WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, as the Cardinals entertain St. Catherine. Tip is set for 7:30 p.m. at the SMU Gym.

The Matchup:
No. 20 Saint Mary's Cardinals (16-2 MIAC | 19-2 Overall) vs. St. Catherine (2-16 MIAC | 3-18 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals had their 16-game winning streak snapped on Saturday, as St. Thomas raced out to a 33-17 halftime advantage and never looked back, handing SMU a 65-48 MIAC setback at Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul, Minn. … St. Catherine struggled early and could not recover in falling to Concordia 87-68 in an MIAC game at Butler Center in St. Paul, Minn., Saturday.

SMU vs. St. Catherine — Earlier This Year:
January 8, 2014: The Cardinals scored the game's first 10 points and used a 9-0 run to open the second half and cruised to a 77-47 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win at Butler Center in St. Paul, Minn.

SMU vs. St. Catherine — A Year Ago:
December 1, 2012: SMU's defense was at its tenacious best, as the Cardinals forced visiting St. Catherine into 31 turnovers — not to mention 21 percent shooting from the field — en route to a 40-22 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory at the SMU Gym.
January 26, 2013: After managing just 22 points in the teams' first meeting, the Wildcats nearly equaled their 22-point offensive performance — in the first half, as SCU trailed the high-powered Cardinals by just four, 25-21. That, however, was as close as the Cardinals would let St. Catherine get, as SMU flexed its muscles over the game's final 20 minutes, outscoring the Wildcats 33-19 in coasting to their seventh straight victory, 68-40, at SCU's Butler Center in St. Paul, Minn.

Up Next:
The Cardinals play their final regular-season road game on Saturday, as SMU heads to St. Peter, Minn., for a 1 p.m. conference matchup with Gustavus. … St. Catherine is also back in action on Saturday, as the Wildcats travel across town for a 3 p.m. MIAC showdown with Macalester.

Where They Stand:
Despite last Saturday's loss to St. Thomas, the Cardinals — ranked No. 20 in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25 and USA TODAY Sports Division III Coaches Poll — remain atop the conference standings, albeit tied with the Tommies, one game in front of third-place Concordia. Saint Mary's, St. Thomas, Concordia and Bethel have all clinched MIAC Tournament berths, but the race for one of the top two spots — and a first-round tournament bye — is still up for grabs with four conference games remaining.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
Beginning with Wednesday's game against St. Catherine, SMU closes out the regular-season playing three of its final four games on their home court. … Last Saturday's loss to St. Thomas snapped the Cardinals' 16-game winning streak — a run that was just three games short of the longest win streak in program history. … At 19-1 overall, the Cardinals are one win away from notching their second straight season of 20 or more wins. They are also just five wins shy of the program-record 24 wins set in 1984-85 (24-2) and equaled in 1985-86 (24-3). … Saint Mary's heads into Wednesday's game against St. Catherine owning a perfect 10-0 record on their home court this season. SMU is 21-1 at home over the past two seasons. … Bridget Pethke (New London, Wis.) scored 16 points and Darcey Rice (Eagan, Minn.) netted 11 for the Cardinals against No. 16 St. Thomas last Saturday. … Rice, the team's 3-point leader with 40, drained three of SMU's four treys against the Tommies last Saturday. … Courtney Euerle (Litchfield, Minn.) has scored in double figures 14 times this season and 42 times in her collegiate career, and enters Wednesday's matchup with St. Catherine leading the team in both scoring (11.9 ppg) and rebounding (7.5 rpg). … Shelby Auseth (Wanamingo, Minn.) and Pethke are also averaging in double figures heading into Wednesday at 11.3 ppg and 10.8 ppg, respectively. … Pethke owns the team's single-game season-high, pouring in a game-, season- and career-high 32 points against St. Olaf on Jan. 29. … Pethke's 32-point performance — 17 points better than her previous career-high of 15 set against Saint Benedict on Jan. 25 — was SMU's highest single-game performance since before the 1999-2000 season, and was just 10 points shy of the school record 42 points, set by Mary Schultz against St. Olaf during the 1985-86 season, and equaled by Tricia Rasmussen against UW-Oshkosh in 1992-93. … Pethke's 32 points against St. Olaf marked the fourth time this season SMU has had a player score 20 or more points in a game. Auseth netted 28 points against North Central (Ill.) on Dec. 28, while Euerle enjoyed back-to-back career-high 20-point nights against Gustavus (Jan. 18) and Augsburg (Jan. 20). … For the first time this season, SMU boasted a pair of double-double performers in their Feb. 1 win over Concordia — Euerle boasted 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Miriam Awoniyi (Country Club Hills, Ill.) finished with 10 points and 13 boards. … The double-double was the third of the year and seventh of her career for Euerle, while Awoniyi's was the first of her collegiate career. … Awoniyi's 13 rebounds vs. CC were a season- and career-high. … The Cardinals have had five or more players score in double figures in the same game four times this season — including six double-figure scorers in its 107-29 win over Crown on Nov. 23. … After having 11 different players score in their 75-52 win over Macalester on Feb. 3, the Cardinals got scoring from 10 different players in a 56-40 victory over Carleton two days later. … Pethke dished out five assists against St. Thomas last Saturday, giving her a single-season career-high 100 through 21 games. … Pethke has recorded a career-high seven assists in a game three times this season and seven times in her collegiate career. … SMU has drained a season-high nine 3-pointers three times this season. … As a team, SMU owns 127 3-pointers this season, led by Rice's 40. … SMU — which has scored 80 or more points four times this season — heads into Wednesday's showdown with St. Catherine averaging 71.5 ppg, while limiting its opponents to just 57.4 ppg. … The Cardinals' 48 points against St. Thomas last Saturday marked the first time this season SMU has been held under 50 points in a game. … SMU's 72-69 win over Concordia on Feb. 1 — coupled with its 66-57 win over the Cobbers in their first meeting on Jan. 4 — marked the first since the 1984-85 season that the Cardinals have swept their regular-season series against Concordia. … SMU's first win vs. the Cobbers on Jan. 4 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 St. Catherine Wildcats:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
Wednesday's game at Saint Mary's is the first of three straight road games for the Wildcats, who have won just once away from Butler Center this season. … St. Catherine's 87-68 loss to Concordia last Saturday pushed the Wildcats' losing streak to a season-high nine straight. … The Wildcats are just 1-16 in their last 17 games. … LaShay Holt scored a team-high 26 points against the Cobbers last Saturday, while Kristen Lee and Shauna Horsch also scored in double figures with 14 and 10 points, respectively. … Holt's 26-point effort was a season- and career-high, and marked the third time this season she has eclipsed the 20-point barrier. … Holt has now led the team in scoring in 10 of its 21 games this season. … Gabby Zehrer and Holt head into Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's leading the team in scoring at 14.1 ppg and 13.0 ppg, respectively. The duo are the only Wildcats averaging more than 7.0 ppg. … Holt is also the team leader in rebounds (141 / 6.7 rpg) and steals (45), while Abby Torgerson owns a team-best 27 assists. … The Wildcats have connected on 125 3-pointers this season, led by Kristen Lee with 33 and Holt with 26. … Lee is the only St. Catherine player to have started all 21 games this season. … As a team, the Wildcats have scored 70 or more points twice — including a season-best 76-point showing in a 76-50 win over Crown on Nov. 21. On the flip side, St. Catherine has been held under 55 points in 15 of the team's 21 games.