NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team opens MIAC Tournament play on Tuesday, traveling to St. Olaf for a 7:30 p.m. contest against the fourth-seeded Oles.



The Matchup:
No. 5 Saint Mary's Cardinals (13-9 MIAC | 13-12 Overall)
at No. 4 St. Olaf Oles (14-8 MIAC | 17-8 Overall)

GameDay Live On The Web:
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MIAC Playoff Schedule:
Quarterfinals: Tuesday, Feb. 21
No. 6 Bethel at No. 3 Concordia, 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 5 Saint Mary's at No. 4 St. Olaf, 7:30 p.m.
Semifinals: Thursday, Feb. 23
Lowest remaining seed at No. 1 St. Thomas, 7:30 p.m.
Second-lowest remaining seed at No. 2 Gustavus, 7:30 p.m.
Championship: Saturday, Feb. 25
Semifinal winners at highest remaining seed, 3 p.m.

Final Weekend MIAC Playoff Frenzy:
Top-seeded St. Thomas (24-1, 22-0 MIAC) completed a perfect run through the conference to claim the regular season title, and the Tommies will enter the postseason on a 24-game winning streak, only losing their 2012 debut to UW-Stevens Point. Second-seeded Gustavus (19-6, 17-5 MIAC) also ended the regular season with win Saturday as both of the top seeds knocked off other MIAC playoff teams. UST beat Saint Mary's, 64-51, and Gustavus held off Bethel, 70-53, to put the Cardinals (13-12, 13-9) and Royals (14-11, 12-10) into the No. 5 and No. 6 spots, respectively. The other two teams in the field, Concordia (17-8, 15-7 MIAC) and St. Olaf (17-8, 14-8 MIAC), both won a pair of close games Saturday to lock up the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds, and both have earned the right to host Tuesday's quarterfinal games. Concordia scored a narrow home win over Saint Benedict, 63-57, and St. Olaf survived with a three-point win over rival Carleton (60-57) to head into the postseason with a little momentum.

SMU-St. Olaf Last Action:
The Cardinals got a game-high 21 points from Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.), but it was not enough to slow down red-hot St. Thomas, as the regular-season champion Tommies won their 24th straight by beating SMU 64-51 Saturday in St. Paul, Minn. … St. Olaf, meanwhile, held off a late Carleton rally to beat the Knights 60-57 in Northfield, Minn., to lock up the No. 4 seed and the home court advantage for Tuesday's conference tournament opener.

SMU vs. St. Olaf — Earlier This Year:
December 3, 2011: St. Olaf's near-perfect effort from the free throw line down the stretch proved to be the Cardinals' 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 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at Skoglund Center in Northfield, Minn.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule | 2011-12 Media Guide
SMU is making its first post-season appearance since the 2004-2005 season. … The Cardinals' 60-56 win over Hamline on Feb. 15 was their 13th of the season — the most since SMU went 18-8 during the 2004-2005 season. … The Cardinals come into post-season play having won two of their last three and four of their last six. … SMU is 10-5 in its last 15 games. … Ten of the Cardinals' 25 games have been decided by five points or less. … Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) scored a game-high 21 points in the Cardinals' season-finale against St. Thomas last Saturday. … The 21-point effort was just four points shy of Stefely's career high and marked the 19 this time season the Cardinal junior has scored in double figures. … The Cardinals have had a 20-point scorer five times this season — two coming from Stefely and the other three from Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.). … Thone, who has led the team in scoring in eight of SMU's last 10 games, chipped in 15 points against the Tommies last Saturday. … Thone, who enters Tuesday's playoff opener against St. Olaf averaging a team-best 13.4 ppg, has now scored 10 or more points 19 times this season. … Stefely leads the team with 191 rebounds (7.6 rpg) and owns a team-best seven double-doubles this season. … As a team, SMU has recorded 11 double-doubles this season. Along with Stefely's seven, Courtney Euerle (Litchfield, Minn.) owns three and Thone has one. … Stefely, Euerle (155) and Thone (107) have all eclipsed the 100-rebound plateau this season. … Thone, who eclipsed the 100-assist mark with six helpers against Macalester on Feb. 4, leads the team — and the entire MIAC — with 116 assists this season. … Thone's 116 assists rank No. 5 all-time and are the most since Jamie Rattunde dished out 125 in both the 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 seasons. … Thone also leads the team in 3-pointers (36) and free throws made (91). … Stefely also enters Tuesday's tournament opener at St. Olaf averaging in double figures at 12.3 ppg. … Five of the Cardinals' 13 wins have come when SMU trailed at halftime. … The Cardinals, who are averaging 56.7 ppg this season, have knocked down 108 3-pointers. … The Cardinals missed just one free throw in their win over Hamline on Feb. 15, going 21-for-22 — led by Euerle (8-for-8), Thone (7-for-7) and Stefely (4-for-4). … SMU's 20 steals in its 60-59 OT loss to Concordia on Jan. 29 were a season high. … The Cardinals' top two offensive performance have both come against St. Catherine — 69 points in their 69-44 win on Jan. 2, and 67 in their 67-44 victory on Feb. 1. …  SMU's 60-59 loss vs. Concordia on Jan. 29 was the first overtime game of the season for the Cardinals, who are still looking for their first OT win since a 73-69 double-overtime victory over Bethel on Jan. 24, 2009. SMU was 0-2 in OT games a year ago, and 0-1 in 2009-10. … The Cardinals enjoyed a season-high five-game winning streak in early January, it was their longest since opening the 204-05 season with five consecutive wins. … With their 55-50 win at Saint Benedict on Jan. 25, the Cardinals put an end to a pair of streaks that started during the 1986-87 season. SMU put an end to a 26-game losing streak at Saint Benedict, while also completing its first season sweep of the Blazers since beating CSB 57-53 and 59-42 during the 1985-86 season. … SMU's 61-60 win over Carleton on Jan. 18 was the Cardinals' second-straight one-point win over the Knights this season. SMU dropped Carleton 58-57 to opening conference play on Nov. 30.

St. Olaf Oles News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule
The Oles are making their first post-season appearance since the 2001-2002 season, when St. Olaf compiled an 11-11 conference mark. … St. Olaf's 17 overall wins are the most since the Oles went 19-6 in 1998-1999. … The Oles' 14 conference victories, meanwhile, are also the most since that 1998-1999 season, when St. Olaf finished third in the MIAC standings at 18-4. … The Oles enter post-season play riding a two-game winning streak. St. Olaf is 4-2 in its last six games — sandwiching a pair of two-game winning streaks around back-to-back road losses at Concordia and Saint Benedict. … Two of St. Olaf's last four wins have come by four points or less — a 59-55 win over Bethel on Feb. 4 and last Saturday's 60-57 victory over Carleton. … Mackenzie Wolter scored a game-high 20 points — including a 4-for-6 effort from behind the 3-point line. … Elise Raney chipped in 12 points for the Oles vs. Carleton. … With her 20-point effort, Wolter has now led the team in scoring in three of their last four games. … Wolter has now scored 20 or more points three times this season, having scored a season-high 27 points against Macalester on Dec. 5 and 21 vs. St. Catherine on Jan. 16. … Wolter and Raney enter Tuesday's playoff opener as the team's scoring leaders, averaging 13.4 ppg and 10.8 ppg, respectively. … St. Olaf has drained 134 3-pointers this season, with Wolter (44), Addy Bates (38) and Kirstee Rotty (23) accounting for 105 of them. … St. Olaf boasts three players with 100 or more rebounds, led by Rotty with 136 (5.4 rpg). Sheridan Blanford (105) and Wolter (104) are the other two. … Wolter also owns a team-leading 82 assists. … St. Olaf has had six games with at least one player scoring 20 or more points this season. … As a team, the Oles are averaging 62.2 ppg, … St. Olaf has scored 70 or more points six times — including a season-high 92 points in a 92-58 win over St. Catherine on Jan. 16. … Eleven of St. Olaf's 17 wins have come at home. The Oles are 11-1 at Skoglund Center.