WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team closes out the 2011 portion of its schedule on Thursday, hosting UW-Superior in a 6 p.m. nonconference game at the SMU Gym.



The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-5 Overall)
vs. UW-Superior Yellowjackets  (5-5 Overall)

GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats | Streaming Video | GameDay Program

Last Action:
The Cardinals have been off since Dec. 14, when UW-La Crosse handed SMU a 61-49 nonconference setback at the SMU Gym. … UW-Superior, meanwhile, evened its record at 5-5 on Dec. 17, cruising to an 82-68 victory over St. Scholastica in Superior, Wis.

SMU vs. UW-Superior — Their Last Meeting:
Thursday's matchup is the first-ever meeting between the Cardinals and the Yellowjackets.

Up Next:
The Cardinals return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Monday, Jan. 2, traveling to St. Paul, Minn., for a 7:30 p.m. showdown against St. Catherine. … UW-Superior, meanwhile, returns home on Friday, hosting Bethany Lutheran in a 6 p.m. nonconference game in Superior, Wis.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule | 2011-12 Media Guide
Thursday's game against UW-Superior is the third straight home game for the Cardinals, who have recorded eight of their last 13 wins on their home court. … SMU's showdown against the Yellowjackets is also their final nonconference game of the season. … Thursday's game is the sixth home game in eight contests this year for the Cardinals. … Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) led the Cardinals in scoring for the third straight game against UW-La Crosse on Dec. 14, as the junior tossed in 17 points — including draining four 3-pointers. … Thone now owns the season's top three individual offensive outputs, scoring a season-high 23 points vs. Concordia, 19 against Elmhurst and 17 vs. UW-La Crosse. … Thone's 23-point effort vs. Concordia on Dec. 7 marked the fourth time in her career that she has scored 20 or more points, and was four points shy of her career-best 27 points scored vs. Carleton on Jan. 4, 2010. … Thone has knocked down 11 of the team's 37 3-pointers this season. … Courtney Euerle (Litchfield, Minn.) recorded career-highs of 17 points and 13 rebounds vs. Saint Benedict on Dec. 5, and missed out on her third collegiate double-double by one point and one rebound vs. UW-La Crosse on Dec. 14, finishing with nine points and nine boards. … Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) recorded her second double-double of the season — and fifth of her career — vs. the Cobbers on Dec. 7, netting 12 points and added 13 rebounds. … Euerle and Stefely each notched their first double-doubles of the season in SMU's 58-57 conference-opening win over Carleton on Nov. 30, marking SMU's first double, double-double since Stefely and Thone hit double figures in both points and rebounds against Macalester on Dec. 4, 2010. … Sara Schoenthaler (Hugo, Minn.) scored a career-high 12 points against Bethel on Dec. 10. … SMU enters Thursday's game against UW-Superior boasting a pair of players averaging in double figures — Thone (13.3 ppg) and Stefely (10.6 ppg), while Euerle is close behind at 9.7 ppg. … Stefely also leads the team in rebounds with 65 (9.3 rpg). … SMU's 17 free throws made and 21 free throws attempted vs. Concordia on Dec. 7 were both season highs. … SMU scored a season-high 64 points against St. Olaf on Dec. 3. … The Cardinals' 54-50 win over Saint Benedict on Dec. 5 was SMU's first win over the Blazers under coach Mandy Pearson. … The win over Saint Benedict also snapped the Cardinals' 10-game losing streak against the Blazers, dating back to a 61-54 victory on Feb. 7, 2005. … Saint Benedict's 50 points were the fewest allowed by the Cardinals this season. … SMU's 58-57 win over Carleton on Nov. 30 marked the second straight year the Cardinals have opened conference play with a win. SMU beat Augsburg 57-44 in its MIAC opener a year ago.

UW-Superior Yellowjackets News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule
The Yellowjackets snapped their two-game losing streak with their 82-68 win over St. Scholastica on Dec. 17. … UW-Superior has not lost more than two games in a row this season. The Yellowjackets are also looking for their first two-game winning streak when they head to Saint Mary's on Thursday. … UW-Superior's 82 points against St. Scholastica on Dec. 17 was one point shy of the season-high 83 points the Yellowjackets scored in their season-opening 83-67 win over Dominican on Nov. 17. … UW-Superior boasted a pair of double-doubles against St. Scholastica on Dec. 17, as Sally Linzmeier netted a game-high 17 points and added 10 rebounds, while Hailey Hart chipped in 16 points and 10 boards. … UW-Superior boasted a season-high five players in double figures against St. Scholastica. … With her 16 points against St. Scholastica, Hart moved into 11th place on the all-time UW-Superior scoring list with 890 points, 43 points back of Maggie Dittburner for 10th. … Linzmeier has now led the team in scoring in back-to-back games and is one of three Yellowjackets averaging in double figures. Connie Urmanski leads the way at 13.7 ppg, followed by Linzmeier (12.8) and Hart (11.4). … Hart also leads the team in rebounding (74, 8.2 rpg). … Urmanski has netted half of the Yellowjackets' 44 3-pointers this season. … UW-Superior's win over St. Scholastica on Dec. 17 was the Yellowjackets' third in three home contests this season. … The Yellowjackets enter Thursday's game at Saint Mary's averaging 70.3 ppg, while holding their opponents to 66.7 ppg.