WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team is back on its home court for a third straight game, as the Cardinals host Macalester in a 1 p.m. conference contest at the SMU Gym.



The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (10-7 MIAC | 10-10 Overall)
vs. Macalester Scots (7-10 MIAC | 9-11 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals used an 18-0 run to end the first half, as they cruised to a 67-44 MIAC win over St. Catherine Wednesday at the SMU Gym. … Macalester, meanwhile, kept its post-season playoff hopes alive with a 64-46 win over Carleton at Leonard Center in St. Paul, Minn.

MIAC Playoff Picture:
With St. Thomas (17-0) and Gustavus (14-3) having already locked up playoff berths, there are seven teams battling for the final four spots with five games remaining. Concordia and St. Olaf are currently tied for third at 11-6, with Saint Mary's and Bethel one game behind, tied for fifth at 10-7. Augsburg is currently on the outside looking in, sitting in seventh at 9-8, while Macalester and Saint Benedict are still mathematically alive at 7-10.

SMU vs. Macalester — Earlier This Year:
January 7, 2012: Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) poured in career-high 25 points and added 10 rebounds in leading the Cardinals to a 65-59 MIAC win over Macalester at Leonard Center in St. Paul, Minn.

SMU vs. Macalester — A Year Ago:
December 4, 2010: Down by three at the half, the Cardinals regrouped in the second half, whittling away at the Scots' lead, before finally taking just their second lead of the game, 55-53, with 7:29 remaining — and SMU never looked back in beating Macalester 66-60 at Leonard Center in St. Paul, Minn.
January 29, 2011: SMU held a 51-33 lead with 10 minutes remaining, but Macalester went on an 18-1 run to end the game. That one point, however, turned out to be the difference as the Cardinals held off the Scots 52-51 at SMU Gym.

Up Next:
The Cardinals take to the road on Wednesday, traveling to St. Peter, Minn., for a 7:30 p.m. showdown with Gustavus. … Macalester, meanwhile, is also on the road on Wednesday, heading to Minneapolis, Minn., for a 7:30 p.m. conference game against Augsburg.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule | 2011-12 Media Guide
Saturday's game against Macalester is the third straight home game for the Cardinals. … With their 67-44 win over St. Catherine Wednesday, the Cardinals improved to 10-10 overall, marking the second straight year the Cardinals have won 10 or more games. … The win over St. Catherine was also the Cardinals' 10th conference win, their most since going 13-7 in 2004-2005, which was also the last time SMU reached the MIAC playoffs. … Fueled by their 67-44 win over St. Catherine Wednesday, SMU has now won seven of its last 10 games. … Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) scored 13 points against the Wildcats Wednesday, marking the fourth straight game in which the junior guard has led the team in scoring. Thone tossed in 20 points vs. Concordia Sunday, while netting 16 points against St. Olaf last Saturday and 15 points against Saint Benedict on Jan. 25. …  Thone's 20-point effort vs. Concordia marked the second time this season — and fifth time in her career — that the junior has netted 20 or more points. … Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.), who leads the team with six double-doubles this season and has collected eight in her career, chipped in 12 points against the Wildcats Wednesday. … With her second-straight 12-point effort on Wednesday, Stefely has now scored in double figures 12 times this season, including a career-high 25 points in SMU's first meeting against Macalester on Jan. 7. … SMU has recorded 10 double-doubles this season. Along with Stefely's six, Courtney Euerle (Litchfield, Minn.) owns three and Thone has one. … Thone has recorded one double-double in each of her three seasons at SMU. …  Thone enters Saturdday's game against Macalester boasting a team-leading 13.1 ppg. She is one of two SMU players averaging in double figures — Stefely (11.2 ppg) is the other, while Euerle is close behind at 8.9 ppg. … Stefely also boasts a team-best 156 rebounds (7.8 rpg). … The Cardinals, who are averaging 56.6 ppg this season, have knocked down 83 3-pointers, led by Thone with 27. … SMU's 20 steals in its 60-59 OT loss to Concordia Sunday 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 Wednesday's 67-44 victory. …  Last Sunday's 60-59 vs. Concordia 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. … 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. The Cardinals finished 20-2 and placed third in the NCAA Division III Regional that year. … The Cardinals scored a season-high 40 second-half points in their Jan. 21, 56-49 loss to St. Thomas. … 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.

Macalester Scots News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule
Macalester's 64-46 win over Carleton Wednesday snapped the Scots' two-game losing streak. The Scots' two-game losing streak marked just the second time this season Macalester has lost two or more games in a row. … Macalester has scored 60 or more points in eight of their nine wins. The lone exceptions, a 59-point performance in a 59-50 win over St. Olaf on Jan. 25. … On the flip side, Macalester has been held under 60 points in all 11 losses. … Holly Schiedermayer scored a game-high 20 points and missed a double-double by one rebound in leading Macalester over Carleton Wednesday. … Schiedermayer converted her first nine shots vs. Carleton — all in the first half. … Schiedermayer has now led the team in scoring in 13 of their 20 games. … The 20-point effort was also the seventh time this season Schiedermayer has scored 20 or more points. … Schiedermayer enters Saturday's game at Saint Mary's with a team-leading 15.2 ppg scoring average. Jessica Rene is also averaging in double figures at 10.5 ppg. … Along with her team-leading scoring average, Schiedermayer also owns a team-best 154 rebounds (7.7 rpg). … As a team, the Scots are averaging 57.8 ppg, including scoring a season-high 79 points in a 79-62 win over St. Catherine on Jan. 11.