NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's basketball team — ranked No. 18 in the D3hoops.com Top 25 and No. 17 in the USA TODAY Sports Division III Top 25 — takes to the road on Wednesday, heading to West Gym for a 7:30 p.m. conference showdown with Carleton.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (15-1 MIAC | 18-1 Overall) at Carleton Knights (3-13 MIAC | 5-14 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals pushed their winning streak to 15 straight Monday, getting a game-high 14 points from Shelby Auseth (Wanamingo, Minn.) and 12 more from Darcey Rice (Eagan, Minn.) en route to a 75-52 MIAC win over Macalester at the SMU Gym Monday. … Carleton boasted three players in double figures, but could not overcome Bethel's size advantage, as the Royals pulled down 51 rebounds in handing the Knights a 74-51 conference setback at Robertson Center in Arden Hills, Minn.

SMU vs. Carleton — Earlier This Year:
January 13, 2014: SMU entered its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game against Carleton flying high — having knocked off ninth-ranked St. Thomas just 48 hours earlier. And if coach Mandy Pearson had any fears of an emotional letdown against the Knights, the Cardinals quickly put them to rest. SMU took control from the opening tip — scoring back-to-back 3-pointers to open the game — and never looking back in cruising to a 68-55 conference win at the SMU Gym.

SMU vs. Carleton — A Year Ago:
January 5, 2013: The Cardinals made sure this year's first meeting between the two teams would not end the way last year's did — in other words, decided by a single point — as SMU scored 10 of the first 12 points to start the second half, and never looked back in cruising to a 50-36 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory at West Gym in Northfield, Minn.
February 2, 2013: If SMU coach Mandy Pearson was concerned about her team looking past Carleton and ahead to its showdown a day later against league-leading Concordia, the Cardinals quickly put those fears to rest. SMU opened the game with a Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) basket and promptly built their lead to 15 at the half in rolling to a 57-46 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory over the Knights at the SMU Gym.

Up Next:
The Cardinals are back on the road on Saturday, as SMU heads to Schoenecker Arena in St. Paul, Minn., for a 1 p.m. showdown against second-place and nationally ranked St. Thomas. … Carleton returns to West Gym in Northfield, Minn., on Saturday, as the Knights host Gustavus in a 1 p.m. game.

Where They Stand:
The Cardinals, ranked No. 18 in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25 and No. 17 in the USA TODAY Sports Division III Top 25, are sitting atop the conference standings with six regular-season MIAC games remaining. At 15-1, SMU is one game up on St. Thomas — which hosts the Cardinals on Saturday — and two games in front of Concordia. With their win over Macalester, the Cardinals have already clinched an MIAC tournament berth for the third straight season.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
road. … With their 75-52 win over Macalester Monday, the Cardinals improved to 10-0 on their home court this season. SMU is now 21-1 at home over the past two seasons. … The Cardinals pushed their winning streak to 15 straight with Monday's 75-52 win over Macalester — the longest win streak since the Cardinals opened the 1985-86 season 19-0. That 1985-86 squad went on to win Saint Mary's last MIAC regular-season women's basketball title and qualify for the NCAA national tournament, finishing the season 24-3 overall. … The Cardinals boasted three players in double figures — and had 11 different players score — in Monday's win over Macalester. … Shelby Auseth (Wanamingo, Minn.) scored a game-high 14 points, while Darcey Rice (Eagan, Minn.) knocked down four 3-pointers for 12 points, and Courtney Euerle (Litchfield, Minn.) tallied 10 points and eight rebounds vs. the Scots Monday. … Euerle was named MIAC Athlete of the Week for the second straight week, the MIAC announced Monday. … For the first time this season, SMU boasted a pair of double-double performers in last Saturday's 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. … With her 10 points vs. Macalester, Euerle has now scored in double figures in six straight games, 14 times this season and 42 times in her collegiate career. … Awoniyi's 13 rebounds vs. CC were a season- and career-high. … Bridget Pethke (New London, Wis.) poured 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). … 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. … SMU enters Wednesday's game at Carleton boasting three players averaging in double figures — Euerle (12.3 ppg), Auseth (12.1 ppg) and Pethke (10.8 ppg). … Euerle also leads the team with 141 rebounds (7.8 rpg). … Pethke, who leads the team with 91 assists, equaled her career-best with seven assists vs. Bethel on Jan. 22. It was the third time this season and seventh time in her collegiate career that Pethke has hit the seven-assist mark. … Pethke's 91 assist this season are a career high. … For the third time this season, SMU drained a season-high nine 3-pointers against Macalester Monday — with Rice accounting for four of them. … SMU owns 119 3-pointers this season, led by Rice with 37. … SMU — which has scored 80 or more points four times this season — heads into Wednesday's showdown with Carleton averaging 73.5 ppg, while limiting its opponents to just 57.9 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' 85-73 win over CSB on Jan. 25 was SMU's sixth straight victory over the Blazers. … 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 Carleton Knights:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's is the first of back-to-back home games for the Knights, who have posted three of their five wins on their home court. … Carleton's 74-51 loss to Bethel Monday was the Knights' second straight setback. … Carleton, which snapped a season-high nine-game losing streak with a 57-51 win over St. Catherine on Jan. 29, is 1-11 in its last 12 games. … Bethel's 74 points marked the 11th time this season the Knights have surrendered 11 or more points in a game. … Carleton boasted three players — Jenny Ramey (13 points), Emma Purfeerst (12 points) and Gabbi Stienstra (11 points) — in double figures vs. Bethel Monday. … Skylar Tsutsui is the team's scoring leader, averaging 16.3 ppg, while Ramey (10.9 ppg) and Purfeerst (10.5 ppg) are also averaging in double figures. … Purfeerst is the team's rebound leader (132, 6.9 rpg) and owns three double-doubles. … Tsutsui owns the Knights' season-high single-game scoring performance, netting 29 points against Catholic University on Nov. 30, while Purfeerst added a 27-point showing against Hamline on Dec. 7. … As a team, Carleton has scored 80 or more points in four of its five wins this season — including a season-high 85 points in a season-opening 85-62 win over Colorado College on Nov. 29