SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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2022-23: 2-6 MIAC, 3-8 Overall

BETHEL ROYALS

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2022-23: 7-2 MIAC, 7-5 Overall

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SMU-BU * LAST MEETING:

L, 65-51 * L, 73-29

Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

Jan. 7, 2023 * Winona, MN

Saint Benedict * L, 65-58

BETHEL * LAST ACTION:

Jan. 9, 2023 * St. Paul, MN

St. Catherine * W, 61-53

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

Jan. 14, 2023 * Duluth, MN

St. Scholastica * 3 p.m.

BETHEL * UP NEXT: 

Jan. 14, 2023 * St. Joseph, MN

Saint Benedict * 3 p.m.

SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals enter their conference matchup at Bethel on Wednesday sitting at 3-8 overall and 2-6 through the first seven games of the conference schedule. 

• LAST TIME OUT: The Cardinals outscored Saint Benedict 23-11 in the third quarter, but could not hold the Bennies down in the fourth quarter, as CSB dealt Saint Mary’s a 65-58 conference setback last Saturday at the Saint Mary’s Gym.

• ROAD WARRIORS: The Cardinals’ game against Bethel on Wednesday is the first of back-to-back road games. SMU is in the midst of playing five of six games on the road — the lone exception, last Saturday’s 65-58 loss to Saint Benedict. … SMU is 2-3 in its five home games this season, while sporting a 1-5 record away from the Saint Mary’s Gym. 

• CLOSE CALLS: Saint Mary’s 65-58 loss to Saint Benedict last Saturday marked the fifth straight game decided by 10 points or less. Along with the seven-point loss to Saint Benedict, SMU lost to Hamline (69-60), beat Massachusetts Institute of Technology (60-53), and fell to Penn State Behrend (71-65) and UW-Stevens Point (81-79 OT).

• CARRYING THE LOAD: Brooklyn Paulson (Holmen, Wis.) heads into Wednesday’s matchup at Bethel leading the team in scoring with a 14.9 ppg average, while Izzy Goettelman (Winona, Minn.) is also averaging in double figures at 11.8 ppg. … Paulson has netted 10 or more points in nine of SMU’s 11 games this season. … Either Goettelman or Paulson has led the team in scoring in eight of their first 11 contests, with Alyssa Coleman (Matteson, Ill.), Ashley Streveler (Colby, Wis.), and Katelyn Cruze (Litchfield, Minn.) each leading the team in scoring once.

• GREATER THAN 20: Saint Mary’s has had a player score 20 or more points six times this season — including four of the Cardinals’ last five games. Paulson owns three games or 20 or more points, while Goettelman has scored 20 or more points twice and Streveler has eclipsed the 20-point mark once. … Paulson has scored 20 or more points 20 times in her collegiate career, while Goettelman has achieved the feat three times and Streveler once.

• CLIMBING THE LADDER: Paulson, who recorded her 1,000th career point against Gustavus on Feb. 2, 2022, is sitting sixth all-time with 1,318 career points. Next up on the list — Ashley Luehmann ’06, who is fifth at 1,438.

• ALONE AT THE TOP: With her two 3-pointers against St. Catherine on Dec. 7, Paulson surpassed Ashley Luehmann ’06 as the all-time career-leader in 3-pointers made. Paulson heads into Wednesday’s game vs. Bethel with 221 career 3-pointers. The senior also holds the career mark for 3-pointers attempted at 634.

• SPREADING THE WEALTH: Saint Mary’s got at least three points from 10 of the 11 players who took the court against Carleton on Dec. 3, and put four players in double figures for the first time this season — Alyssa Coleman (Matteson, Ill.)  netted a team-high 17 points, followed by Streveler with 15, Goettelman with 11, and Paulson with 10.

• CAREER HIGHS: Streveler became the fifth Cardinal player to recorded a career-high game of 10 or more points with her 22-point effort against Hamline on Jan. 4. Goettelman (23 points), Coleman (17), Cruze (14), and Graysin Hartjes (Kaukauna, Wis. / 10) have also posted career-best games this season.

• CLEANING THE GLASS: Paulson leads the Cardinals with 75 rebounds (6.8 rpg), followed by Cruze (64. 5.8 rpg) and Goettelman (55, 5.0 rpg). … Sixty-eight of Paulson’s 74 rebounds through 11 games have come on the defensive end.

• DOUBLING UP: Cruze collected the Cardinals’ first double-double of the season — and the first of her collegiate career — against Macalester on Nov. 22, scoring 11 points and adding 10 rebounds. The junior matched that 11-point, 10-rebound effort against MIT on Dec. 30 for double-double No. 2. … The 10 rebounds are a career-high for Cruze. … Paulson recorded four double-doubles last season and owns five double-doubles in her collegiate career.

• FROM BEYOND THE ARC: The Cardinals poured in a season-high 12 3-pointers in their 81-67 win over Carleton on Dec. 3. SMU’s 12 3-pointers against the Knights were just three shy of the single-game program record of 15, set against Concordia on Feb. 12, 2022. … Paulson leads the team with 21 3-pointers, followed by Streveler with 16 and Goettelman with 14.  As a team, SMU has drained 69 treys — with Paulson, Streveler, and Goettelman accounting for 51 of them.

• LENDING A HAND: Streveler boasts a team-high 35 assists, five up on Paulson, while Goettelman has chipped in 16 helpers. The trio have combined for 81 of SMU’s 120 assists through 11 games. … Paulson and Goettelman have each recorded a season-high seven-assist game this season — Paulson against Carleton on Dec. 4 and Goettelman vs. UW-Stevens Point on Dec. 14.

• COMEBACK FOR THE AGES: Saint Mary’s overcame its largest fourth-quarter deficit since the NCAA switched from halves to quarters prior to the 2015-16 season against St. Olaf on Dec. 2, rallying from 19 points down to beat the Oles 62-60.

• WORKING OVERTIME: The Cardinals’ 81-79 loss to UW-Stevens Point on Dec. 14 was its first overtime game of the season. The Cardinals played just one overtime game a year ago, falling to Hamline 75-71 on Nov. 23, 2021. The Cardinals played a single-season, program-record four overtime games during the 2019-20 season, including three that were decided by two points.

• PROGRAM FIRSTS: The Cardinals’ games against Penn State Behrend and Massachusetts Institute of Technology at the Music City Classic on Dec. 29-30 marked the first time in program history that the teams had met on the basketball court. SMU fell to Penn State Behrend 71-65, while knocking off MIT 60-53.

• BY THE NUMBERS:The Cardinals are shooting 37.7 percent from the field (238-for-632), with 69 3-pointers, and are 132-for-186 (71.0 %) from the free throw line. … SMU is averaging 61.5 ppg, while the Cardinals’ opponents are scoring at a 69.5 ppg clip. … The Cardinals’ 81 points in their 81-67 win over Carleton on Dec. 3 were a season-high, and the most since scoring 85 points against those same Knights in an 85-58 win in the teams’ first meeting a year ago.

BETHEL ROYALS SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Royals head into Wednesday’s mid-week conference showdown against Saint Mary’s sporting a 7-5 overall record, including a 7-2 mark in MIAC competition

• LAST TIME OUT: Kendal Cox scored a career-high 19 points, as the Royals got back on the winning track with a 61-53 win over St. Catherine Monday in St. Paul, Minn.

• ROAD WARRIORS: Bethel is in the midst of playing four of five games on the road, the lone exception, Wednesday’s matchup against Saint Mary’s. BU has collected five of its seven wins on its home court, going 5-2 at Robertson Center Gym, while owning a 2-3 record on the road.

• TOUGH SLATE: All three of Bethel’s nonconference games this season were road contests against teams that were nationally ranked. BU dropped back-to-back games to No. 22 UW-Oshkosh (78-71) and No. 13 UW-Eau Claire (55-2 on Nov. 11-12, while falling to No. 21 UW-Whitewater (67-50) on Dec. 30.

• HITTING THEIR STRIDE: After opening the season 2-3, the Royals are 5-2 in their last seven contests.

• LEADING THE CHARGE: The Royals enter Wednesday’s game boasting three players who are averaging in double figures in scoring. Courtney Nuest leads the way for BU with a 10.9 ppg scoring average, followed closely by Kendal Cox (10.3 ppg) and Anna Garfield (10.2 ppg). Emma Schultz is fourth on the team in scoring with a 9.5 ppg average. … Nuest has scored 20 or more points twice this season — hitting 20 against Gustavus on Jan. 4 and netting a season-high 24 against UW-Oshkosh on Nov. 11. … BU has had five different players lead them in scoring this season, including Cox in each of the Royals’ last two games.

• CLEANING THE GLASS: Garfield and Lydia Hagstrom are the Royals’ rebounding leaders, sitting at 6.1 rpg and 6.0 rpg, respectively. Cox has chipped in 52 boards (5.2 rpg), while Nuest (47, 4.3 rpg) and Schultz (42, 3.5 rpg) have also hauled in more than 40 rebounds this season. … Hagstrom has recorded two games of 10 or more rebounds — corralling 10 against Carleton on Nov. 16 and a season-high 11 vs. Macalester on Dec. 10, while Garfield delivered a 10-rebound effort against St. Catherine on Monday.

• DOUBLING UP: Hagstrom owns the team’s lone double-double, scoring 15 points and adding 11 boards against Carleton on Nov. 16.

• FROM DOWNTOWN: The Royals have drained 52 3-pointers through 12 games, shooting 28.4 percent (52-for-183) from beyond the arc. … Nuest and Schultz lead the way for the Royals, knocking down 12 and 11 treys, respectively.

• LENDING A HAND: Bethel boasts seven players who have posted 10 or more assists this season, led by Garfield (24), Nuest (23), and Cox (22).

• BY THE NUMBERS: As a team, the Royals are shooting 38.2 percent from the field (256-for-670), including 52 3-pointers, and have gone 136-for-230 (59.1 %). … Bethel is averaging 58.3 ppg, while holding its opponents to 54.9 ppg. … BU has outscored its first 12 opponents by three points in the first half, while holding a 38-point edge in the game’s final 40 minutes. … BU has eclipsed the 70-point mark twice, including a season-high 81-point effort in a 79-71 loss to UW-Oshkosh on Nov. 11.