WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team returns home on Saturday, as the Cardinals host Crown in a 5:30 p.m. nonconference game at the SMU Gym.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-0 Overall) vs. Crown Storm (0-4 Overall)

GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats * Live Video | Video Preview | GameDay Program

Last Action:
The Cardinals rallied from a six-point second-half deficit to beat Macalester 53-44 in the teams' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener Thursday in St. Paul, Minn. | Recap … Crown also faced an MIAC foe on Thursday, as the Storm came out on the short end of a 76-50 decision at St. Catherine in St. Paul, Minn. | Recap

SMU vs. Crown — Their Last Meeting:
Saturday's game is the first-ever meeting between the Cardinals and the Storm.

Up Next:
The Cardinals are now off until Dec. 4, when they travel to Arden Hills, Minn., for a 7:30 p.m. MIAC game against Bethel. … Crown heads to Pasadena, Calif., Nov. 29-30 to square off against California Institute of Technology and Occidental College in a pair of nonconference games.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
With their 53-44 win over Macalester Thursday, the Cardinals have started out the season 2-0 for the second straight season — and have opened conference play with a victory in each of the last four years. … With their win over Macalester Thursday, the Cardinals enter Saturday's game against Crown having won seven of their last eight games, and 16 of their last 18 over the last two seasons. … Shelby Auseth (Wanamingo, Minn.) led the team in scoring for the second straight game, as the sophomore tossed in 11 points against the Scots on Thursday. … Auseth scored a career-high 16 points in leading the Cardinals against UW-La Crosse last Saturday. Auseth's previous career-best was 12 points against Saint Benedict on Feb. 13, 2013. … Courtney Euerle (Hutchinson, Minn.) — who was an All-MIAC honorable-mention and MIAC All-Defensive Team selection for the second straight season last year — equaled Auseth's 11-point effort against the Scots, while adding a team-high nine rebounds. … Euerle, who has scored 10 or more points 29 times in her collegiate career, has led the team in rebounding in both of its games this season. … Auseth enters Saturday's game owning a team-leading 13.5 ppg scoring average, with Euerle close behind at 13.0 ppg. … Sara Schoenthaler (White Bear Lake, Minn.) has knocked down three of the Cardinals' 10 3-pointers. …  The Cardinals' 88 points in their 88-55 win over UW-La Crosse last Saturday were the most by an SMU team since Jan. 12, 2005, when Saint Mary's beat Hamline 88-78. … As a team, the Cardinals drained a season-high seven 3-pointers against UW-La Crosse last Saturday — including back-to-back-to-back treys on their first three shots to open the game. … The Cardinals head into Saturday's showdown with Crown owning a 12-1 record on their home court over the last two seasons — the lone loss coming at the hands of regular-season conference champion Concordia on Feb. 3, 2013.

Scouting The Crown Storm:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the third straight game against a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference foe for the Storm, who have already faced Augsburg (L, 88-33) and St. Catherine (L, 76-50). … Saturday's game is the second of four straight road games for the Storm, who do not play at home again until Dec. 3, when Crown hosts Finlandia. … Crown heads to Winona, Minn., looking to break out of its season-opening four-game losing streak. … With their four losses this season, the Storm have now dropped 21 straight, dating back to a 69-17 win over Crossroads College on Nov. 30, 2012. … Da'Neisha Patterson led the way for the Storm against St. Catherine Thursday, scoring 16 points, while adding seven rebounds and three steals. … Patterson has now led the team in scoring in each of Crown's last two games and enters Saturday's showdown with Saint Mary's averaging a team-best 10.0 ppg. … Patterson also leads the team with 16 rebounds (5.3 rpg). … The Storm have knocked down eight 3-pointers through four games, with Leah Breakfield accounting for half of them. … Crown has been outscored 367-174 through four games. The Storm have scored 87 points in each half, while their opponents have netted 168 first-half points, and 199 points over the game's final 20 minutes.