WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team puts its 6-3 conference record on the line Saturday, as the Cardinals host Bethel in a 1 p.m. MIAC game at the SMU Gym.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (6-3 MIAC | 9-3 Overall)
vs. Bethel Royals (1-8 MIAC | 2-10 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals used a 16-0 run early in the first half to erase a 4-0 Macalester lead and spark SMU to a 51-40 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over the Scots Wednesday at the SMU Gym. … Bethel, meanwhile, picked up its first conference win of the season Wednesday, as the Royals rolled to a 57-42 victory over St. Catherine in Arden Hills, Minn.

SMU vs. Bethel — A Year Ago:
December 10, 2011: For the second game in a row, the Cardinals found themselves staring at a 20-plus point halftime deficit. And, for the second game in a row, the Cardinals' second-half rally ran out of time, as Bethel held on down the stretch in handing SMU a 68-60 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the SMU Gym.
January 11, 2012: In the teams' first meeting on Dec. 10, Bethel raced out to a 42-21 halftime advantage, then held off a furious SMU comeback in handing the Cardinals a 68-60 setback at the SMU Gym. This time around, it was the Cardinals who held the big first-half advantage and held the Royals at bay over the final 20 minutes, as SMU — behind a game-high 16 points from Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) — picked up a 46-42 MIAC victory at BU's Robertson Center in Arden Hills, Minn.

Up Next:
The Cardinals hit the road on Wednesday, as SMU heads to Northfield, Minn., for a 5:45 p.m. conference showdown with St. Olaf. … Bethel, meanwhile, returns to the Robertson Center in Arden Hills, Minn., on Wednesday, as the Royals host Concordia in a 5:45 MIAC contest.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
After six straight road games, the Cardinals are playing the second of back-to-back home games when they host Bethel Saturday. … SMU's 51-40 win over Macalester Wednesday pushed their record to a perfect 4-0 on their home court. … Courtney Euerle (Litchfield, Minn.) scored a team-high 12 points against Macalester Monday, while Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) also finished in double figures with 10 points. … Euerle hauled in a game-high nine rebounds vs. Macalester, missing her second double-double of the season by one rebound. … Euerle notched her first double-double of the season with an 11-point, 10-rebound performance against St. Catherine on Dec. 1. … Stefely owns SMU's other two double-doubles this season, posting 21 points and 11 rebounds vs. Olivet on Nov. 17, and 15 points and 12 boards vs. Hamline on Dec. 3. … Stefely has amassed 13 career double-doubles, while Euerle has recorded four in her three-year collegiate career. … Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.), who scored a season-high 21 points against Gustavus on Jan. 2, was held to two points vs. Macalester Wednesday, marking just the fifth time in SMU's last 28 games that the senior has failed to score 10 or more points. … Thone has led the team in scoring in seven of their 12 games. … Thone heads into Saturday's showdown with Bethel needing 48 points to become the 10th player in SMU women's basketball history to eclipse the 1,000 career point plateau. … Thone's 21-point effort against Gustavus on Jan. 2 marked the first time this season and the seventh time in her career that Thone has netted 20 or more points. … Stefely enters Saturday's conference game against Macalester averaging a team-best 12.2 ppg, while Thone is second at 10.8 ppg. … Thone, the conference assist leader a year ago with 123, has dished out a team-best 44 assists in 12 games this season. … Thone has also knocked down 14 of the team's 46 3-pointers, while Darcey Rice (Eagan, Minn.) is second with 11 treys. … As a team, the Cardinals drained a season-high eight 3-pointers against Concordia last Monday, while their 68 points vs. the Cobbers were one shy of their season high. … The Cardinals held Macalester to 14 first-half points Wednesday, marking the second time this season SMU has held its opponent under 15 points in the game's opening 20 minutes. SMU limited St. Catherine to nine first-half points on Dec. 1. … 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. … The Cardinals have outscored their opponents 687-618 — including 354-303 in the first half. … 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.

Scouting The Bethel Royals:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
Wednesday's 57-42 win over St. Catherine was not only the Royals' first conference win of the season, but it also snapped Bethel's three-game losing streak. … The win over the Wildcats Wednesday was also Bethel's first conference win since beating Hamline 67-53 on Feb. 11, 2012 — a span of 10 straight regular-season conference games. … Rachel Parupsky scored a team-best 15 points to lead three Royals in double figures vs. St. Catherine Wednesday. Sydney Schultz (14) and Lexi Freisen (12) were the other two. … Parupsky also pulled down eight rebounds and boasted seven blocks against the Wildcats. … Parupsky, who leads the team in scoring (13.9 ppg) and rebounding (8.9 rpg), has now recorded a conference-best 52 blocks (5.3 bpg). … Schultz also enters Saturday's game at Saint Mary's averaging in double figures, scoring at a 10.3 ppg clip. … Parpusky and Schultz have each recorded a 21-point game this season — Schultz's against St. Olaf on Jan. 5 and Parupsky's vs. Howard Payne on Dec. 29. … Schultz (22) and Katelyn Vavra (20) have accounted for 42 of the team's 61 3-pointers, while Kristi Nye Studanski owns a team-leading 43 assists. … Bethel's 57 points vs. St. Catherine Wednesday marked the fourth time this season the Royals have scored 57 points in game. … The Royals' win over St. Catherine Wednesday was the first on their home court this season. Bethel is 1-3 at the Robertson Center, and 1-6 on the road.