WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team returns home for the final two games of the regular season, beginning Wednesday with a 7:30 p.m. conference contest against Hamline at the SMU Gym.

The Matchup:
No. 13/19 Saint Mary's Cardinals (18-2 MIAC | 21-2 Overall) vs. Hamline Pipers (6-14 MIAC | 7-16 Overall)

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

Last Action:
The Cardinals got 23 points from Courtney Euerle (Litchfield, Minn.), and SMU outscored Gustavus 11-4 in overtime in handing the Gusties a 69-62 MIAC setback Saturday at Gus Young Court in St. Peter, Minn. … Hamline shot just 27 percent from the field in falling to St. Olaf 76-53 in conference play in Northfield, Minn., Saturday.

SMU vs. Hamline — Earlier This Year:
January 15, 2014: Down by as many as 15 points in the second half against Hamline, the Cardinals came storming back, using a 21-4 burst to take the lead for good en route to a 79-70 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win at Hutton Arena in St. Paul, Minn.

SMU vs. Hamline — A Year Ago:
December 3, 2012: SMU, behind a 16-point effort from Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) and a double-double by Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.), shook off a sluggish start and cruised to their fifth straight win, beating Hamline 62-53 in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game at the SMU Gym.
January 21, 2013: Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) became the 10th SMU player to score 1,000 career points, as the senior netted a game-high 18 points in leading the Cardinals to a 62-59 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over Hamline at Hutton Arena in St. Paul, Minn.

Up Next:
The Cardinals close out their regular-season schedule — and honor their two graduating seniors — on Saturday, as SMU hosts Augsburg in a 1 p.m. conference game at the SMU Gym. … Hamline is also on its home court in their regular-season finale Saturday, as the Pipers entertain Concordia in a 1 p.m. MIAC matchup at Hutton Arena.

Where They Stand:
With their overtime win over Gustavus on Saturday — and Concordia's three-point win over St. Thomas Saturday — the Cardinals are alone atop the conference standings, one game up on both the Cobbers and Tommies, with two regular-season games remaining. A win over Hamline would assure SMU a share of the conference's regular-season crown and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming conference tournament. Saint Mary's, St. Thomas, Concordia, Bethel and St. Olaf have all locked up MIAC Tournament berths, with Gustavus (10-10), Saint Benedict (9-11) and Augsburg (8-12) battling for the sixth and final spot.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
The Cardinals enter Wednesday's game against Hamline ranked No. 13 in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll and No. 19 in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25. … With their win over Gustavus, the Cardinals improved to 21-2 overall — marking the second straight season SMU has recorded 20 or more wins. At 21-2, the Cardinals are also just three wins shy of the program-record 24 wins set in 1984-85 (24-2) and equaled in 1985-86 (24-3). … SMU will put its perfect 11-0 home record on the line against Hamline on Wednesday. The Cardinals are 22-1 at home over the past two seasons. … SMU's 69-62 win over Gustavus Saturday was the Cardinals' first overtime game of the season. … The Cardinals have played just one OT game in each of their last three seasons. … SMU's 65-48 loss to St. Thomas on Feb. 8 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 career-high 23 points against Gustavus last Saturday. It was the third time this season the senior has scored 20 or more points. … Euerle has now scored in double figures 16 times this season and 44 times in her collegiate career. … Euerle's 23-point showing vs. Gustavus was the fifth time this season SMU has had a player score 20 or more points in a game. Bridget Pethke (New London, Wis.) tossed in a career-best 32 points against St. Olaf on Jan. 29, Shelby Auseth (Wanamingo, Minn.) netted 28 points against North Central (Ill.) on Dec. 28, while Euerle enjoyed back-to-back 20-point nights against Gustavus (Jan. 18) and Augsburg (Jan. 20). … Auseth and Darcey Rice (Eagan, Minn.) also scored in double figures vs. the Gusties last Saturday, finishing with 17 and 10 points, respectively. … Euerle enters Wednesday's matchup with Hamline leading the team in both scoring (12.3 ppg) and rebounding (7.3 rpg). … Auseth and Pethke are also averaging in double figures, heading into Wednesday's game vs. Hamline at 11.3 ppg and 10.6 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. … 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. … Pethke boasts a single-season career-high 102 assists through 23 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 139 3-pointers this season — ranking fifth-most in program history. … Rice has drained a team-leading 45 3-pointers, which is tied for the sixth-most in program history. … SMU — which has scored 80 or more points four times this season — heads into Wednesday's showdown with Hamline averaging 71.1 ppg, while limiting its opponents to just 56.7 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 Hamline Pipers:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
Wednesday's game at Saint Mary's is the final road game of the season for the Pipers, who are 3-9 away from Hutton Arena this season. … With their 76-53 loss to St. Olaf last Saturday, the Pipers have now alternated wins and losses in each of their last eight games. … After going 2-12 in their first 14 games — including a season-opening seven-game losing streak — HU is 5-4 in its last nine. … Jordan Sammons scored 18 points and Chelsey Bonsante added 14 against St. Olaf on Saturday. … Sammons also hauled in four rebounds and four steals, becoming the sixth player in HU history to eclipse 600 career rebounds and the fourth to surpass the 200 career steal mark. … Sammons heads into Wednesday's game at Saint Mary's averaging 21.8 ppg. … Sammons 21.8 ppg average is not only a team high, but also leads the MIAC by more than six points-per-game. … Sammons has now led the team in scoring in each of its last six games, and 18 times in HU's 23 contests. … Sammons — who has recorded 14 double-doubles this season — has scored 30 or more points twice this season, including a season-best 35 points in Hamline's season-opening win over Northwestern. Sammon also scored 31 points in the Pipers' first meeting against Saint Mary's on Jan. 15. … Bonsante is also averaging in double figures at 11.1 ppg. … Sammons boasts a team-best 225 rebounds (9.8 rpg), which ranks No. 2 in the conference. … Chloe Graves has dished out a team-best 49 assists, with Sammons owning a team-leading 74 steals. … Hamline, which is averaging 64.6 ppg, netted a season-best 92 points against Carleton on Jan. 25, while netting 90 points in a win over Cal-Tech on Dec. 31.