ST. JOSEPH, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team is back on the road on Saturday, as the Cardinals head to Saint Benedict for a 3 p.m. conference contest against the Blazers.



The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-1 MIAC | 5-1 Overall)
At Saint Benedict Blazers (3-1 MIAC | 5-2 Overall)

GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats | Live Video | Video Preview

Last Action:
The Cardinals saw their season-opening five-game winning streak come to a screeching halt Wednesday, as fourth-ranked St. Thomas used a 21-2 second-half run to pull away in handing SMU a 65-44 setback at Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul, Minn. … Saint Benedict, meanwhile, held off a late Macalester charge to post their second straight win, a 57-47 MIAC win over the Scots in St. Paul, Minn.

SMU vs. Saint Benedict — A Year Ago:
December 5, 2011: The Cardinals, trailing perennial Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference powerhouse Saint Benedict by four points with one minute remaining in regulation, scored the game's final seven points to hand the Blazers a 54-50 conference setback at the SMU Gym.
January 25, 2012: Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) scored 15 points, Courtney Euerle (Litchfield, Minn.) added a double-double of 14 points and 13 rebounds, and Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) chipped in 10 points, as SMU completed a conference sweep of Saint Benedict with a 55-50 win in St. Joseph, Minn.

Up Next:
The Cardinals are back on the road on Saturday, traveling to St. Joseph, Minn., for a 3 p.m. conference game against Saint Benedict, … St.. Thomas, meanwhile, is off until next Tuesday, when UST hosts St. Olaf in a 7:30 p.m. MIAC game at Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul, Minn.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
The Cardinals' 54-50 win over Saint Benedict in the teams' first meeting a year ago snapped SMU's 10-game losing streak against the Blazers, dating back to a 61-54 SMU win on Feb. 7, 2005. … With their 55-50 win at CSB in the teams' second meeting a year ago, SMU put an end to a 26-game losing streak on the Blazers' home court — dating back to a 59-42 win on Jan. 24, 1986. That win also gave the Cardinals' their first conference series sweep of CSB since that same 1985-86 season. … Saturday's game at Saint Benedict is the second of three straight road games for the Cardinals to close out the 2012 portion of their schedule. … SMU's loss to fourth-ranked St. Thomas 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. … Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) scored a game-high 20 points against St. Thomas Wednesday. 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. … Sara Schoenthaler (Hugo, Minn.) chipped in a season-best 10 points against the Tommies Wednesday. … Jessica Thone, coming off a 16-point performance against Hamline on Monday, was held to just four points against the Tommies. It was just the third time in the last 22 games that the SMU senior has been held under 10 points. … With her four points vs. the Tommies, Thone moved to within 122 points of becoming the 10th player in SMU women's basketball history to reach the 1,000 career point plateau. …  Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) recorded her second double-double of the season vs. Hamline Monday, netting 15 points and adding 12 rebounds. Stefely has now recorded 13 double-doubles in her collegiate career. … The Cardinals have had a player notch a double-double in three of their six games this season. Along with Stefely's two, Courtney Euerle (Litchfield, Minn.) posted an 11-point, 10-rebound performance against St. Catherine last Saturday. It was the fourth double-double of Euerle's career. … Stefely enters Saturday's showdown with Saint Benedict averaging a team-best 13.8 ppg, while Thone is second at 9.7. … Courtney Athnos (La Crosse, Wis.) scored a career-high 10 points against Hamline Monday. … Thone, the conference assist leader a year ago with 123, has dished out a team-best 25 assists in six games this season. … The Cardinals' limited St. Catherine to 22 points in last Saturday's 40-22 victory. 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 held St. Catherine to just nine first-half points on Saturday. It was 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 336-272 — including 187-126 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 Saint Benedict Blazers:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
Saint Benedict enters Saturday's game with Saint Mary's having won two straight and three of their last four. … Macalester's 47 points Wednesday were the fewest allowed by the Blazers this season, while CSB's 57 points in the 57-44 win over the Scots were also a season-low. … CSB scored a season-best 87 points in an 87-72 win over Hamline on Nov. 28. … Breanna Barrett scored a game-high 20 points against Macalester Wednesday, while Tish Alexander also finished in double figures with 12 points. … Barrett's 20 points marked the Blazers' highest individual offensive output of the season. … Barrett has now scored in double figures in three straight games and four times this season. … Barrett enters Saturday's game against Saint Mary's as the only Blazer averaging in double figures, scoring at a 13.0 ppg clip. … Jamie Wollin is the team's rebounding leader, owning 46 boards (6.6 rpg). … CSB holds a 477-431 scoring edge, outscoring its opponents 230-211 in the first half and 247-220 after halftime. … Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the final home game before the semester break for the Blazers, who close out the 2012 portion of their schedule at Augsburg on Wednesday. … CSB has lost just once in three games on its home court, falling ot Gustavus 64-61 on Dec. 1.