WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team is back in action on Saturday, as the Cardinals host St. Catherine in a 3 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest at the SMU Gym.



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

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Last Action:
The Cardinals opened Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play in convincing fashion Wednesday, cruising to a 54-47 win over St. Olaf at the SMU Gym. … St. Catherine, meanwhile, dropped its conference opener, as Carleton used a 16-8 run over the game's final six minutes to pull away for a 75-62 win at Butler Center in St. Paul, Minn.

SMU vs. St. Catherine — A Year Ago:
January 2, 2012: SMU kicked off the new year in grand fashion on Monday, as the Cardinals got double-figure scoring from Courtney Euerle (Hutchinson, Minn.) and Brittany Begrowicz (Des Plaines, Ill.) in cruising to a 69-44 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over St. Catherine in St. Paul, Minn.
February 1, 2012: For the first 12 minutes, St. Catherine gave SMU all it could handle. Then the Cardinals put their foot on the gas — and never let up — in rolling to a 67-44 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory over the Wildcats at the SMU Gym.

Up Next:
The Cardinals are right back on their home court on Monday, as SMU hosts Hamline in a 7:30 p.m. conference game at the SMU Gym. … St. Catherine, meanwhile, returns home on Monday, as the Wildcats host Macalester in a 7:30 p.m. MIAC game at Butler Center in St. Paul, Minn.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
With Wednesday's 54-47 win over St. Olaf the Cardinals improved to 3-0 for the first time since the start of the 2004-05 season, when they kicked off the year with five straight wins — including three consecutive victories to open the MIAC season. … The Cardinals have now won their conference opener in each of the last three seasons. … Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) led a balanced Cardinal offensive attack against St. Olaf, scoring a team-best 11 points. … Nine of the 10 Cardinals who took the court Wednesday vs. the Oles scored at least three points. … Thone also boasted a team-leading eight rebounds, missing her second collegiate double-double by two boards. … Thone has now scored 10 or more points in 19 of her last 20 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 11 points against St. Olaf Wednesday, Thone closed to within 145 points of becoming the 10th player in SMU women's basketball history to reach the 1,000 career-point plateau. … Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) enters Saturday's game vs. St. Catherine with an 11.3 ppg scoring average, while Thone is close behind at 11.0 ppg. … Stefely's 21-point performance vs. Olivet on Nov. 17 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. … 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.

Scouting The St. Catherine Wildcats:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
Wednesday's game against Carleton was St. Catherine's first home game of the season. The Wildcats play four of their first five and five of their first seven contests on the road. … After scoring just 45 points in a season-opening 67-45 loss to Alverno, the Wildcats have ramped up their offense, scoring 58 points in a win over Stephens College and adding a season-high 62 points in Wednesday's loss to Carleton. … Sarah Mong tossed in a game-high 20 points vs. Carleton Wednesday — going 9-for-11 from the field. … Saraina Baker put together an impressive second half against the Knights, scoring 17 of her 19 points in the game's final 20 minutes. … Baker, the Wildcats' leading scorer a year ago, also hauled in 11 rebounds Wednesday for her first double-double of the season. … Baker enters Saturday's game against Saint Mary's boasting a team-leading 19.0 ppg scoring average, while Mong is also averaging in double figures at 15.0 ppg. … Mong has hit 11 of her 12 free throw attemps this season. … Kristen Lee has drained four of the team's 10 3-pointers.