ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team, coming off a clutch 76-57 conference win over St. Catherine Wednesday, head to Hamline Saturday for a 1 p.m. contest.




The Teams:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (5-3 MIAC / 7-4 Overall)
Hamline Pipers (3-6 MIAC / 4-8 Overall)

GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Video / Video Preview

Last Action:
The Cardinals erupted for 44 second-half points in breaking open a two-point game and leading SMU to a 76-57 conference win over St. Catherine Wednesday at the SMU Gym. Hamline, meanwhile, won its rematch against St. Olaf, beating the Oles 83-75 Wednesday in St. Paul, Minn.

A Year Ago:
January 6, 2010: Cherie Kulig (Independence, Wis.) tossed in a career-best 24 points, while Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) recorded career bests in points (16) and rebounds (16) — not to mention a career-first double-double — as the pair helped lead the Cardinals to a 77-69 MIAC victory over Hamline at the SMU Gym.

February 10, 2010: Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) led three SMU players in double figures with a game-high 17 points — including a perfect 9-for-9 showing from the free throw line — but it was not enough, as Hamline pulled away from the Cardinals in the second half en route to a 75-58 conference victory in St. Paul, Minn.

Up Next:
The Cardinals begin a stretch of five straight home games on Monday, hosting Saint Benedict in a 7:30 p.m. contest at the SMU Gym. Hamline, meanwhile, start a three-game road trip on Monday, traveling to league-leading St. Thomas for a 3 p.m. conference contest in St. Paul, Minn.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
The Cardinals pushed their winning streak to a season-high three straight with Wednesday's 76-57 victory over St. Catherine. … Jess Miller became the ninth player in SMU women's basketball history to reach 1,000 career points Wednesday, pouring in a team-high 21 points vs. the Wildcats. … Miller, who reached the career milestone with her last field goal of the game, is the first SMU player to hit the 1,000-career point mark since Jessica Weisbrod accomplished the feat in 2008. … Fifteen of Miller's 21 points vs. St. Catherine came in the second half. … Miller's 21-point effort vs. St. Catherine marked the second straight game — and the sixth time in her career — that she has scored 20 or more points. Miller netted a season-high 23 points in SMU's win over Carleton last Saturday. … Miller also extended her consecutive games started streak to 86 Wednesday. She has started every game in her four-year collegiate career. … Cherie Kulig (Independence, Wis.) and Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) also scored in double figures against St. Catherine Wednesday, netting 15 and 12 points, respectively. … Miller enters today's game against Hamline averaging a team-best 13.3 ppg, while Kulig is averaging 10.3 ppg and Thone is at 9.1 ppg. … Miller, Kulig or Thone has now led the team in scoring in 10 of the team's 11 games. … Brittany Begrowicz (Des Plaines, Ill.) recorded a career-best 15 points against Carleton last Saturday, while Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) pulled down a team- and game-high 10 rebounds. It was the second time this season Stefely — who scored a career-best 16 points in SMU's 67-64 win over St. Olaf on Jan. 5 — has hauled in 10 rebounds in a game. … Thone and Stefely each recorded their first double-double of the season on Dec. 4 against Macalester. Thone scored 13 points and added 10 rebounds, while Stefely netted 10 points and hauled in 10 boards. Eighteen of those 20 rebounds by Thone and Stefely came on the defensive end. … Thone has netted a team-best 11 3-pointers. She, Kulig (9) and Miller (7) have accounted for 27 of the team's 38 3-pointers this season. … The Cardinals made 26 of 37 free throws vs. St. Olaf on Jan. 5 — both were season highs. The 26 FTM and 37 FTA were also the most since SMU went 35-for-50 from the charity stripe vs. Hamline on Jan. 7, 2001. … SMU has held its opponents to 60 points or less in eight of its 10 games this season, and have allowed 70 or more points just once — a 74-72 overtime loss to Hardin-Simmons on Nov. 20 | 2010-2011 Overall Statistics

Hamline Pipers News and Notes:
The Pipers' 83-75 win over St. Olaf on Wednesday was their second straight and third in their last four games. … Wednesday's win also avenges an 83-70 loss to the Oles on Dec. 12. … Hamline's 83 points against the Oles equaled their season high. … Kara Poirier scored a game-high 21 points to lead four Pipers in double figures vs. STO. Nikki Klinck (17), Stephanie Robinsson (16) and Mary Wilkowski (15) also scored in double figures vs. the Oles. … Poirier was a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line against St. Olaf. … Wilkowski averaged 21.0 ppg and 9.0 rpg in Hamline's three games last week, earning the senior MIAC Player of the Week honors. … Wilkowski enters today's game vs. SMU averaging 20.2 ppg and 7.6 rpg, while Klinck is second in both categories at 10.3 ppg and 7.5 rpg. … Wednesday's game vs. St. Olaf marked the first time this season that Wilkowski has not led the team in scoring. … Hamline has had a 20-point scorer in eight of its 12 games. … Three of Hamline's four wins have come at home — the Pipers are just 1-6 on the road this season | 2010-2011 Overall Statistics