SAINT MARY'S CARDINALS 

(1-2 MIAC, 1-3 OVERALL)

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ST. SCHOLASTICA SAINTS

(0-2 MIAC, 1-3 OVERALL)

Team Home |Roster | Stats | Schedule

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LAST MEETING: Nov. 29, 2015 * L, 85-68

HEAD-TO-HEAD: Series History

SAINT MARY'S LAST ACTION:

Dec. 1, 2021 * St. John’s * L, 73-63

ST. SCHOLASTICA LAST ACTION: 

Dec. 1, 2021 * Augsburg * L, 83-68

SAINT MARY'S UP NEXT:

Dec. 8, 2021 * St. Olaf * Northfield, MN * 7:00

ST. SCHOLASTICA UP NEXT: 

Dec. 8, 2021 * Macalester * Duluth, MN * 7:00

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into Saturday’s first-ever conference meeting against St. Scholastica sitting at 1-3 overall. SMU dropped a 79-73 decision to Augustana (Ill.) in its season-opener, before outlasting Macalester (63-61) and falling to Hamline (67-64) and Saint John’s (73-63).

• LAST ACTION: Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) scored a game-high 23 points and Owen Ziegler (Mount Horeb, Wis.) chipped in 12, but Saint John’s knocked down a field goal and six free throws in the final minutes to pull out a 73-63 win over the Cardinals last Wednesday in Winona, Minn. 

• ROAD WARRIORS: The Cardinals are in the midst of opening the season playing five of their first six games on the road — the lone exception, last Wednesday’s matchup against Saint John’s. Following the St. Scholastica contest, the Cardinals will be back on the road at St. Olaf on Wednesday, before closing out the 2021 portion of its schedule with back-to-back home games against Bethel and UW-La Crosse, and a pair of games against UW-Superior and Mary Hardin-Baylor on Dec. 28 and 30 in Las Vegas, Nev.

• RARE HOME LOSS: The Cardinals’ 73-63 loss to Saint John’s last Wednesday snapped SMU’s three-game home winning streak. Saint Mary’s closed out the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season a perfect 3-0 on their home court — beating Gustavus (67-45), Bethel (57-48), and Hamline (57-54).

• CLOSE CALLS: The Cardinals’ first three conference games have been decided by a combined 15 points. SMU opened MIAC play with a two-point, 63-61 win over Macalester on Nov. 20, before dropping a three-point, 67-64 decision to Hamline and a 10-pont loss to Saint John’s in a game that was a four-point contest with 2:30 to play in regulation.

• GREATER THAN 20: Anthony’s 23 points against Saint John’s last Wednesday marked the first time this season the Cardinals had a player score 20 or more points in a game. It was also the eight time in his collegiate career than Anthony has eclipsed the 20-point barrier.

• PLENTY OF OPTIONS: Saint Mary’s put four players in double figures in last Wednesday’s 73-63 loss to Saint John’s. Anthony led the way with 23 points, while Ziegler chipped in 12, and Caden Freetly (Farmington, Minn.) and Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill.) each added 10.

• LEADING THE CHARGE: Saint Mary’s has two players averaging in double figures in scoring, led by Anthony at 18.5 ppg. Anthony-Bello is sitting at 10.3 ppg, followed by Ziegler (9.5 ppg), Freetly (7.3 ppg), and Shawn Pickford (Minneapolis, Minn. / 7.0 ppg).

• CAREER PERFORMANCES: Saint Mary’s has four players who have recorded single-game career-highs of 10 or more points this season — Ziegler (15 v. Hamline), Noah Frechette (Lakeville, Minn. / 14 v. Macalester), Hunter Phillips (Minong, Wis. / 13 v. Martin Luther), and Jabari Sawyer (Chicago, Ill. / 11 v. Macalester).

• ON THE GLASS: After recording 39 rebounds in their season-opening overtime loss to Augustana, the Cardinals hauled in a season-high 43 boards in back-to-back games against Macalester and Hamline. … Freetly leads the team with 19 rebounds (4.8 rpg), two more than Phillips (17, 4.3 rpg), while Anthony-Bello (16, 5.3 rpg) and Anthony (15, 7.5 rpg) also own 15 or more rebounds this season. … Anthony has led the team in rebounding in each of the last two games — including a season-high nine boards against Hamline on Nov. 23.

• GOING DEEP: The Cardinals drained a season-high 12 3 pointers against Saint John’s last Wednesday, led by Anthony and Ziegler with three each. … SMU’s 12 3-pointers were just two shy of the single-game school record. … Saint Mary’s has knocked down 32 3-pointers through four games, led by Ziegler with 11 — including five en route to his career-high 15-point performance against Hamline on Nov. 23.

• LENDING A HAND: Saint Mary’s has dished out 48 assists in its first four games, including a season-high 15 against Augustana on Nov. 16. Anthony and Freetly share the team lead with seven helpers each, followed by Anthony-Bello and Phillips with six.

• WORKING OVERTIME: Saint Mary’s 79-73 loss to Augustana on Nov. 16 was its first overtime game since beating Carleton 79-77 on Feb. 12, 2020. Saint Mary’s finished 2-0 in overtime games during the 2019-20 season.

• SPREADING THE WEALTH: Eleven of the 12 Cardinals who saw playing time against Augustana on Nov. 16 scored at least two points, while nine different players have scored two or points three times this season.

• CONFERENCE CLIMB: Prior to its conference-opener against Macalester on Nov. 20, Saint Mary’s had not played an official MIAC game since the 2019-20 season, when the Cardinals finished 10-10 and earned their first MIAC Tournament berth since 1985. Saint Mary’s made its first MIAC Tournament appearance since 1985 in 2019-20, collecting the program’s first postseason victory with its 72-59 quarterfinal win over Bethel on Feb. 25. … SMU’s 10 MIAC wins in 2019-20 were the most since going 11-9 during the 1999-2000 season.

• WINNING WAYS: Saint Mary’s 6-2 record in the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 included a five-game winning streak. It was the longest winning streak since winning six in a row as part of an 8-1 start to the 2010-11 season.

• FOR THE RECORD: St. Scholastica enters its conference matchup against Saint Mary’s owning a 1-3 overall record, while the Saints are still searching for their first MIAC victory in program history, having dropped league games to Saint John’s (74-51) and Augsburg (83-68).

• LAST ACTION: Trailing by just three at halftime, the Saints were outscored 42-30 over the game’s final 20 minutes — including a game-ending 24-12 Augsburg run — as the Auggies dealt CSS an 83-68 setback Wednesday in Minneapolis, Minn.

• STREAKING ALONG: After opening the season with a split of nonconference games against UW-River Falls and UW-Superior — beating the Falcons 77-76 in overtime and falling to the Yellowjackets 69-60 — CSS has dropped back-to-back conference tilts.

• HOME COOKING: Saturday’s game against Saint Mary’s is the first of back-to-back home games for the Saints, who open the season playing five of their first six games on their home court. Following home games with Saint Mary’s and Macalester (Wednesday), CSS will close out the 2021 portion of its schedule with four straight road games — at Carleton, at Northwestern, and a pair of games at the Loras Holiday Classic.

• LEADING THE OFFENSE: St. Scholastica enters Saturday’s game with Saint Mary’s boasting three players who are averaging in double figures, led by Nick Carlson, who is averaging 14.3 ppg. Jack Silgen and Quinn Fischer are also averaging in double figures at 13.5 ppg and 11.5 ppg. … Carlson has scored 10 or more points in all four games this season, while Silgen has finished in double figures in three of CSS’s four contests.

• GREATER THAN 20: The Saints have had a player score 20 or more points in three of their four games this season. Fischer and Carlson have each posted a 20-point performance — Fischer vs. UW-Superior on Nov. 17 and Carlson against Augsburg last Wednesday — while Silgen poured in a season-high 22 points against UW-River Falls on Nov. 10.

• WIPING THE GLASS: St. Scholastica has three players who have hauled in 20 or more rebounds this season, led by Silgen and Fischer with 32 boards each (8.0 rpg). Carlson is third on the team with 21 rebounds (5.3 rpg), followed by Jeff Moore with 13 (4.3 rpg). … Fischer pulled down a season-high 11 rebounds against UW-Superior on Nov. 17, while Fischer owns a pair of nine-rebound performances.

• AS A TEAM: The Saints are shooting 38.8 percent from the field (92-for-237) with 20 3-pointers, and have connected on 60 of 89 (67.4 percent) from the free throw line. … CSS is averaging 68.0 ppg, while the Saints’ opponents are scoring at a 73.5 ppg clip. … St. Scholastica scored a season-high 76 points in its season-opening 77-76 loss to UW-River Falls on Nov. 10 and has netted 60 or more points in two of its other three games. On the flip side, the Saints have surrendered 70 or more points in three of their four contests, including a season-high 83 points in last Wednesday’s 83-68 loss to Augsburg.