ST. PETER, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team plays its final road game of the regular-season on Saturday, as the Cardinals head to Gustavus for a 1 p.m. conference matchup with the Gusties.

The Matchup:
No. 20 Saint Mary's Cardinals (20-2 MIAC | 17-2 Overall) at Gustavus Gusties (10-9 MIAC | 13-9 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals shook off a sluggish start, scoring 45 second-half points in cruising to a 66-36 conference win over St. Catherine Wednesday at the SMU Gym. … Gustavus' post-season hopes took a bit of a hit on Wednesday, as the Gusties dropped a 66-60 MIAC decision to Bethel Wednesday at Gus Young Court in St. Peter, Minn.

SMU vs. Gustavus — Earlier This Year:
January 18, 2014: The Cardinals had to overcome a 10-point first-half deficit — not to mention trailing by eight midway through the second half — before using a late 21-5 burst to secure a 67-58 victory over the Gusties at the SMU Gym.

SMU vs. Gustavus — A Year Ago:
January 2, 2013: SMU boasted three players in double figures in its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown with Gustavus. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the Gusties answered with five double-figure scorers, as GAC outlasted SMU 86-66 in a battle of conference heavyweights at Gus Young Court in St. Peter, Minn.
January 30, 2013: The Cardinals rallied from a two-point, 29-27 halftime deficit, scoring the first five points of the second half — then using a late, 8-0 run to take the lead for good — en route to a 65-58 victory at the SMU Gym.
February 19, 2013: If SMU has proven anything this year, it's that the Cardinals are cool under pressure. And in the most pressure-packed game of the season, the Cardinals were at their coolest. Unfazed by a 14-point deficit two minutes into the second half of its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament game against Gustavus, SMU methodically picked apart the Gusties' defense, outscoring GAC 40-19 over the game's final 18 minutes en route to a 76-69 victory at the SMU Gym.

Up Next:
The Cardinals return home on Wednesday for the first of two games at the SMU Gym over the final week of the regular season, as SMU hosts Hamline in a 7:30 p.m. conference contest. … Gustavus takes to the road on Wednesday, as the Gusties head to St. Paul, Minn., for a 7:30 p.m. MIAC matchup against  nationally ranked St. Thomas.

Where They Stand:
With their convincing win over St. Catherine on Wednesday, 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 St. Thomas, 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 three conference games remaining. … Gustavus currently holds down the sixth and final MIAC Tournament berth, trailing No. 5 St. Olaf by one game, and leading seventh-place Augsburg by two games with three to play.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
Saturday's game at Gustavus is the final regular-season road game for the Cardinals. … With their 66-36 win over St. Catherine, the Cardinals improved to 20-2 overall, marking the second straight season SMU has reached the 20-win plateau. They are also just four wins shy of the program-record 24 wins set in 1984-85 (24-2) and equaled in 1985-86 (24-3). … The Cardinals kept their home record unblemished with Wednesday's win over St. Catherine, improving to 11-0 on their home court. … SMU is 22-1 at home over the last two seasons. … 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. … Courtney Euerle (Litchfield, Minn.) scored a team-high 11 points vs. St. Catherine Wednesday. It was the 15th time this season and 43rd time in her career that the senior has netted 10 or more points in a game. … Bridget Pethke (New London, Minn.) and Octavia Brown (Broadview, Ill.) also scored in double figures vs. St. Catherine Wednesday, finishing with 10 points each. … Euerle enters Saturday's matchup at Gustavus leading the team in both scoring (11.8 ppg) and rebounding (7.3 rpg). … Shelby Auseth (Wanamingo, Minn.) and Pethke are also averaging in double figures, heading into Saturday at 11.0 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 boasts a single-season career-high 102 assists through 22 games this season. … 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 133 3-pointers this season — ranking fifth-most in program history. … Darcey Rice's (Eagan, Minn.) has drained a team-leading 43 3-pointers. … SMU — which has scored 80 or more points four times this season — heads into Saturday's showdown with Gustavus averaging 71.2 ppg, while limiting its opponents to just 56.4 ppg. … 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 Gustavus Gusties:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the final home game for the Gusties, who close out the regular-season with road contests at St. Thomas and St. Catherine next week. … GAC's 66-60 loss to Bethel Wednesday snapped the Gusties' five-game winning streak. … The Gusties head into Saturday's showdown with league-leading Saint Mary's having won seven of its last 10 games … Five of GAC's nine losses have been by six points or less — including a 73-71 overtime loss at Concordia on Jan. 25. … Gustavus had three double-figure scorers against Bethel Wednesday, led by Karina Schroeder with 17 points. Lindsey Johnson added 12 and Julia Dysthe chipped in 11. … The trio of Schroeder, Johnson and Dysthe combined for 40 of the team's 60 points against Bethel Wednesday. … Schroeder has now led the team in scoring in each of its last three games and nine times times this season. … Dysthe enters Saturday's game against Saint Mary's with a 14.2 ppg scoring average, edging out Schroeder (14.1 ppg) for the team lead. … Britta Rinke is also averaging in double figures heading into Saturday at 12.8 ppg. … Schroeder, Rinke, Johnson and Rachelle Blaschko have started all 22 games for the Gusties this season. … Gustavus has had a player score 20 or more points in a game five times — led by Rinke's season-best 28-point effort against St. Olaf on Jan. 4. … GAC, which is averaging 66.0 ppg, scored a season-high 89 points in an 89-81 win over Carleton on Jan. 11 — has scored 70 or more points six times this season.