WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team plays its second game in three nights on Wednesday, as the Cardinals host Gustavus in a 7:30 p.m. conference game at the SMU Gym.



The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-3 MIAC | 3-6 Overall)
vs. Gustavus Gusties (5-1 MIAC | 7-2 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals kicked off 2012 in impressive fashion Monday, cruising to a 69-44 conference win over St. Catherine in St. Paul, Minn. … Gustavus, meanwhile, pushed its conference record to 5-1 with a 62-48 MIAC victory over St. Olaf in St. Peter, Minn.

SMU vs. Gustavus — A Year Ago:
January 22, 2011: No matter what they tried to do, the Cardinals just couldn't get over the hump against Gustavus. The Cardinals had numerous opportunities to overcome deficits, but never could quite get the job done, as they fell to the Gusties 64-49 in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game at the SMU Gym.
February 19, 2011: Jess Miller made the most of her final collegiate game, as the SMU senior poured in a season-high 25 points. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, Miller's effort was not enough, as Gustavus held off a late SMU rally to post a 77-70 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory.

Up Next:
The Cardinals hit the road on Saturday, traveling to St. Paul, Minn., for a 1 p.m. conference showdown against Macalester. … Gustavus, meanwhile, are back in St. Peter, Minn., on Saturday, hosting St. Catherine in a 3 p.m. MIAC contest.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule | 2011-12 Media Guide
Wednesday's game against Gustavus is the seventh home game of the season for the Cardinals, who will play three straight and four of their next five contests on the road. … Monday's 69-44 victory over St. Catherine snapped the Cardinals' season-high four-game losing streak, and gave SMU its first road win of the season. … The Cardinals' 69 points against the Wildcats Monday were a season high, and marked the fourth time in nine games SMU has netted 60 or more points. … SMU also recorded season-highs in field goals (30), field goal attempts (78), 3-point attempts (23), rebounds (51), steals (15) and blocked shots (7) against St. Catherine. … Courtney Euerle (Hutchinson, Minn.) scored a team-high 12 points to pace the Cardinals vs. St. Catherine Monday, while Brittany Begrowicz (Des Plaines, Ill.) — playing in just her second game after missing SMU's first seven contests with a leg injury — chipped in 11 points. … Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.), who has led the team in scoring in three of their last five 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. … Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) missed out on her third double-double of the season — and fifth of her collegiate career — by one basket and one rebound vs. St. Catherine on Monday, scoring eight points and adding a team-high nine boards. …  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 Wednesday's game against Gustavus boasting a pair of players averaging in double figures — Thone (12.2 ppg) and Stefely (10.3 ppg), while Euerle is close behind at 9.4 ppg. … Stefely also leads the team in rebounds with 76 (8.4 rpg). … The Cardinals, who are averaging 58.8 ppg this season, have knocked down 45 3-pointers, led by Thone with 13.

Gustavus Gusties News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule
With their 62-48 win over St. Olaf on Monday, the Gusties pushed their season-high winning streak to four straight. … After opening the season with a 50-43 loss at UW-River Falls, GAC has won seven of its last eight. … Monday's win against the Oles also pushed the Gusties to 3-0 on their home court. … Molly Geske scored a team-high 17 points for the Gusties against St. Olaf Monday, while Kelsey Florian came off the bench to chip in 13 points. … Geske's 17-point effort was three points shy of her season-high 20-point performance against the University of Redlands on Nov. 26. …  Geske enters Wednesday's game at Saint Mary's averaging a team-best 12.0 ppg. … Florian leads the team in free throw percentage (.810), knocking down 34 of 42 attempts from the charity stripe. … Gustavus, which is averaging 61.8 ppg through nine games, scored a season-high 81 points in the Gusties' 81-64 victory over Saint Benedict on Dec. 10. … The Gusties have outscored their opponents by 101 points ¬— holding a 250-207 scoring advantage in the first half, while outscoring their opponents 306-248 over the game's final 20 minutes. … The Gusties have boasted the same starting lineup in all nine games this season ¬— Geske, Eli Benz, Colleen Ruane, Abby Rothenbuehler and Ava Perry.