WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team kicks off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Confernece play on Wednesday, hosting Carleton in a 7:30 p.m. contest at the SMU Gym.



The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-0 MIAC | 0-1 Overall)
vs. Carleton Knights  (0-0 MIAC | 1-1 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals opened their season on Nov. 22, falling to Elmhurst 63-58 in a nonconference game in Elmhurst, Ill. … Carleton, meanwhile, picked up its first win of the season on Saturday, cruising to an 86-78 nonconference win over Buena Vista in Indianola, Iowa.

SMU vs. Carleton — A Year Ago:
January 8, 2011: Jess Miller (Carver, Minn.) scored a game- and season-high 23 points and Brittany Begrowicz (Des Plaines, Ill.) chipped in a career-best 15 points, as the Cardinals cruised to their second straight Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win, beating the Knights 61-45 in Northfield, Minn.
February 12, 2011: Jess Miller (Carver, Minn.) scored 20 points, Cherie Kulig (Independence, Wis.) netted 19 points, and Kim Kaminski (Milwaukee, Wis.) scored four points, pulled down four rebounds and had three blocks, as the senior trio led SMU to a 72-60 MIAC win over Carleton at SMU Gym on Senior Day.

Up Next:
The Cardinals are right back at home on Saturday, hosting St. Olaf in a 1 p.m. MIAC contest at the SMU Gym. … Carleton, meanwhile, plays its second straight conference road game on Saturday, heading to St. Joseph, Minn., for a 3 p.m. game against Saint Benedict.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2010-11 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule | 2011-12 Media Guide
Wednesday's game against Carleton is the home opener for the Cardinals, who play six of their first eight games on their home court. … The Cardinals were looking for their second-straight season-opening win against Elmhurst on Nov. 22, having opened last season with a 69-60 victory over UW-Platteville. … Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) scored a team-best 19 points in SMU's 63-58 loss at Elmhurst. … Adrianna Stephens (Madison, Wis.) — playing in her first collegiate game — also scored in double figures against the Bluejays, netting 10 points. … Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) pulled down a team-best 11 rebounds vs. Elmhurst, including 10 on the defensive end. … Ten of the Cardinals' 22 field goals against Elmhurst were 3-pointers, led by Thone, Stephens, Kaitlyn Keefe (Chatfield, Minn.), and Corrine McCallum (Shoreview, Minn.) with two each. … SMU outscored Elmhurst 34-22 in the first half. … The Cardinals closed out the 2010-11 season with an 11-14 overall record, marking the first time SMU reached the 11-win plateau since the 2004-2005 team finished 18-8 overall. … Six of SMU's 11 wins a year ago came at home. The Cardinals finished 6-6 at the SMU Gym.

Carleton Knights News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule
The Knights have scored 70 or more points in each of their first two games, netting 70 in a season-opening 85-70 loss to Simpson last Friday, while netting 86 in Saturday's 86-78 victory over Buena Vista. … Carleton erased a nine-point halftime deficit in beating Buena Vista Saturday. … Megan Meads and Jenny Ramey each recorded their first collegiate double-doubles against Buena Vista Saturday. Ramey netted 12 points to go along with a career-high 14 assists, while Meads recorded career-highs in both points (12) and rebounds (10). … Akemi Arzouman posted her fourth career 20-plus scoring effort against Buena Vista, netting a team-best 20 points, while missing out on a double-double by one rebound. … All five Carleton starters scored in double figures vs. Buena Vista Saturday. … Skylar Tsutsui scored 16 points in her collegiate debut vs. Simpson last Friday, then added 19 points against Buena Vista a day later. … The Knights enter Wednesday's conference opener against Saint Mary's with four players averaging in double figures, led by Tsutsui (17.5 ppg) and Arzouman (14.5 ppg). … Carleton trailed at halftime in both of its games last weekend, while the Knights outscored their first two opponents 86-79 over the game's final 20 minutes.