WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team — coming off a 2-0 showing at the season-opening North Central (Ill.) Tip-Off Tournament — opens MIAC play on Wednesday, hosting St. Olaf in a 5:30 p.m. game at the SMU Gym.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-0 MIAC | 2-0 Overall)
vs. St. Olaf Oles (0-0 MIAC | 2-1 Overall)

GameDay Live On The Web:
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Last Action:
The Cardinals kicked off their 2012-13 season in impressive fashion, routing Alma (67-36) and Olivet (69-49) at the North Central (Ill.) Tip-Off Tournament in Naperville, Ill., on Nov. 16-17. … St. Olaf, meanwhile,  went 2-1 in its trip to Colorado Springs, Colo, last weekend, sandwiching wins against Colorado College (80-51) and Ohio Wesleyan (65-56) around a 73-59 loss to Lewis & Clark.

SMU vs. St. Olaf — A Year Ago:
December 3, 2011: The Cardinals gave undefeated St. Olaf all they could handle. Unfortunately, the Oles' near-perfect effort from the free throw line down the stretch proved to be their downfall, as St. Olaf outscored SMU 19-7 in the game's final seven minutes en route to a 76-64 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory at the SMU Gym.
January 28, 2012: St. Olaf scored 10 of the first 13 points to open the second half, as the Oles broke away from a 28-28 deadlock at the half to hand the Cardinals a 57-47 MIAC setback at Skoglund Center in Northfield, Minn.
February 21, 2012: The Cardinals, trailing by eight with 11 minutes remaining in regulation, outscored the Oles 19-8 the rest of the way to lift Saint Mary's to a 55-52 victory in the opening round of the MIAC playoffs at Skoglund Center in Northfield, Minn.

Up Next:
The Cardinals are right back on their home court on Saturday, as SMU hosts St. Catherine in a 3 p.m. conference contest at the SMU Gym. … St. Olaf, meanwhile, heads to St. Paul, Minn., on Saturday, where the Oles will square off against Macalester in a 1 p.m. MIAC showdown.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
With their 67-36 win over Alma (Mich.) and 69-49 victory over Olivet (Mich.) at the North Central (Ill.) Tip-Off Tournament on Nov. 16-17, the Cardinals have now started the season 2-0 for the second time in the last three years. … Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) averaged a team-best 15.0 ppg in SMU's two tournament games — including a game-high 21-point effort against Olivet on Nov. 17. … Stefely's 21-point performance vs. the Comets marked the fourth time in her collegiate career that the Cardinal senior has eclipsed the 20-point mark and was just four points shy of her collegiate-best 25-point showing against Macalester on Jan. 7, 2012. … Stefely also hauled in 11 rebounds vs. Olivet for her first double-double of the season. Stefely had seven double-doubles a year ago and now has 12 double-doubles in her career. … Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) scored 10 and 12 points in SMU's two tournament games in Naperville, Ill., and has now scored 10 or more points in 18 of her last 19 games. … Thone — who led the entire MIAC with 123 assists a year ago — equaled her collegiate-high, dishing out seven assists in SMU's win over Olivet on Nov. 17. … Thone's 123 assists a year ago ranked No. 5 all-time and are the most since Jamie Rattunde dished out 125 in both the 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 seasons. … With her 22 points in SMU's first two games, Thone closed to within 156 points of becoming the 10th player in SMU women's basketball history to reach the 1,000 career-point plateau. … The Cardinals' 69 points in their 69-49 win over Olivet on Nov. 17 equaled SMU's highest offensive output from all of last season. The Cardinals scored 69 points in a 69-44 win over St. Catherine on Jan. 2, 2012. … The Cardinals had 12 different players score at least one point in their season-opening win over Alma on Nov. 16.

Scouting The St. Olaf Oles:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's is the fourth of seven straight road games to open the season for St. Olaf, which does not play its first home game until entertaining St. Catherine on Dec. 5. … Kim Cerjan led the Oles in scoring in their first two games during their Colorado trip, netting 21 points vs. Colorado College and 16 against Lewis & Clark. Nikki Frogner was the team's leading scorer against Ohio Wesleyan, finishing with 20 points. … Cerjan enters Wednesday's conference-opener at Saint Mary's averaging a team-best 17.0 ppg, while Frogner is also averaging in double figures at 11.0 ppg. … Cerjan has accounted for 10 of the team's 23 3-point field goals, and is a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line. … Frogner also owns a team-best 19 rebounds, while Emily Wahlberg recorded nine-rebound performances in both games she played in Colorado. … As a team, St. Olaf is averaging 68.0 ppg, while the Oles' opponents are scoring at a 60.0 ppg clip. … The Oles have outscored their opponents 205-180, including 111-87 in the first half.