MOORHEAD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team continues its lengthy road trip to open the new year on Monday, as the Cardinals head to Concordia for a 3 p.m. MIAC game against the Cobbers.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (5-2 MIAC | 8-2 Overall)
at Concordia Cobbers (6-1 MIAC | 7-3 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals pushed their conference record to 5-2 Saturday, getting a game-high 11 points from Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) en route to a 50-36 victory over Carleton at West Gym in Northfield, Minn. … Concordia, meanwhile, remained just a game back of league-leaders St. Thomas and Gustavus with a convincing 72-47 conference win over Macalester in Moorhead, Minn., Saturday.

SMU vs. Concordia — A Year Ago:
December 7, 2011: Trailing by 15 points at the half, the Cardinals put together a second-half comeback for the ages, as SMU used a 27-10 run in the first 13 minutes to take a 54-52 lead, then held a two-point, 61-59 advantage with 1:49 remaining in regulation. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the Cobbers rained on their second-half parade, getting a game-winning layup from Emily Thesing with five seconds on the clock to break a 61-61 tie and hand SMU a heartbreaking 63-61 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at Memorial Auditorium.
January 29, 2012: The first time SMU and Concordia squared off, it was a last-second field goal that lifted the Cobbers to a 62-61 victory in Moorhead, Minn. In their second meeting of the year at the SMU Gym, it was a last-second field goal that wouldn't fall that proved to be the difference, as SMU could not covert on possessions in the waning seconds of both regulation and overtime in dropping their second heartbreaking decision to the Cobbers, 60-59.

Up Next:
The Cardinals play their first home game of 2013 on Wednesday, as SMU returns home for a 7:30 p.m. MIAC game against Macalester at the SMU Gym. … Concordia, meanwhile, returns to its home court in Moorhead, Minn., on Wednesday, hosting Saint Benedict in a 7:30 p.m. conference showdown at Memorial Auditorium.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
Monday's game against Concordia is the sixth straight road game for the Cardinals. … SMU's two games vs. the Cobbers last year were decided by a combined three points — with CC taking 63-61 and 60-59 victories. … With their win over Carleton Saturday, the Cardinals improved to 8-2 overall — their best start since going 8-2 to open the 2004-05 season. … Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) — who scored a season-high 21 points against Gustavus last Wednesday — poured in a team-leading 11 points against Carleton Saturday. … Thone, who has scored 10 or more points in 22 of the Cardinals' last 26 games, is just 68 points shy of becoming the 10th player in SMU women's basketball history to eclipse the 1,000 career point plateau. … Thone's 21-point effort against Gustavus last Wednesday marked the first time this season and the seventh time in her career that Thone has netted 20 or more points. … Thone has now led the team in scoring in back-to-back games and in six of their first 10 games. … Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) chipped in 10 points and was one of three players — along with Thone and Bridget Pethke (Larsen, Wis.) — with a team-best six rebounds against Carleton Saturday. … Pethke scored a career-best 14 points against Gustavus last Wednesday. … Courtney Euerle (Litchfield, Minn.) notched her first double-double of the season with an 11-point, 10-rebound performance against St. Catherine on Dec. 1, and missed double-double No. 2 by one rebound with her 14-point, 9-rebound effort against UW-La Crosse on Dec. 12. … The 14 points vs. UW-La Crosse were a season high for Euerle. … 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. … Stefely enters Monday's conference game at Concordia averaging a team-best 12.4 ppg, while Thone is second at 11.0 ppg and Euerle is third at 8.0 ppg. … Thone, the conference assist leader a year ago with 123, has dished out a team-best 43 assists in 10 games this season. … Thone has also knocked down 12 of the team's 35 3-pointers. … 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 568-497 — including 300-252 in the first half. … The Cardinals' season-high 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. … 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 Concordia Cobbers:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
Monday's game against Saint Mary's is the second of three straight home games for the Cobbers, who are a perfect 3-0 on their home court this season. … With their 72-47 win over Macalester Saturday, Concordia pushed its winning streak to a season-high four straight. … After opening the season with losses in two of their first three games, the Cobbers have gone 6-1 in their last seven. … The Cobbers got scoring from 11 different players in Saturday's rout of Macalester. … Tricia Sorensen scored a game- and season-high 23 points to lead the CC offensive attack vs. Macalester Saturday. …  Emily Thesing also scored in double figures vs. the Scots, finishing with 12 points. … Sorensen has now led the team in scoring four times this season. … Sorensen's 23 points equals the Cobbers' highest individual offensive performance this season. Thesing netted 23 points in a 61-48 win over Bethel on Nov. 28. … CC enters Monday's game against Saint Mary's boasting four players averaging in double figures, led by Sorensen at 14.3 ppg. Thesing (12.2), Alley Fisher (11.1) and Alexandra Lippert (10.1) are the other three. … Sorensen also boasts a team-best 63 rebounds (6.3 rpg), while Thesing (39) and Jossart (38) are the team's assist leaders. … CC has recorded 55 3-pointers, with Thesing (17) and Fisher (17) accounting for 34 of them. … With their 72 points against Macalester Saturday, the Cobbers have now scored 70 or more points in three of their last four games and five times this season. … Concordia has outscored its opponents 675-588, including 359-299 in the second half.