ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team continues its post-season run on Thursday, as the fifth-seeded Cardinals travel to top-seeded St. Thomas for a 7:30 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference playoff semifinal at UST's Schoenekcer Arena.



The Matchup:
#5 Saint Mary's Cardinals (14-12 Overall)
at #1 St. Thomas Tommies (24-1 Overall)

GameDay Live On The Web:
Streaming Audio/Video | Video Preview | MIAC Tournament Homepage

MIAC Playoff Schedule:
Quarterfinals: Tuesday, Feb. 21
#3 Concordia 55, #6 Bethel 50 | Recap
#5 Saint Mary's 55, #4 St. Olaf 52 | Recap
Semifinals: Thursday, Feb. 23
#5 Saint Mary's at #1 St. Thomas, 7:30 p.m.
#3 Concordia at #2 Gustavus, 7:30 p.m.
Championship: Saturday, Feb. 25
Semifinal winners at highest remaining seed, 3 p.m.

SMU-St. Thomas Last Action:
The Cardinals picked up their first post-season victory since the 2004-2005 season Tuesday evening, as the Cardinals scored the game's final nine points in handing fourth-seeded St. Olaf a 55-52 setback in their MIAC playoff opener in Northfield, Minn. … St. Thomas, which earned a first-round playoff bye after claiming the regular-season conference title, has been off since last Saturday, when the Tommies held off Saint Mary's 64-51 in the teams' regular-season finale at Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul, Minn.

SMU vs. St. Thomas — Earlier This Year:
January 21, 2012: After managing just nine first-half points against the high-powered Tommies, the Cardinals erupted for 40 points over the game's final 20 minutes. SMU's furious, second-half rally, however, fell just short, as UST hung on for a 56-49 conference win at the SMU Gym.
February 18, 2012: The Tommies built an eight-point halftime lead and never let the Cardinals claw their way back in, as UST completed a perfect 22-0 run through the conference schedule with a 64-51 win over SMU at Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul, Minn.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule | 2011-12 Media Guide
The Cardinals picked up their first post-season victory since the 2004-2005 season with Tuesday's 55-52 win over St. Olaf. … With a win over top-seed St. Thomas Thursday, the Cardinals would earn their first-ever trip to the MIAC tournament title game. … The Cardinals' win over St. Olaf Tuesday was their 14th of the season — the most since SMU went 18-8 during the 2004-2005 season. … The Cardinals enter Thursday's game against St. Thomas having won three of their last four and five of their last seven. … SMU is 11-5 in its last 16 games. … Tuesday's win over St. Olaf marked the sixth time this season the Cardinals have won when trailing at halftime. … Tuesday's three-point win is also the 11th game this season decided by five points or less. Nine of SMU's 14 wins have been by five points or less. … Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) scored a game-high 18 points against St. Olaf Tuesday. … Thone has now led the team in scoring in nine of the team's last 11 games, and enters Thursday's showdown with St. Thomas averaging a team-leading 13.6 ppg. … Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) chipped in 12 points against St. Olaf Thursday. … Thone and Stefely have each scored 10 or more points 20 times this season. … The Cardinals have had a 20-point scorer five times this season, the most recent a 21-point effort from Stefely against St. Thomas in the teams' regular-season finale last Saturday. … Stefely leads the team with 197 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 (159) and Thone (109) 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 120 assists this season. … Thone's 120 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 (39) and free throws made (98). … Stefely also enters Thursday's MIAC tournament semifinal at. St. Thomas averaging in double figures at 12.3 ppg. … Adrianna Stephens (Madison, Wis.) pulled down a career-high eight rebounds against St. Olaf Tuesday. … The Cardinals, who are averaging 56.6 ppg this season, have knocked down 114 3-pointers — including six against St. Olaf. … Five of SMU's six treys vs. the Oles Tuesday came in the first half. … 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 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 win streak 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. Thomas Tommies News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule
The Tommies enter post-season play riding a 24-game winning streak — the Tommies have not lost since opening the season with a 70-53 loss to UW-Stevens Point. … St. Thomas' 24-game win streak is the program's longest since 1999-2000 when it won 26 in a row en route to a third-place NCAA finish. … The Tommies have won 33 of their last 36, dating back to last season. … UST joined the national top-25 polls in late January — the program's first Division III ranking in 10 seasons. St. Thomas has climbed to No. 11 in the WBCA Coaches poll, and No. 13 by D3Hoops.com, and sits No. 2 in the NCAA West Region. … St. Thomas — making its 25th post-season appearance in the last 26 years — has won either the MIAC regular-season or playoff championship in four of the past five seasons. The Tomnies are 52-7 against conference opponents since January 2010, and 33-3 against all foes since January 2011. … UST improved to 11-0 at home with last Saturday's 64-51 over Saint Mary's. … Taylor Young scored a team-high 14 points in UST's regular-season finale vs. Saint Mary's last Saturday and enters post-season play as the Tommies' scoring leader, averaging 13.2 ppg. She is the only UST player averaging more than 12 ppg. … UST is getting nearly 25 ppg from its bench. … Ali Johnson, who boasts a team-leading 39 3-pointers this season, has made 159 career 3-point baskets. … UST is on school-record pace for free-throw percentage (.761) and close to a record pace for fewest points allowed (51.1 ppg). … The Tommies are converting 46 percent from the floor (36.0 percent from 3-point range). … Coach Ruth Sinn's last six St. Thomas teams have compiled a 40-9 record in February games. … UST allowed just 49.2 ppg in its 22-0 run through the conference. That's the fewest points allowed by an MIAC team since the 1998-99 Tommies surrendered only 48.6 ppg in a conference runner-up finish. … In two seasons playing in the new Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex, the Tommies are 21-2 against conference opponents, with both defeats to Concordia-Moorhead in 2010-11.