WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team begins the second half of the conference schedule on Wednesday, as the Cardinals square off against Bethel in a 7:30 p.m. battle of league leaders at the SMU Gym.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (10-1 MIAC | 13-1 Overall) vs. Bethel Royals (9-2 MIAC | 11-3 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals pushed their winning streak to 10 straight Monday, as SMU outlasted Augsburg 54-51 in a conference game at Si Melby Hall in Minneapolis, Minn. … Bethel suffered its second conference loss of the season on Monday, as the Royals suffered a 69-57 setback at the hands of St. Olaf in Northfield, Minn. With SMU's win — and the Royals' loss — the Cardinals enter Wednesday's showdown alone atop the conference standings, one game in front of Bethel, St. Thomas and Concordia.

SMU vs. Bethel — Earlier This Year:
December 4, 2013: The Cardinals found themselves down by 11 at halftime in their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference-opener against Bethel. And the Cardinals did outscore the Royals over the game's final 20 minutes — but the 11-point deficit was just too big a hole to dig out of, as Bethel handed SMU a 78-69 conference setback at Robertson Center in Arden Hills, Minn.

SMU vs. Bethel — A Year Ago:
January 12, 2013: The Cardinals' air-tight defense was once again at its best, as SMU — coming off a win in which it 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.
February 9, 2013: SMU trailed by as many as five points early in the second half, then took control, turning a one-point, 50-49 lead with 4:28 to play into a 65-56 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory at Robertson Center in Arden Hills, Minn.

Up Next:
The Cardinals are back on the road on Saturday, as SMU heads to St. Joseph, Minn., for a 3 p.m. conference matchup with Saint Benedict. … Bethel returns to the Robertson Center in Arden Hills, Minn., on Saturday, as the Royals host Macalester in a 1 p.m. MIAC contest.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
The Cardinals head into Wednesday's contest against Bethel ranked No. 25 in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25. … With their win over Augsburg Monday, SMU pushed its winning streak to 10 straight — the longest since the Cardinals opened the 1985-86 season 19-0. That 1985-86 squad went on to win SMU's last MIAC regular-season title and qualify for the NCAA national tournament, finishing the season 24-3 overall. … SMU heads into Wednesday's showdown against Bethel boasting an unblemished 6-0 record on its home court. The Cardinals are 17-1 at the SMU Gym over the past two seasons. … Courtney Euerle (Litchfield, Minn.) scored a team-, game- and career-high 20 points against Augsburg Monday. It marked the second straight game in which Euerle has scored a career-best 20 points. … Euerle has now scored 10 or more points 10 times this season and 37 times in her collegiate career. … Emma Schaefer (Roseville, Minn.) also scored in double figures vs. the Auggies Monday, finishing with 11 points. … Bridget Pethke (New London, Wis.) and Natalie Larson (North Branch, Minn.) each enjoyed career nights vs. Gustavus last Saturday — Pethke netted 14 points to equal her career high, while Larson chipped in a career-high 10 points. … Shelby Auseth (Wanamingo, Minn.) owns the Cardinals highest single-game performance of the season, scoring a career-high 28 points in SMU's 99-81 win over North Central (Ill.) on Dec. 28. … Auseth's 28-point effort vs. North Central (Ill.) was the highest single-season output since Jess Miller tossed in 29 points against Gustavus on Dec. 7, 2009. … The Cardinals have had five or more players score in double figures in the same game three times this season — the Cardinals boasted six double-figure scorers in its 107-29 win over Crown on Nov. 23, five in their 99-81 victory over North Central (Ill.) on Dec. 28 and five in a 79-70 win over Hamline on Jan. 15. … Auseth and Euerle head into Wednesday's game against Bethel averaging in double figures at 12.1 ppg and 11.8 ppg, respectively. … Euerle also leads the team with 103 rebounds (7.4 rpg) in 14 games. … Pethke, who leads the team with 66 assists, equaled her career-best with seven assists vs. St. Olaf on Dec. 9. It was the second time this season and sixth time in her collegiate career that Pethke has hit the seven-assist mark. … The Cardinals have recorded four games of eight or more 3-pointers this season — including a season-high nine treys against St. Olaf on Dec. 9 — owns 68 3-pointers through 11 games. … SMU's nine 3-pointers against St. Olaf were the most since tossing in nine against St. Olaf on Jan. 16, 2013. … SMU boasts four players — Darcey Rice (Eagan, Minn. / 25), Sara Schoenthaler (White Bear Lake, Minn. / 18), Auseth (15) and Pethke (11) — with 10 or more 3-pointers this season. … When the Cardinals beat North Central (Ill.) 99-81 on Dec. 28, they fell one point short of notching their second 100-point game of the season, having already set a school record with 107 points in a 107-29 win over Crown on Nov. 23. … SMU heads into Monday's game at Augsburg averaging 74.2 ppg, while limiting its opponents to just 57.6 ppg. … The Cardinals' 66-57 win over Concordia on Jan. 4 was SMU's first vs. the Cobbers in head coach Mandy Pearson's seven years at the helm — and snapped an 18-game losing streak against the Cobbers dating back to a 71-58 win on Feb. 15, 2004. It was also SMU's first win at Concordia's Memorial Auditorium since the Cardinals recorded a 58-46 win on Jan. 20, 2003. … The Cardinals broke a pair of long-standing school records with their 107-29 victory over Crown on Nov. 23. The Cardinals' 107 points were a school record — breaking the previous high of 106 set in a 106-30 win over Carleton on Feb. 19, 1986. SMU's 78-point margin of victory was also a new school record, two points better than the old mark of 76, also set during that Feb. 19, 1986 win over Carleton.

Scouting The Bethel Royals:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
Monday's 69-57 loss to St. Olaf snapped the Royals' two-game winning streak. … After opening the season 9-1 — including a season-opening six-game winning streak — BU is now 2-2 in its last four games. … Bethel opened the season scoring 70 or more points in its first five games — including a school-record 101 points in a 101-53 win over Bethany Lutheran on Nov. 20 — but the Royals have eclipsed the 70-point barrier just once in its last nine contests. … Rachel Parupsky scored a team-high 19 points against St. Olaf on Monday, while Hannah Niewald also finished with double figures, chipping in 11 points. … Parupsky enters Wednesday's game at Saint Mary's boasting a team-best 15.0 ppg scoring average, with Kalli Zimmermann close behind at 13.4 ppg. … Parupsky has now scored in double figures in 12 of the team's 14 games — including each of the last eight. … Parupsky, who recorded eight double-doubles a year ago, owns a team-best five double-doubles this season and leads the team with 129 rebounds (8.9 rpg). … Bethel, which is averaging 69.7 ppg, has outscored its opponents 976-856 — including 551-452 in the second half. … All three of the Royals' losses this season have come on the road — Bethel is 7-0 at home, while managing just a 4-3 mark away from Robertson Cen