SAINT MARY'S CARDINALS 

(7-15 MIAC, 8-17 OVERALL)

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ST. OLAF OLES

(7-15 MIAC, 8-17 OVERALL)

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First Round | Sat., Feb. 19, 2022
No. 12 St. Scholastica at No. 5 Saint Benedict | 1:00 p.m.
No. 11 Macalester at No. 6 Carleton | 1:00 p.m.
No. 10 St. Catherine at No. 7 Concordia | 1:00 p.m.
No. 9 St. Olaf at No. 8 Saint Mary's | 1:00 p.m.

Quarterfinals | Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022
No. 8/9 at No. 1 Augsburg | 5:45 p.m.
No. 7/10 at No. 2 Gustavus | 5:45 p.m.
No. 6/11 at No. 3 Bethel | 7:00 p.m.
No. 5/12 at No. 4 Hamline | 7:00 p.m.

Semifinals | Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022
High-seed host | 7:00 p.m.
High-seed host | 7:00 p.m.

Championship | Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022 |
High-seed host | 3:00 p.m.

EARLIER THIS YEAR:

L, 72-63 * W, 66-57 * Series History

SAINT MARY'S LAST ACTION:

Feb. 16, 2022 * St. Catherine * L, 63-42

ST. OLAF LAST ACTION:

Feb. 16, 2022 *  St. Scholastica * W, 67-59

SMU-STO WINNER - UP NEXT: 

Feb. 22, 2022 * at #1 Augsburg * 5:45

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into their MIAC Playoff opener against St. Olaf sitting at 8-17 overall, including a 7-14 showing in conference play. Saint Mary’s is the No. 8 seed in the 12-team post-season tournament, finishing tied with St. Olaf in the conference standings, but earning the higher seed via the second tie-breaker.

• MIAC HISTORY: The Cardinals are making their 10th MIAC Playoff appearance and their first since 2019. Saint Mary’s has reached the MIAC Playoff title game twice, falling to St. Thomas both times — 71-58 in 2014 and 77-65 in 2016.

• LAST TIME OUT: The Cardinals struggled to find their offensive rhythm in their regular-season finale, managing just 14 first-half points in falling to St. Catherine 63-42 Wednesday in St. Paul, Minn.

• HOME COOKING: Wednesday’s game against St. Catherine in the teams’ regular-season finale was the fifth road game in the last six contests for the Cardinals. Saint Mary’s enters post-season play owning a 4-8 record on its home floor, while going 4-9 away from the Saint Mary’s Gym.

• LEADING THE CHARGE: Brooklyn Paulson (Holmen, Wis.) enters Saturday’s showdown with St. Olaf leading the team — and the conference — in scoring with an 18.0 ppg average. Izzy Goettelman (Winona, Minn.) is sitting second with an 8.3 ppg scoring average, followed by Jada Biermeier (Eau Claire, Wis. / 7.8) and Ashley Streveler (Colby, Wis. / 6.9 ppg). … Paulson — who has netted 10 or more points in 23 of SMU’s 25 games this season — has led or shared the team lead in scoring in 21 of those 25 contests.

• CRACKING 20: Coming off a 23-point showing against Concordia on Feb. 12, Paulson put together her second straight 20+ point night against Carleton last Monday, finishing with 22 points. … Paulson has eclipsed the 20-point barrier in three of SMU’s last five games and nine times this season. … Goettelman is the only other Cardinal with a 20+ point game this season, netting a career-best 22 against St. Scholastica on Jan. 29.

• NIGHT TO REMEMBER: Paulson enjoyed a night to remember against Gustavus on Feb. 2. The senior scored a career-high 32 points — the most by a Cardinal since Alexa Huisman netted 32 against Hamline on Jan. 20, 2018 — and became just the second player in program history to net eight 3-pointers in a game, joining Ashley Luehmann, who achieved the feat in against St. Catherine on Jan. 22, 2005.

• JOINING THE CLUB: With her sixth point against Gustavus on Feb. 2, Paulson became the 12th playing in program history to score 1,000 career points — and the first since Brandi Blattner ’19 joined the 1,000=point Club. … Paulson enters Saturday’s matchup against St. Olaf sitting 10th all-time with 1,131 career points. Next up on the list, Jessica Thone ’13, who is ninth with 1,158 career points.

• DOUBLING UP: Paulson has recorded four double-doubles this season — including a 25-point, 11-rebound showing vs. St. Olaf on Feb. 7 — and owns five double-doubles in her collegiate career. … Biermeier picked up her first collegiate double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds against St. Scholastica on Jan. 29.

• CAREER SCORING HIGHS: Saint Mary’s has had seven players record career-highs of 10 or more points in a game this season — Paulson (32), Goettelman (22), Biermeier (19), Streveler (18), Valerie Higgins (Sioux Falls, S.D. / 13), Alyssa Coleman (Matteson, Ill. / 12), and Macey Petron (Royalton, Minn. / 11).

• CLEANING THE GLASS: Along with her team-leading 18.0 ppg scoring average, Paulson is also the team’s leader in rebounds with 168 (6.7 rpg), followed by Biermeier with 142 (5.9 rpg), Goettelman with 101 (4.0 rpg), and Macey Petron with 100 (4.3 rpg).

• BIG BOARD NIGHTS: Paulson had a career night against Hamline on Nov. 23, finishing with 12 rebounds, while Goettelman hauled in a career-best 10 boards against Augsburg on Jan. 10 — missing out on her first collegiate double-double by one point. … 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. … Biermeier’s 11-rebound effort against St. Scholastica on Jan. 29 equaled her four-year career high.

• RAINING IN 3s: The Cardinals’ 15 3-pointers against Concordia on Feb. 12 were a single-game school record, breaking the old mark of 14, originally set on Feb. 18, 2004 against St. Catherine and equaled — also against St. Catherine — on Jan. 22, 2005.

• FROM DOWNTOWN: The Cardinals’ school-record 15 3-pointers against Concordia on Feb. 12 marked the fifth time this season SMU has hit 10 or more treys in a game. … Paulson — who accounted for eight of the team’s nine 3-pointers against Gustavus on Feb. 2 — leads the team with 67 3-pointers, while Streveler is second with 38. Streveler hit five 3-pointers en route to her 15 points against Carleton on Jan. 8.

• FREE POINTS: Biermeier knocked down a season- and career-high 10 free throws on 12 attempts against Martin Luther on Nov. 15, while Goettelman went 10-for-13 from the line against St. Scholastica on Jan. 29.  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.

• THREE’S COMPANY: Paulson, Goettelman, and Streveler accounted for 38 of the Cardinals’ 51 points in the Cardinals’ 65-51 loss to Bethel on Dec. 11 — including all 27 SMU points in the first half.

• AS A TEAM: The Cardinals are shooting 33.9 percent from the field (489-for-1442, with 176 3-pointers, and are 311 of 427 (72.8 percent) from the free throw line. … SMU is averaging 58.6 ppg, while the Cardinals’ opponents are scoring at a 65.6 ppg clip. … Saint Mary’s finished with a season-high 71 field goal attempts in its 72-63 loss to St. Olaf on Dec. 8.

• BEST 10 MINUTES: The Cardinals’ 34-point second quarter against Carleton on Jan. 8 was its highest single-quarter performance since the NCAA went back to the quarter system prior to the 2015-16 season.

• RAINING IN POINTS: The Cardinals’ 85-point effort in their 85-58 win over Carleton on Jan. 8 were a season-high, and marked the second time this season SMU has netted 80 or more points in a game — having also tallied 80 in beating Martin Luther 80-74 on Nov. 15. … SMU’s 85 points are the most in a game since scoring 85 points an 87-85 overtime loss to Hamline on Jan. 11, 2020.

• WORKING OVERTIME: Saint Mary’s 75-71 loss to Hamline in the teams’ first meeting 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.

• FOR THE RECORD: The Oles head to Saint Mary’s to kick off post-season play boasting an 8-17 overall record, including a 7-15 mark in 22 conference games. The ninth-seeded Oles finished the regular-season tied with Saint Mary’s for eighth in the MIAC standings, but lost the second tie-breaker to fall to the No. 9 seed.

• MIAC HISTORY: St. Olaf is making its fourth appearance in the MIAC Playoffs since the tournament began in 2001, previously appearing in 2002, 2012, and 2014. The Oles are in search of their first-ever win in the MIAC Playoffs.

• LAST TIME OUT: St. Olaf closed out regular-season play on a high note, opening the second half on a 12-0 run in cruising to a 67-59 conference win over St. Scholastica Wednesday in Northfield, Minn.

• HOME SWEET HOME: St. Olaf hits the road on Saturday, after closing out the regular season with back-to-back home games. The Oles are 3-8 on the road, while closing out the home portion of their schedule 5-9 at Skoglund Center.

• STREAKING: Wednesday’s eight-point win over St. Scholastica snapped the Oles’ five-game losing streak — a streak that included a 66-57 loss to Saint Mary’s on Feb. 7. … Eleven of St. Olaf’s 17 losses have come during two lengthy losing streaks — one of five games and the other of six. On the flip side, St. Olaf has won back-to-back games just once this season.

• LEADER OF THE PACK: St. Olaf boasts two players who enter post-season play averaging in double figures — Rachel Kelly (14.7 ppg) and K’Lynn Lewis (13.0 ppg). Sophie Olmen is third on the team, averaging 6.8 ppg. … Kelly has scored 10 or more points 17 times this season — including four games of 20+ points. … Kelly scored a season-high 26 points against St. Catherine on Jan. 22.

• HITTING THE CENTURY MARK: St. Olaf has three players who have amassed 100 or more rebounds this season. Kelly leads the way with 171 boards (8.6 rpg), followed by Sophia Kormann with 138 (5.5 rpg), and Olmen (121, 4.8 rpg). … Kelly recorded a season-high 20 rebounds against St. Scholastica on Wednesday. 

• DOUBLING UP: Kelly boasts a team-high six double-doubles, hitting double figures in both points and rebounds against Saint Mary’s (12 pts., 17 reb. & 18 pts, 14 reb.), Concordia (23 pts., 13 reb.), Hamline (21 pts., 12 reb.), University of Dubuque (17 pts., 10 reb.), and St. Scholastica (19 pts, 20 reb.). … Koirmann owns the Oles’ other double-double, an 11-point, 11-rebound effort against St. Scholastica on Jan. 12.

• BOMBS AWAY: The Oles have poured in 149 3-pointers this season — including netting a season-high 10 3-pointers in a game twice. Lewis is one of three St. Olaf players with 20 or more 3-pointers, owning 42 treys in 22 games. Paige Yagodinski (35) and Olmen (22) have also drained more than 20 3-pointers this season.

• LENDING A HAND: St. Olaf has been in a very giving mood this season, dishing out 309 assists through 25 games — led by Lewis (59), Cassie Fix (47), Olmen (42), and Kelly (35).

• AS A TEAM: St. Olaf is shooting 38.5 percent from the field (536-for-1391) with 149 3-pointers and are 254-for-407 (62.4 percent) from the free throw line. … The Oles are averaging 59.0 ppg, while their opponents are averaging 64.8 ppg. … The Oles have scored 80 or more points twice — beating Crown 84-39 against Crown on Nov. 16 and scoring a season-high 86 points in dropping Macalester 86-67 on Nov. 30. On the flip side, St. Olaf surrendered a season-high 102 points in falling to Bethel 102-47.