ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary’s University women’s basketball team’s run against the MIAC’s elite continues Monday, as SMU — which fell to Saint Benedict 81-61 on Saturday at the SMU Gym — hits the road to square off against fifth-place St. Thomas Monday at Gangelhoff Center on the Concordia-St. Paul campus in St. Paul, Minn.
The Records:
Saint Mary’s Cardinals (3-12 MIAC / 4-14 Overall)
St. Thomas Tommies (10-5 MIAC / 13-5 Overall)
GameDay On The Web:
Coach Pearson Preview
Last Action: Saint Benedict shot 58 percent from the field and built a 20-point, 44-24, halftime advantage, a lead the Blazers would never relinquish in handing the Cardinals an
81-61 conference setback at the SMU Gym. St. Thomas, meanwhile, got 24 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks from Rachel Booth, as the Tommies rallied from a seven-point deficit in the last six minutes of regulation and outlasted Macalester
76-75 in overtime.
Last Meeting — December 13, 2009: St. Thomas — bolstered by a 26-13 run to open the second half — built its lead as big as 24 points before holding off a late SMU charge to post a
68-58 conference win at the SMU Gym.
Saint Mary’s Cardinal Notes: Jess Miller (Carver, Minn.) scored a game-high 16 oints in the Cardinals’ loss to Saint Benedict Saturday. It was the fourth straight game — and 10th time this season — the Cardinal junior has led the team in scoring. … Miller, who extended her consecutive starts streak to 68 Saturday, netted a career-best 29 points on Dec. 7. … Miller has now scored in double figures 14 of the team’s 18 games. …
Jessica Thone (Woodbury, Minn.) scored 13 points and added 11 rebounds vs. Bethel on Jan. 23 en route to her first collegiate double-double. Her double-double vs. the Royals was the second of the season for the Cardinals, who also got a 16-point, 16-rebound effort from
Jamie Stefely (Lisle, Ill.) vs. Hamline on Jan. 6. … Thone has accounted for three of the Cardinals’ five 20-point performances this season (27, 22 and 21 points). Miller (27 points) and
Cherie Kulig (Independence, Wis. / 24 points) are the other two. … Miller and
Kim Kaminski (Milwaukee, Wis.) pulled down a team-high five rebounds against the Blazers Saturday, marking the fifth straight game in which a different player has led the team in rebounds. … Miller enters today’s game boasting a team-best 13.1 ppg scoring average, while Thone (10.1 ppg) is also averaging in double figures. … Thone leads the team in 3-pointers (37), while Kulig boasts a team-high 62 assists. … Three of SMU’s four wins this season have come at home. … The Cardinals’ 80-70 loss vs. Carleton on Jan. 4 was the first OT game of the season and just the second in the last three seasons for SMU. The Cardinals beat Bethel 73-69 in double overtime a year ago.
St. Thomas Tommie Notes: Saturday’s overtime win over Macalester was the fourth win in their last five games for the Tommies. … Ali Johnson scored a team-beat 18 points and Kassie Robinson chipped in 12 for the Tommies vs. Macalester. … Johnson’s 18-point effort vs. the Scots marked the second straight game she has led the team in scoring. Johnson and Rachel Booth have been the team’s scoring leader each of the last six games. … Booth enters tonight’s game as the only Tommie averaging in double figures (15.6 ppg). … Eight of the Tommies’ 13 wins have come on the road. … All five of UST’s losses have come in conference play. … With their win Saturday, the Tommies extended their streak to 25 straight seasons with at least one win vs. the Scots.