SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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2023-24: 0-0 MIAC, 2-0 Overall

ST. CATHERINE WILDCATS

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2023-24: 0-0 MIAC, 1-1 Overall

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SMU-SCU * A YEAR AGO:

L, 59-46 * L, 75-67 * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

Nov. 14, 2023 * Winona, MN

Northland * 78-30

ST. CATHERINE * LAST ACTION:

Nov. 10-11, 2023 * Dubuque, IA

UW-La Crosse * L, 82-71

Edgewood * W, 84-59

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

Nov. 21, 2023 * St. Paul, MN

Hamline * 7 p.m.

ST. CATHERINE * UP NEXT: 

Nov. 21, 2023 * Duluth, MN

St. Scholastica * 7 p.m.

SAINT MARY’S SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into their Friday conference-opening game at St. Catherine riding a season-opening two-game winning streak — having dispatched of both Martin Luther (61-56) and Northland (78-30) in their first two contests.

• LAST TIME OUT: Riley Schiernbeck (Ida Grove, Iowa) scored a team-high 11 points and the Cardinals — who held Northland to just six points in both the second and third quarters — got scoring from 12 different players in cruising to a 78-30 nonconference win over Northland on Tuesday.

• HOME SWEET HOME: Tuesday’s game against Northland was the second straight home game for the Cardinals, who finished last season 6-6 in their 12 home games. Friday’s game at St. Catherine, meanwhile, is the first of back-to-back road games for SMU, which sported a 3-10 record away from the Saint Mary’s Gym a year ago.

• CLOSE CALLS: With last Saturday’s season-opening five-point victory over Martin Luther, 15 of the Cardinals’ last 21 contests were decided by 10 points or less — including nine of their last 14.

• NOT-SO-CLOSE CALLS: The Cardinals 48-point, 78-30 win over Northland on Tuesday was their most-lopsided victory since a 54-point, 88-34 win over Crown on Nov. 21, 2015. … Northland’s 30 points scored on Tuesday were the fewest allowed by the Cardinals since holding Crown to 29 in a 107-29 victory on Nov. 23, 2013, while the LumberJills’ six-point second and third quarters were the fewest points allowed by SMU since the NCAA went back to the quarter system prior to the 2015-16 season.

• CARRYING THE OFFENSIVE LOAD: Izzy Goettelman (Winona, Minn.) heads into the Cardinals’ conference-opener at St. Catherine on Friday averaging a team-best 15.0 ppg, scoring 20 points in SMU’s season-opening win over Martin Luther and adding eight points against Northland on Tuesday. … Victoria Marial (Rochester, Minn.) is second on the team with an 8.0 ppg scoring average, followed by Maddie Wall (Cameron, Wis.), Riley Schiernbeck (Ida Grove, Iowa), and Grace Schaffer (Farmington, Minn.) all sitting at 7.0 ppg. … Nine of Goettelman’s team-leading 20 points came from the free throw line, where she was 9 of 11. … 

• GREATER THAN 20: With Goettelman’s 20-point performance against Martin Luther last Saturday, Saint Mary’s has now had a player score 20 or more points in a game 11 times over the past two seasons. … Goettelman has netted 20+ points four times in her collegiate career.

• CAREER SCORING HIGHS: Schiernbeck’s 11-point effort against Northland on Tuesday was a career high. … The Cardinals had six players record career-highs of 10 or more points last season — including returners Goettelman (23 points), Alyssa Coleman (Matteson, Ill. / 17), Cruze (14), and Schaffer (11).

• SPREADING THE WEALTH: The Cardinals got scoring from 12 different players in Tuesday’s 78-30 win over Northland. … SMU finished 2022-23 with two games in which 10 or more players scored. SMU received at least three points from 10 of the 11 players who took the court against Carleton on Dec. 3, and got scoring from 12 different players in their 83-69 win over St. Scholastica on Feb. 4.

• CLEANING THE GLASS: Goettelman has led the Cardinals in rebounding in each of their first two games, hauling in a career-high 13 boards against Martin Luther last Saturday, and adding seven rebounds against Northland three days later. … Goettelman enters conference play averaging 10.0 rpg, followed by Katelyn Cruze (Litchfield, Minn.), who has pulled down 16 boards (8.0 rpg) and Schiernbeck (12, 5.0 rpg). … Cruze finished last year with 153 rebounds (6.1 rpg), and pulled down a career-high 14 boards against Hamline on Jan. 20, 2023. …  SMU had a player record 10 or more rebounds in a game 10 times a year ago — including five times by Cruze.

• DOUBLING UP: Goettelman’s 20-point, 13-rebound performance against Martin Luther last Saturday was her first collegiate double-double. … Cruze entered this season with a pair of double-doubles.

• FROM BEYOND THE ARC: Saint Mary’s has knocked down nine 3-pointers through two games, with Lindsey Lettner (Trempealeau, Wis.), Maggie Newhouse (Owatonna, Minn.), and Zoe Fink (Stevens Point, Wis.) leading the way with a pair of treys each. … The Cardinals drained 172 3-pointers a year ago, and poured in a season-high 13 3-pointers against St. Olaf on Feb. 1, 2023, shooting 59.1 percent (13-for-22) from behind the arc. … SMU’s 13 3-pointers were just two shy of the single-game program record of 15, set against Concordia on Feb. 12, 2022.

• LENDING A HAND: Fink leads the Cardinals with seven assists, one more than Wall. … As a team, Saint Mary’s has dished out 29 helpers, with nine different players recording at least one assist.

• PROGRAM FIRST: Tuesday’s game against Northland was the first between the two teams in program history. It’s the third time in the last two seasons Saint Mary’s has faced an opponent for the first time. The Cardinals’ games against Penn State Behrend and Massachusetts Institute of Technology at last season’s Music City Classic 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.

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS:The Cardinals are shooting 33.1 percent from the field (50-for-151), with nine 3-pinters, and have knocked down 30 of 44 free throws (68.2 %). … SMU is averaging 69.5 ppg, while limiting its first two opponents to just 43.0 ppg. … Saint Mary’s 78 points against the LumberJills on Tuesday were a season-high. … The Cardinals eclipsed the 80-point twice last season — netting 81 in an 81-67 win over Carleton on Dec. 3, 2022, while tallying a season-best 83 points in beating St. Scholastica 83-69 on Feb. 4, 2023. The 83 points against CSS marked their highest offensive output since beating Carleton 85-58 on Jan. 8, 2022.

ST. CATHERINE SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Wildcats head into their conference opener against Saint Mary’s sitting at 1-1 overall, falling to UW-La Crosse and beating Edgewood at last weekend’s Loras Tournament in Dubuque, Iowa.

• LAST TIME OUT: Hattie Fox scored 16 points and added 12 rebounds, as St. Catherine rebounded from a tournament-opening 82-71 loss to UW-La Crosse last Friday with an 84-59 win over Edgewood the following day at the Loras Tournament in Dubuque, Iowa.

• HOME SWEET HOME: Friday’s game against Saint Mary’s is the home-opener for the Wildcats, who play three of their first four games on the road. SCU boasted a 6-5 record on its home court a year ago, while finishing 6-7 away from Butler Center in 2022-23. 

• CARRYING THE OFFENSIVE LOAD: Hattie Fox has led the Wildcats in scoring in each of the team’s first two games and is averaging 18.5 ppg heading into Friday’s showdown against Saint Mary’s. Greta Schimnowski is also averaging in double figures through two games, sitting at 13.5 ppg. … Fox scored a career-high 21 points against UW-La Crosse on Nov. 10, and tallied her first collegiate double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds against Edgewood the following afternoon.

• CLEANING THE GLASS: Along with her team-leading scoring average, Fox also leads the Wildcats in rebounds with 18 (9.0), while Emme Golembiewski is close behind with 17 boards (8.5 rpg). … Schimnowski (13, 6.5 rpg) and Maddie Young (11, 5.5 rpg) have also reached double figures in rebounds through two games. … Golembiewski joined Fox in double digits in rebounds against Edgewood last Saturday, finishing with 10. 

• FROM BEYOND THE ARC: St. Catherine rained in 13 3-pointers in its two games last weekend, led by Schimnowski with four, and Rachel Randleman and Lily Peper with three each. … As a team, SCU is shooting 27.1 percent from beyond the arc (13-for-48).

• LENDING A HAND: St. Catherine delivered 28 assists in two tournament games last weekend, and got at least one helper from eight different players. …. Fox leads the Wildcats with six assists, followed by Sydney Elliott and Young with five, and Karis Zezza with four.

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS:As a team, the Wildcats are shooting 37.1 percent from the field (53-for-143), with 13 3-pointers, and are 36-for-50 (72.0 %) from the free throw line. … SCU has scored 70 or more point in both its games this season and is averaging 77.5 ppg. On the flip side, the Wildcats’ opponents are scoring at a 70.5 ppg. … St. Catherine has outscored its opponents in each of the last three quarters — 41-38 in the second, 50-40 in the third, and 34-26 in the fourth. SCU has been outscored 37-30 in the game’s opening 10 minutes. … SCU scored a season-high 84 points in its 84-56 win over Edgewood last Saturday, while allowing a season-high 82 points in falling to UW-La Crosse 92-71 the previous day.