ST. PETER, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team puts its 4-1 conference record on the line on Wednesday, as the Cardinals travel to Gus Young Court for a 7:30 p.m. MIAC game against league-leading Gustavus.



The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-1 MIAC | 7-1 Overall)
at Gustavus Gusties (5-0 MIAC | 6-2 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals got 14 points from Courtney Euerle (Litchfield, Minn.) and completed a perfect nonconference schedule with a 56-45 victory over UW-La Crosse on Dec. 12 in La Crosse, Wis. … The Gusties, meanwhile, are also coming off a lengthy holiday break, having not played since handing Carleton 58-47 MIAC setback on Dec. 8 in Northfield, Minn.

SMU vs. Gustavus — A Year Ago:
January 4, 2012: SMU's game against Gustavus started well for the Cardinals — as Kaitlyn Keefe (Chatfield, Minn.) drained a 3-pointer for an early 3-0 SMU lead. And it ended on a high note, as the Cardinals closed the game on a 5-0 run. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the in-between wasn't nearly as memorable, as Gustavus raced out to a 38-20 halftime advantage and never looked back in handing the Cardinals a 59-45 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the SMU Gym.
February 8, 2012: Gustavus turned a one-point, 29-28 halftime advantage into a 14-point victory, outscoring SMU 41-28 over the game's final 20 minutes in dealing the Cardinals a 70-56 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at Gus Young Court.

Up Next:
The Cardinals remain on the road on Saturday, as SMU heads to Northfield, Minn., for a 1 p.m. conference showdown against Carleton. … Gustavus, meanwhile, is back on Gus Young Court on Saturday, as the Gusties entertain Hamline in a 1 p.m. MIAC contest in St. Peter, Minn.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
SMU's 56-45 victory over UW-La Crosse on Dec. 12 completed a perfect 3-0 nonconference showing for the Cardinals, who also beat Alma (67-36) and Olivet (69-49) in non-league play. … With their victory over UW-La Crosse, the Cardinals improved to 7-1 overall — their best start since the Cardinals went 19-0 to open the 1985-86 season. … Wednesday's game at Gustavus is the fourth of six straight road games for the Cardinals. … Courtney Euerle (Litchfield, Minn.) scored a season-high 14 points in the Cardinals' win over UW-La Crosse on Dec. 12. … Euerle, who notched her first double-double of the season with an 11-point, 10-rebound performance against St. Catherine on Dec. 1, missed double-double No. 2 by one rebound vs. UW-L. … Euerle and Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) have accounted for SMU's three double-doubles this season. Stefely owns 13 career double-doubles, while Euerle has recorded four in her three-year collegiate career. … Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.), who has scored 10 or more points in 20 of the Cardinals' last 24 games, is just 100 points shy of becoming the 10th player in SMU women's basketball history to eclipse the 1,000 career point plateau. … Stefely had her streak of consecutive games with 10 or more points snapped vs. UW-L, as the Eagles held Stefely to eight points. … Stefely scored a game-high 20 points against St. Thomas on Dec. 5. It was the second time this season and fifth time in her collegiate career that Stefely has eclipsed the 20-point barrier. … Stefely's 20-point night was just five points shy of her collegiate-best 25-point showing against Macalester on Jan. 7, 2012. … Stefely enters Wednesday's conference game at Gustavus averaging a team-best 12.4 ppg, while Thone is second at 9.8 ppg and Euerle is third at 8.1 ppg. … Sara Schoenthaler (Hugo, Minn.) and Courtney Athnos (La Crosse, Wis.) have each recorded career-high individual performances this season, with Athnos netting a career-best 10 points against Hamline on Dec. 3, while Schoenthaler tallied a career-high 11 points against St. Thomas on Dec. 5. … Thone, the conference assist leader a year ago with 123, has dished out a team-best 32 assists in eight games this season. … Thone has also knocked down eight of the team's 27 3-pointers. … SMU's loss to fourth-ranked St. Thomas on Dec. 5 snapped their season-opening five-game winning streak. It was the second straight season the Cardinals have put together a five-game win streak, and the first time they had opened the year 5-0 since 2004-05. … After snapping a 26-game losing streak on Saint Benedict's home court with a 55-50 win a year ago, the Cardinals collected their second win on the Blazers' home court — and third straight over CSB overall — with the 60-58 victory on Dec. 8. … The Cardinals' limited St. Catherine to 22 points in their 40-22 victory on Dec. 1. It was the fewest points allowed since SMU held Northwestern to 18 points in a 71-18 win on Feb. 16, 1979. … Saint Mary's also held St. Catherine to just nine first-half points, the fewest points allowed in a half by the Cardinals since limiting Augsburg to nine first-half points on Feb. 11, 2012. … The Cardinals have outscored their opponents 452-375 — including 249-186 in the first half. … 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 Gustavus Gusties:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
After opening the season with just one win in their first three games, the Gusties have rattled off five straight wins heading into Wednesday's showdown with Saint Mary's. … Gustavus' 5-0 conference start is its best since opening MIAC play with five straight wins in 2009-10. … Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's is just the second home game of the season for the Gusties, who beat St. Olaf 60-57 on their only home-court game on Dec. 3. … Abby Rothenbuehler — who has led the team in scoring in four of their last five games — leads a trio of Gusties averaging in double figures, scoring 13.6 points-per-game. Julie Dysthe (12.9 ppg) and Kelsey Florian (10.3 ppg) are also averaging in double figures. … Rothenbuehler has also been the team's rebounding leader, hauling in 73 boards (9.1 rpg) through eight games. … Rothenbuehler has notched three double-doubles this season, including in each of the Gusties' last two games. … Rothenbuehler owns the team's single-game highs in both points (23 vs. Augsburg on Nov. 28) and rebounds (15 vs. Simpson on on Nov. 23). … Dysthe has drained 11 of the team's 26 3-point field goals this season. … GAC boasts five players with 10 or more assists, led by Flrian with 22. … As a team, Gustavus has been outscored by just two points through eight games this season — with the Gusties and their opponents both scoring 255 points after halftime. …