WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team, coming off an appearance in the MIAC Playoff semifinals a year ago, kick off the 2013-14 season on Saturday, hosting UW-La Crosse in a 3 p.m. nonconference game at the SMU Gym.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2012-13: 22-5 Overall) vs. UW-La Crosse Eagles (2012-13: 11-14 Overall)

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Last Action:
Saturday's game is the season-opener for both the Cardinals and Eagles. SMU and UW-La Crosse each had an exhibition game against Winona State last week, with the Cardinals dropping a 62-51 decision to WSU xx-xx last Sunday, while UW-L fell to the NCAA Division II Warriors 53-46 on Wednesday.

SMU vs. UW-La Crosse — A Year Ago:
December 12, 2012: The final game before the semester break ended in much the same way the first game did … or the second … or the third … or the fourth … or the fifth … or the seventh. With an SMU victory. The Cardinals — fueled by a 10-7 run to end the first half and a 10-5 burst to start the second — cruised to their seventh win in eight contests Wednesday, knocking off UW-La Crosse 56-45 at Mitchell Hall in La Crosse, Wis. | Recap

Up Next:
The Cardinals kick off the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference portion of their schedule on Thursday, traveling to St. Paul, Minn., for a 7:30 p.m. contest against Macalester. … UW-La Crosse is back on the road on Wednesday, heading to Decorah, Iowa, for a 7:30 p.m. nonconference game against Luther.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013-14 Roster | 2012-13 Final Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
The Cardinals made their second straight MIAC Tournament appearance a year ago — also reaching the tournament's semifinals for the second consecutive season. … SMU's tournament run came to a halt with a 69-60 loss to second-seeded St. Thomas. … SMU put together winning streaks of five, nine and five games en route to recording its 22 wins in 2012-13 — the most wins under six-year head coach Mandy Pearson, and two wins shy of the school record 24 set in 1984-85 and equaled in 1985-86. … The Cardinals' season-high nine-game win streak in January was the longest such streak since the Cardinals opened the 1985-86 season winning 19 straight games. … The Cardinals closed out the season winning 14 of their last 16 games — including eight wins by eight or less points. … SMU opens the 2013-14 season without the services of graduated seniors Jamie Stefely and Jessica Thone — both named First-Team All-MIAC a year ago, while Stefely was also a third-team D3hoops.com All-Region selection. … Courtney Euerle (Hutchinson, Minn.) — who was an All-MIAC honorable-mention and MIAC All-Defensive Team selection for the second straight season last year — is SMU's top returning scorer, averaging 9.2 ppg. … Euerle also led the team in rebounding a year ago, hauling in 180 boards (6.7 rpg). … Stefely averaged a team-best 13.5 ppg in her senior season a year ago, while also leading the team with five double-doubles. … SMU had a 20-point scorer eight times last season. … Thone, who started every game in her four-year collegiate career — a span of 104 straight games — compiled 1,158 career points, ranking her No. 8 all time. … Thone became SMU's third straight "Jess" to eclipse the 1,000 career-point barrier — following Jessica Weisbrod (1,054, 2004-08) and Jess Miller (1,203, 2007-11). … Thone knocked down 36 of the team's 112 3-pointers, while Darcey Rice (Eagan, Minn. / 24), Bridget Pethke (New London, Wis. / 21) and Sara Schoenthaler (Hugo, Minn. / 16) also netted more than 10 treys. … As a team, the Cardinals drained a season-high nine 3-pointers against St. Olaf on Jan. 16. … The Cardinals dished out 28 assists vs. Bethel on Jan. 12, the most since the Cardinals tallied 28 assists vs. Cal Lutheran on Nov. 26, 2004. … SMU closed out the season 11-1 on its home court — with the lone loss coming at the hands of regular-season champion Concordia on Feb. 3. … On the flip side, the Cardinals finished 10-4 on the road last season. … SMU's 85 points against Bethel in the teams' first meeting on Jan. 12 were a season high, and the most by a Cardinal team since scoring 97 against Augsburg on Dec. 4, 2004. … SMU's 62-59 win over Augsburg in the teams' first meeting on Jan. 19 was the Cardinals' only overtime game of the season. The win also snapped a streak of four straight OT losses, dating back to a 73-69 double-overtime win over Bethel on Jan. 24, 2009. … Speaking of snapping streaks, in the span of back-to-back Wednesdays, the Cardinals put an end to a pair of lengthy losing streaks last season — SMU snapped an 11-game slide against St. Thomas with a 62-56 win over the then-nationally ranked Tommies on Jan. 23, then ended a 13-game losing streak against Gustavus with its Jan. 30, 65-58 victory. … SMU collected three wins when trailing by 13 of more points a year ago. The Cardinals rallied from a 14-point, second-half deficit in beating Gustavus in the MIAC Tournament quarterfinals on Feb. 19, overcame a 15-point deficit in a 55-53 win over Macalester on Feb. 6, while rallying from 13 points down in their 62-56 win over St. Thomas on Jan. 23. … SMU went 7-4 in games in which it trailed at halftime. … The Cardinals held five opponents to less than 15 first-half points this season. SMU limited Alma (Nov. 16), Macalester (Jan. 9), Augsburg (Jan. 19) and Carleton (Feb. 2) each to 14 first-half points, while allowing just nine points in the first half in its first meeting with St. Catherine on Dec. 1. … With their 54-47 win over St. Olaf on Nov. 28, the Cardinals have now won their conference opener in each of the last three seasons.

Scouting The UW-La Crosse Eagles:
2013-14 Roster | 2012-13 Final Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
The Eagles, coming off an 11-14 season a year ago, were picked to finish sixth in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll. … After going 9-9 through its first 18 games, the Eagles managed just two wins over their final seven contests last season. … UW-L returns 11 letter winners and three starters from last year's squad. … One starter not returning is graduated senior Briana Radowicz — an All-WIAC First Team Selection, who was also named to the D3hoops.com All-Region Team. Radowicz led UW-L in scoring (14.4 ppg), steals (79) and assists (2.8 apg) last season. … Radowicz's 79 steals ranked second in school history, while her nine steals against UW-Eau Claire on Jan. 19 equalled a single-game school record. … Radowicz scored in double figures in 18 of the Eagles' 25 games, including a career-high 32 points in a 73-63 victory at UW-Platteville February 9. … Erin Levenhagen started all 25 games as a freshman a year ago, leading the team in rebounding (6.3 rpg) and blocks (38), while finishing third in scoring (8.7 ppg). … Seniors Katie Ehlen, Mallory Cramer, and Sarah Klopp all return after missing last season. Ehlen played in all 26 games — starting 25 — in 2011-12, starting 25. She finished fourth on the team in scoring (7.2 ppg), while leading UW-L in rebounding (7.0 rpg). Cramer also saw action in all 26 games in 2011-12 with two starts.  She averaged 7.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Klopp played in nine games in 2011-12. … Coach Lois Heeren enters her 15th year at UW-L as the program's winningest coach with 180 victories. … Heeren led the Eagles to an at-large bid to the 2011 NCAA Division III Tournament. It marked UW-L's first appearance in the national championships since the 1987-88 season.