ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team is back on the road for the second straight game Saturday, as the Cardinals head to Robertson Center on the Bethel campus for a 1 p.m. MIAC contest against the Royals.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (15-4 MIAC | 18-4 Overall)
at Bethel Royals (4-15 MIAC | 5-17 Overall)

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

Last Action:
The Cardinals rallied from a 15-point second-half deficit to escape Leonard Center in St. Paul, Minn., with a 55-53 conference win over Macalester on Wednesday. … Bethel, meanwhile, also rallied in the second half, erasing a nine-point halftime deficit in beating St. Catherine 67-63 in an MIAC game in St. Paul, Minn., Wednesday.

SMU vs. Bethel — Earlier This Year:
January 12, 2013: Saint Mary's — coming off a win in which the Cardinals held Macalester to just 14 first-half points — limited visiting Bethel to 19 points over the game's first 20 minutes and cruised to an 85-53 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory at the SMU Gym.

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 return to the SMU Gym for the first of two straight home games to close out the regular-season on Wednesday, as SMU hosts Saint Benedict in a key 7:30 p.m. conference showdown. … Bethel, meanwhile, take to the road for their final two games of the regular season, beginning Wednesday with a 7:30 p.m. MIAC contest against Hamline at Hutton Arena in St. Paul, Minn.

MIAC Playoff Chase:
With three 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. With its 69-63 win at league-leading Concordia Wednesday, Saint Benedict moved into a share of the top spot with the Cobbers at 16-3. Saint Mary's and St. Thomas also won on Wednesday, with both teams improving to 15-4 in conference play. All four have locked up berths in the six-team conference tournament, and one win in their last three games will secure at least one home tournament game. Gustavus and Hamline are currently tied for the final two post-season spots at 12-7, with St. Olaf mathematically alive at 9-10.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
Saturday's game at Bethel is the second straight road game and the last regular-season road contest for the Cardinals this season. … With their 55-53 win over Macalester on Wednesday, the Cardinals improved to 10-1 in their last 11 games. … SMU's 15-point second-half comeback against Macalester Wednesday 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 the Scots Wednesday, SMU improved to 18-4 overall — the most wins in coach Mandy Pearson's six years and the most since SMU finished 18-8 in 2004-2005. The last time SMU posted more than 18 wins was during the 1985-86 campaign, when the Cardinals went 24-3 and finished third in the NCAA regional. … For the second game in a row, Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) led the team in scoring against Macalester Wednesday. This time, however, she shared that honor with Brittany Begrowicz (Des Plaines, Ill.), as the two poured in 12 points against the Scots. … The 12-point effort was a season-high for Begrowicz. … Courtney Euerle (Litchfield, Minn.) hauled in a game-high 10 rebounds vs. Macalester Wednesday. The junior has pulled down 31 boards in her last three games combined — including a season-high 12-rebound effort against Carleton on Feb. 2. … Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) enters Saturday's game at Bethel having scored in double figures in 32 of the team's last 38 games. … With Wednesday's eight points, Thone now owns 1,085 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 Saturday's conference game at Bethel averaging a team-best 12.8 ppg, while Thone is second at 12.0 ppg. … SMU has boasted four players in double figures four times this season. … 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 80 helpers this season. … Thone has also knocked down 29 of the team's 91 3-pointers, while Darcey Rice (Eagan, Minn. / 22), Bridget Pethke (Larsen, Wis. / 16) and Sara Schoenthaler (Hugo, Minn. / 13) 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 Saturday's game at Bethel averaging 60.1 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 last Sunday with a 64-54 loss to league-leading Concordia, was its longest 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 length 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 Bethel Royals:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
The Royals close out the regular season playing two of their final three games at home, beginning Saturday against playoff-bound Saint Mary's. … With their come-from-behind 67-63 win over St. Catherine Wednesday, the Royals snapped their three-game losing streak. … Rachel Parupsky scored a career-high 28 points and hauled in 13 rebounds against St. Catherine on Wednesday. … Wednesday's effort marked the fifth time this season Parupsky has scored 20 or more points. … The 28-point, 13-rebound performance was also the ninth double-double of the season for Parupsky. … Katelyn Vavra also scored in double figures vs. St. Catherine Wednesday, netting 12 points. … Parupsky enters Saturday's game against Saint Mary's averaging a team-best 15.5 ppg. The freshman is the only Royal averaging in double figures this season. … Parupsky and Kelly Swenson have both eclipsed the 100-rebound plateau this season, with Parupsky hauling in a team-best 195 boards (9.3 rpg), while Swenson has chipped in 129 (5.9 rpg). … Kristi Nye Studanski is the team's assist (76) and steals (29) leader, while Vavra (48) and Sydney Schultz (44) have accounted for 92 of the team's 130 3-pointers. … Bethel heads into Saturday's game vs. Saint Mary's averaging 52.4 ppg, and has scored 60 or more points three times this season — including a season-best 71-point effort against Carleton on Jan. 26. … Wednesday's win over St. Catherine was Bethel's third road win of the season.