WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team kicks off the final week of the regular season with a key showdown against Saint Benedict Wednesday at the SMU Gym. Tip is set for 7:30 p.m.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (16-4 MIAC | 19-4 Overall)
vs. Saint Benedict Blazers (16-4 MIAC | 18-5 Overall)

GameDay Live On The Web:
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Last Action:
The Cardinals got 17 points from Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) and 15 from Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.), as SMU rallied from a four-point halftime deficit to beat Bethel 65-56 Saturday at Robertson Center in Arden Hills, Minn. … Saint Benedict, meanwhile, dropped out of a tie for first place in the conference standings after falling to St. Thomas 65-46 at Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul, Minn., Saturday.

SMU vs. Saint Benedict — Earlier This Year:
December 8, 2012: Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) scored a team-high 12 points — including the game-winning jumper with nine seconds remaining in regulation — as the Cardinals handed the Blazers a 60-58 MIAC setback in St. Joseph, Minn.

SMU vs. Saint Benedict — A Year Ago:
December 5, 2011: The Cardinals, trailing perennial Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference powerhouse Saint Benedict by four points with one minute remaining in regulation, scored the game's final seven points to hand the Blazers a 54-50 conference setback at the SMU Gym. The win snapped SMU's 10-game losing streak against the Blazers, dating back to a 61-54 SMU win on Feb. 7, 2005.
January 25, 2012: Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) scored 15 points, Courtney Euerle (Litchfield, Minn.) added a double-double of 14 points and 13 rebounds, and Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) chipped in 10 points, as SMU completed a conference sweep of Saint Benedict with a 55-50 win in St. Joseph, Minn. With the win, SMU put an end to a 26-game losing streak on the Blazers' home court — dating back to a 59-42 win on Jan. 24, 1986. The win also gave the Cardinals' their first conference series sweep of CSB since that same 1985-86 season

Up Next:
The Cardinals and Blazers both close out the regular season on Saturday. SMU entertains Augsburg on Senior Day. Tip between the Cardinal and Auggies is set for 1 p.m. at the SMU Gym. … The Blazers, meanwhile, return home on Saturday, hosting St. Olaf in a 3 p.m. conference game at Claire Lynch Hall in St. Joseph, Minn.

MIAC Playoff Chase:
With two games left in the regular season, the chase for the MIAC's regular-season title — and top spot in the post-season tournament — is still up for grabs. Concordia heads into the final week of the regular season atop the conference standings at 17-3, one game ahead of Saint Mary's (16-4), Saint Benedict (16-4) and St. Thomas (16-4). All four have locked up berths in the six-team conference tournament — and all are assured of playing their first post-season game on their home court. …  Gustavus (13-7) is sitting in fifth and has also punched its ticket to the post-season, with St. Olaf (12-8) needing one win in its final two games to land the final spot.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
Last Saturday's 65-56 win over Bethel was the final regular-season road game for the Cardinals, who improved to 10-3 away from home this season. … The Cardinals, winners of 11 of their last 12 games, head into Wednesday's showdown against Saint Benedict riding a two-game winning streak against the Blazers. … The Cardinals have trailed at halftime in each of their last three games — and nine times this season. Of those nine, the Cardinals ralled in the second half to win six. …  SMU's 15-point second-half comeback in last Wednesday's 55-53 win over Macalester was the largest deficit overcome by the Cardinals this season. SMU had rallied from a 13-point deficit in their 62-56 win over St. Thomas on Jan. 23. … With their win over Bethel Saturday, SMU improved to 19-4 overall — the most wins in coach Mandy Pearson's six years and the most since SMU went 24-3 and finished third in the NCAA regional in 1985-86. … For the third game in a row, Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) led the team in scoring against Bethel Saturday, netting a game-high 17 points. … Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) and Bridget Pethke (Larsen, Wis.) also scored in double figures vs. the Royals Saturday, finishing with 15 and 10 points, respectively. … With her 15 points vs. Bethel Saturday, Thone has now scored in double figures in 33 of the team's last 39 games. … With Saturday's 15 points, Thone now owns 1,100 career points, ranking No. 8 all-time. … Stefely recorded her fourth double-double of the season — and 15th of her career — with a 12-point, 10-rebound effort against St. Catherine on Jan. 26. … The Cardinals have had a player score 20 or more points six times this season — four by Stefely and two by Thone. … Thone has scored 20 or more points eight times in her four-year collegiate career, while Stefely has eclipsed 20 points seven times. … Stefely owns the team's top single-game scoring performance, netting a game- and season-high 23 points in SMU's win over nationally ranked St. Thomas on Jan. 23. … Stefely enters Wednesday's conference game against Saint Benedict averaging a team-best 13.0 ppg, while Thone is second at 12.1 ppg. … SMU has boasted four players in double figures four times this season. … Courtney Euerle (Litchfield, Minn.) has hauled in 10 or more rebounds in two of the Cardinals' last four games — including a season-high 12-rebound effort against Carleton on Feb. 2. … Thone, the conference assist leader a year ago with 123, dished out a season-high eight assists vs. St. Thomas on Jan. 23, and owns a team-best 82 helpers this season. … Thone has also knocked down 30 of the team's 93 3-pointers, while Darcey Rice (Eagan, Minn. / 22), Bridget Pethke (Larsen, Wis. / 16) and Sara Schoenthaler (Hugo, Minn. / 14) have also netted 10 or more 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. … The Cardinals enter Wednesday's game vs. Saint Benedict averaging 60.3 ppg. … 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 on Jan. 19 was the Cardinals' first 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. … SMU's season-high nine-game winning streak was snapped with a 64-54 loss to league-leading Concordia on Feb. 3 — it was the Cardinals' longest win streak since SMU opened the 1985-86 season with a 19-game winning streak. … SMU's loss to the league-leading Cobbers on Feb. 3 was also the Cardinals' first loss on their home court. SMU had won its first seven decisions at the SMU Gym. … Speaking of snapping streaks, in the span of back-to-back Wednesdays, the Cardinals put an end to a pair of lengthy losing streaks — 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 Wednesday's 65-58 victory. … The Cardinals have held five opponents to less than 15 first-half points this season. SMU held 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.

Scouting The Saint Benedict Blazers:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
The Blazers enter Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's as one of the hottest teams in the conference, having won 10 of their last 11 and 13 of their last 15. … CSB had its 10-game winning streak snapped with Saturday's 66-45 loss at St. Thomas. Ironically, the Blazers' 10-game win streak had started with a 66-62 victory over the Tommies on Jan. 12. … CSB heads to Saint Mary's boasting a 10-3 record away from Claire Lynch Hall. … The Blazers' 46 points in Saturday's loss to St. Thomas were a season low — and marked the first time this season they have been held to less than 55 points in a game. … Tish Alexander scored a team-best 10 points against the Tommies Saturday — going 3-for-4 from the 3-point line and 1-for-2 from the free throw line. … Brianna Barrett and Whitney Canton both enter Wednesday's game at Saint Mary's averaging in double figures — Barrett boasting a team-best 14.0 ppg average, while Canton is scoring at an 11.2 ppg clip. … Barrett boasts the Blazers' top four single-game performances, scoring 21 points against Concordia and 20 against Macalester, Bethel and St. Catherine. … Morgan Dale has pulled down a team-leading 159 rebounds — including 122 on the defensive end — with Canton chipping in 100 rebounds. … The Blazers boast seven players with 20 or more assists, led by Canton (49) and Alexander (42). … Alexander also owns a team-leading 62 steals. … CSB has drained 118 3-pointers, led by Barrett (23) and Alexander (20). … Saint Benedict is averaging 66.6 ppg — including a season-high 88-point effort against Augsburg on Feb. 4.