ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team returns to conference play on Monday, as the Cardinals head to St. Catherine for a 7:30 p.m. showdown against the Wildcats.



The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-3 MIAC | 2-6 Overall)
at St. Catherine Wildcats (0-5 MIAC | 1-7 Overall)

GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats | Streaming Audio/Video

Last Action:
The Cardinals closed out the 2011 portion of their schedule last Thursday, dropping a 63-56 decision to UW-Superior at the SMU Gym. … St. Catherine, meanwhile, has been off since Dec. 13, when the Wildcats dropped a 75-58 conference decision at Macalester in St. Paul, Minn.

SMU vs. St. Catherine — A Year Ago:
January 12, 2011: The final score was a 19-point victory, but there was nothing easy about the Cardinals' 76-57 win over St. Catherine at the SMU Gym. What did look easy, however, was Jess Miller's scoring effort, as the senior scored 21 — including a turn-around jumper from the paint that gave her career point No. 1,000.
February 14, 2011: The Cardinals entered their MIAC rematch at St. Catherine a half-game behind Macalester for the sixth and final conference playoff spot. A win over the Wildcats, and SMU would pull even with the idle Scots with two regular-season games remaining. Unfortunately, the Wildcats proved to be rather ungracious hosts, as St. Catherine rallied from an 11-point, second-half deficit to beat the Cardinals, 70-60.

Up Next:
The Cardinals return home on Wednesday, as SMU hosts Gustavus in a 7:30 p.m. conference game at the SMU Gym. … St. Catherine, meanwhile, stays at home on Wednesday, hosting St. Thomas in a 7:30 p.m. MIAC showdown at Butler Center in St. Paul, Minn.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule | 2011-12 Media Guide
Last Thursday's game against UW-Superior was the sixth home game in their first eight games. The Cardinals play two of their three games this week on the road. … Last Thursday's loss to the UW-Superior was the final nonconference game of the season for the Cardinals. … Both of SMU's wins this season have come on the Cardinals' home court. … Octavia Brown (Broadview, Ill.) led the Cardinals in scoring against UW-Superior, netting a career-high 13 points, while Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) and Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) chipped in 12 and 11 points, respectively. … Thone also missed her first double-double of the season, finishing with nine rebounds — all on the defensive end. … Thone, who has led the team in scoring in three of their last four games, 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. … 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. … Stefely 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. … SMU enters Monday's game against St. Catherine boasting a pair of players averaging in double figures — Thone (13.1 ppg) and Stefely (10.6 ppg), while Euerle is close behind at 9.1 ppg. … Stefely also leads the team in rebounds with 67 (8.4 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.

St. Catherine Wildcats News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule
St. Catherine's 75-58 loss at Macalester pushed the Wildcats' losing streak to seven straight. SCU is looking for its first win since opening the season with a 69-63 victory over St. Scholastica on Nov. 18. … The Wildcats' 58-point effort against Macalester marked just the third time this season SCU has failed to score at least 60 points. … St. Catherine netted a season-high 100 points in a 106-100, double-overtime loss at Hamline on Dec. 3. … SCU's 100 points vs. Hamline were a school record. … Julie Muegge scored a school-record 32 points in that double-OT loss at Hamline on Dec. 3. … Sarina Baker, who has led the team in scoring in each of their last four games — including a season-high 27 points effort against Elmhurst on Dec. 10 and a 21-point showing against Macalester three days later — enters Monday's game against Saint Mary's averaging a team-best 18.3 ppg, while Muegge is also averaging in double figures at 13.0 ppg. … Kristen Lee owns a team-best 42 rebounds, one more than Baker and Sarah Mong. … The Wildcats have made 32 3-pointers this season, led by Muegge with 11.  … St. Catherine is still looking for its first home win of the season, going 0-2 at Butler Center, while owning a 1-5 mark away from home.