SAINT MARY'S CARDINALS 

(2-4 MIAC, 3-6 OVERALL)

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GUSTAVUS GUSTIES

(5-1 MIAC, 6-2 OVERALL)

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LAST MEETING:

Feb. 24, 2021 

L, 81-51 * Series History

SAINT MARY'S LAST ACTION:

Dec. 11, 2021 * Bethel * L, 65-51

GUSTAVUS LAST ACTION:

Dec.11, 2021 * St. Catherine * W, 65-55

SAINT MARY'S UP NEXT:

Jan. 8, 2022 * Carleton * Winona, MN * 1:00

GUSTAVUS UP NEXT: 

Jan. 8, 2022 * Hamline * St. Peter, MN * 1:00

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into their first game of 2022 sitting at 3-6 on the season, while sporting a 2-4 mark in conference play.

• LAST ACTION: The Cardinals have been off since Dec. 11, when they dropped a 65-51 decision to Bethel Brooklyn Paulson (Holmen, Wis.) led the Cardinal offense, scoring 16 points.

• HOME COOKING: The Cardinals are in the midst of playing five of six contests on their home court. SMU closed out 2021 with back-to-back home contests against St. Olaf and Bethel, and after Wednesday’s contest at Gustavus, will host Carleton, Augsburg and St. Catherine in their next three games.

• THREES COMPANY: Paulson, Izzy Goettelman (Winona, Minn.), and Ashley Streveler (Colby, Wis.) accounted for 38 of the Cardinals’ 51 points in last Saturday’s 65-51 loss to Bethel — including all 27 SMU points in the first half.

• GREATER THAN 20: Paulson’s team-best 24-point showing against St. Olaf on Dec. 8 marked the third time this season the SMU senior eclipsed the 20-point mark, having also netted 22 points against Macalester on Nov. 20 and 24 points against Hamline three days later. Paulson has now scored 20 or more points 11 times in her collegiate career.

• DOUBLING UP: Paulson’s 24-point, 12-rebound effort against Hamline on Nov. 23 was her first double-double of the season. Paulson posted her first collegiate double-double — also against Hamline — with 13 points and 11 rebounds on Feb. 27, 2021.

• CAREER HIGHS: Saint Mary’s has had five players record career-highs of 10 or more points in a game this season, including four — Biermeier (19), Streveler (18), Valerie Higgins (Sioux Falls, S.D. / 13), and Alyssa Coleman (Matteson, Ill. / 12) —  in the Cardinals’ 80-74 win over Martin Luther on Nov. 15. … Goettelman poured in a career-best 13 points against Hamline on Nov. 23 and Macey Petron (Royalton, Minn.) delivered a career-high 11 vs. Luther on Sunday. … Paulson also had a career night against the Pipers on Nov. 23 with 12 rebounds.

• LEADING THE CHARGE: Paulson enters Wednesday’s matchup against Gustavus averaging a team- and conference-leading 18.0 ppg scoring average. Jada Biermeier (Eau Claire, Wis.) is second on the team in scoring at 9.1 ppg, followed by Goettelman (8.3 ppg) and Streveler (8.2 ppg). … Paulson has led or shared the team lead in scoring in eight of their nine games — including each of the last seven.

• HITTING THE BOARDS: Along with her team-leading 18.0 ppg scoring average, Paulson is also the team’s leader in rebounds with 62 (6.9 rpg), followed by Biermeier with 45 (5.0 rpg). … Paulson’s career-high 12-rebound showing against Hamline on Nov. 23 were the most in a game since Rachel Kedl recorded 16 boards against Hamline on Jan. 11, 2020.

• FROM DOWNTOWN: The Cardinals rained in a season-high 10 3-pointers against Hamline on Nov. 23, led by Paulson with five. Paulson leads the team with 19 3-pointers, while Streveler is second with 14. SMU — which has knocked down eight or more treys three times this season — is shooting 29.7 percent from behind the arc this season (55-for-185).

• FREE POINTS: Biermeier knocked down a season- and career-high 10 free throws on 12 attempts against Martin Luther on Nov. 15. The 10 made free throws were the most by a Cardinal since Shayley Vesel went 10-for-13 from the charity stripe against Augsburg on Feb. 5, 2020. … Saint Mary’s 28 made free throws against Martin Luther on Nov. 15 were the most since netting 32 against Bethel on Feb. 27, 2014, while the Cardinals’ 35 free throws attempted were the most since attempting 35 vs. Macalester on Feb. 10, 2018.

• AS A TEAM: The Cardinals are shooting 33.6 percent from the field (181-for-538), with 55 3-pointers, and are 146 of 206 (70.9 percent) from the free throw line. The Cardinals 70.9 percent accuracy from the line is second in the MIAC. … SMU is averaging 62.6 ppg, while the Cardinals’ opponents are scoring at a 68.2 ppg clip. … Saint Mary’s finished with a season-high 71 field goal attempts in its 72-63 loss to St. Olaf Wednesday.

• WORKING OVERTIME: Saint Mary’s 75-71 loss to Hamline on Nov. 23 was its first overtime game of the season. The Cardinals played a single-season, program-record four overtime games during the 2019-20 season, including three that were decided by two points.

• RAINING IN POINTS: The Cardinals’ 80-point effort against Martin Luther on Nov. 15 was its top offensive performance since scoring 85 points an 87-85 overtime loss to Hamline on Jan. 11, 2020.

• RAINING IN POINTS: The Cardinals’ 80-point effort against Martin Luther on Nov. 15 was its top offensive performance since scoring 85 points an 87-85 overtime loss to Hamline on Jan. 11, 20206

• MAC ATTACK: The Cardinals’ 63-58 win over Macalester on Nov. 20 was the 19th win against the Scots in their previous 20 meetings.

• FOR THE RECORD: The Gusties coming into Wednesday’s conference matchup against Saint Mary’s sitting at 6-2 overall, while sporting a near-perfect 5-1 record in MIAC play.

• LAST ACTION: Gustavus has been off since Dec. 11, when the Gusties got 11 points from both Syd Hauger and Emma Kniefel and rolled to a 65-55 MIAC win over St. Catherine on the road.

• BACK ON THE WINNING TRACK: The Gusties’ 10-point win over St. Catherine was their sixth in the last seven games. After opening the season with an 81-65 loss to Simpson, GAC rattled off five straight wins, before having that streak snapped with a 55-46 setback at the hands of Augsburg on Dec. 8.

• HOIME SWEET HOME: Wednesday’s game against Saint Mary’s is the first of three straight home contests for the Gusties, who will also host Hamline (Jan. 8) and Concordia (Jan. 10) at the Lund Center Gym, before hitting the road on Jan. 12 for a conference showdown against Saint Benedict. GAC is unbeaten on its home court (4-0), while going 2-2 on the road this season.

• LEADING THE CHARGE: Kniefel and Anna Sanders enter 2022 as the Gusties’ leading scorers, averaging 13.6 ppg and 10.9 ppg, respectively. Morgan Kelly (7.1 ppg) and Hauger (7.0) are sitting third and fourth on the team in scoring. … Kniefel has scored 10 or more points in seven of the team’s eight games — including a season-high 22 points twice.

• FROM DOWNTOWN: the Gusties have knocked down 39 3-pointers this season, led by Sanders with 13. Sanders is shooting 44.8 percent (13-for-29) from behind the arc.

• HITTING THE GLASS: Rachel Kawiecki owns a team-leading 55 rebounds (6.9 rpg) — including a season-high 14-rebound effort against Luther on Nov. 17. Grace Benz is second to Kawieck with 39 boards, and the duo are two of six Gusties with 20 or more rebounds through eight games.

• DOUBLING UP: Kawiecki owns the Gusties’ lone double-double this season, posting 16 points and 14 rebounds against Luther on Nov. 17.

• LENDING A HAND: The Gusties boast five players with 10 or more assists through eight games, led by Kniefel and Sanders with 16 each. Maddy Rice is third with 13, followed by Kylie Barnick with 12 and Kawiecki with 10.

• STEALING THE SHOW: Kniefel has recorded a team-leading 14 steals, followed by Rice with 13, Sanders and Hauger with 12, and Benz with 10.

• AS A TEAM: The Gusties are shooting 42.7 percent from the field (200-for-468) with 39 3-pointers and are 88-for-136 (64.7) from the free throw line. GAC is scoring at a 65.9 ppg clip, while the Gusties’ opponents are scoring just 59.6 ppg. … The Gusties have scored 70 or more points in a game four times — including a season-high 81 points in beating St. Olaf 81-70 on Nov. 23. … Gustavus has outscored its opponents in each of the first three quarters — including 124-107 in the second and 145-112 in the third — but have been outscored 128-115 in the game’s final 10-minute period.