinal junior has not scored 10 or more points. … Miller has scored 20 or more points three times this season — including a career-best 29 points on Dec. 7 against Gustavus. …
Renee Pecarina (Winona, Minn.) enjoyed a career night vs. Carleton on Feb. 3, pulling down a career-best nine rebounds — all on the defensive end. … The Cardinals have recorded two double-doubles this season — Thone scored 13 points and added 11 rebounds vs. Bethel on Jan. 23 en route to her first collegiate double-double, while
Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) put together a 16-point, 16-rebound effort vs. Hamline on Jan. 6. … Miller enters today's game boasting a team-best 13.9 ppg scoring average. She also ranks sixth in the MIAC in scoring, averaging 14.9 ppg in 20 conference games … Thone leads the team in 3-pointers (40), while Kulig boasts a team-high 71 assists. … SMU's 58-49 win over Carleton on Feb. 3 snapped a couple of streaks for the Cardinals, who not only put an end to their season-high seven-game losing streak, but also snapped an 11-year winless drought at Carleton, where SMU had not won since a 77-73 win on Feb. 21, 1998. … The Cardinals' 80-70 loss vs. Carleton in their first meeting 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.
St. Olaf Ole Notes: The Oles' 64-53 loss to Macalester Saturday extended their losing streak to four straight. … St. Olaf has been held under 60 points in 13 of its 23 losses — including a season-low 37 points in a 56-37 loss to St. Thomas on Jan. 23. … Erin Haglund scored a team-high 15 points vs. Macalester last Saturday, while Eileen O'Donoghue boasted a team-best nine boards. … O'Donoghue's nine rebounds were the most in a game since she hauled in 11 to go with her 12 points in a 58-51 win over Carleton on Feb. 1. … Katie Lauer enters today's game vs. SMU as the lone Ole averaging in double figures (12.5 ppg). … Lauer also leads the team in 3-pointers (36) and free throws (61), while Terin Euerle is the team-leader in rebounds (6.9 rpg) and Mackenzie Wolder owns a team-best 71 assists. … Three of St. Olaf's four wins have come one the Oles' home floor. St. Olaf is 1-12 on the road this season.
