SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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2023-24: 2-7 Overall

UW-LA CROSSE EAGLES

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2023-24: 4-4 Overall

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SMU-UWL * LAST MEETING:

Nov. 17, 2017 * St. Joseph, MN

L, 67-59 * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

Dec. 9, 2023 * Arden Hills, MN

Bethel * L, 66-49

UW-LA CROSSE * LAST ACTION:

Dec. 9, 2023 * Chicago, IL

Concordia-Chicago * W, 95-66

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

Dec. 29, 2023 * Elmhurst, IL

Elmhurst * 2 p.m.

UW-LA CROSSE * UP NEXT: 

Dec. 29-30, 2023 * Superior, WI

St. Norbert * 4 p.m.

Marian * 1 p.m.

SAINT MARY’S SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into their nonconference home matchup against UW-La Crosse sitting at 2-7 overall, including 0-7 in conference play.

• LAST TIME OUT: Maddie Wall (Cameron, Wis.) scored a career-high 12 points and Katelyn Cruze (Litchfield, Minn.) chipped in 10, but the Cardinals could not overcome a 15-point first-quarter deficit in falling to Bethel 66-49 last Saturday in Arden Hills, Minn.

• HOME SWEET HOME: Wednesday’s game against UW-La Crosse is the third home game in the last four contests — the lone exception, last Saturday’s 66-49 loss at Bethel. … Saint Mary’s is 2-3 on its home court this season, while sitting at 0-4 away from the Saint Mary’s Gym.

• CARRYING THE OFFENSIVE LOAD: Izzy Goettelman (Winona, Minn.) heads into the Cardinals’ nonconference matchup against UW-La Crosse averaging a team-best 11.4 ppg. … Grace Schaffer (Farmington, Minn.), who has led the team in scoring in three of their last four games, is second on the team in scoring, also averaging in double figures at 10.3 ppg, followed by Autumn Passehl (La Crosse, Wis.) at 6.1 ppg, Wall at 5.4 ppg, and Cruze at 5.3 ppg.

• GREATER THAN 20: With Schaffer’s 23-point effort against St. Olaf on Dec. 2 and Goettelman’s 20-point performance against Martin Luther on Nov. 11, Saint Mary’s has now had a player score 20 or more points in a game 12 times over the past two seasons. … Goettelman has netted 20+ points four times in her collegiate career.

• CAREER SCORING HIGHS: Saint Mary’s has had five players record career scoring highs of 10 or more points this season. Schaffer delivered a career-best 23 points against St. Olaf on Dec. 2, Wall poured in a career-best 12 against Bethel last Saturday, Lindsey Lettner (Trempealeau, Wis.) and Passehl each tallied career-highs with 12 points against Saint Benedict on Nov. 29, and Riley Schiernbeck’s (Ida Grove, Iowa) 11-point effort against Northland on Nov. 14 was also 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), Katelyn Cruze (Litchfield, Minn. / 14), and Schaffer (11).

• SPREADING THE WEALTH: The Cardinals got scoring from 12 different players in their 78-30 win over Northland on Nov. 14. … 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 leads the Cardinals in rebounds with 47 (5.9 rpg), one more than Cruze (46, 5.1 rpg). Schiernbeck is third with 43 boards (4.8 rpg), followed by Schaffer with 40 (4.4 rpg) and Kali Olson (New York Mills, Minn. / 30. 3.8 rpg). … Goettelman recorded a career-high 13 rebounds against Martin Luther on Nov. 11, while Schaffer pulled down a career-best 10 boards against Concordia on Dec. 4. … SMU had a player record 10 or more rebounds in a game 10 times a year ago — including five times by Cruze.

• DOUBLING UP: Schaffer picked up her first collegiate double-double with her 15-point, 10-rebound showing against Concordia on Dec. 4. She is the second SMU player with her first collegiate double-double this season, being joined by Goettelman, who tallied 20 points and 13 boards against Martin Luther on Nov. 11. 

• FROM BEYOND THE ARC: Saint Mary’s has knocked down 46 3-pointers through nine games, with Passehl leading the way with 10, three more than Schaffer, and four up on Wall, Goettelman Zoe Fink (Stevens Point, Wis.). and Maggie Newhouse (Owatonna, Minn.). … SMU poured in a single-game season-high eight 3-pointers against Saint Benedict on Nov. 29. … 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: SMU boasts four players who have reached double figures in assists, led by Fink with 14. Schaffer is second with 12, followed by Lettner (11) and Wall (10). … Fink delivered a single-game, season-high five assists against Northland on Nov. Nov. 14. … As a team, Saint Mary’s has dished out 77 helpers, with 10 different players recording at least one assist.

• STEALING THE SHOW: Lettner leads six Cardinals who have amassed 10+ steals through nine games. Schaffer, Wall, and Goettelman have all posted 12 steals, with Passehl adding 11 and Schiernbeck chipping in 10.

• NOT-SO-CLOSE CALL: The Cardinals 48-point, 78-30 win over Northland on Nov. 14 was their most-lopsided victory since a 54-point, 88-34 win over Crown on Nov. 21, 2015. … Northland’s 30 points scored on Nov. 14 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.

• PROGRAM FIRST: SMU’s Nov. 14 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 32.3 percent from the field (181-for-560), with 46 3-pointers, and have drained 101 of 156 free throws (64.7 %). … SMU is averaging 56.6 ppg, while its first nine opponents are scoring at 64.6 ppg clip. … Saint Mary’s 78 points against Northland on Nov. 14 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.

UW-LA CROSSE SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Eagles enter Wednesday’s nonconference road contest at Saint Mary’s sitting at .500, sporting a 4-4 mark through the first eight games of the season.

• LAST TIME OUT: UW-La Crosse locked up its fourth win of the season early last Saturday, erupting for 38 points in the first quarter and cruising to a 95-66 road win over Concordia-Chicago in Chicago, Ill.

• ROAD WARRIORS: Wednesday’s game against Saint Mary’s is the second of four straight road contests for the Eagles, who played at Concordia-Chicago last Saturday, and will face St. Norbert and Marian at the UW-Superior Classic on Dec. 29-30, before finally returning home to kick off WIAC play on Jan. 3 against UW-River Falls. … UW-L is sitting a 2-3 in its five home games this season, while going 2-1 away from Mitchell Hall.

• FLIP-FLOPPING: UW-La Crosse has not won, or lost, back-to-back games all season, alternating wins over St. Catherine, Edgewood, Martin Luther, and Concordia-Chicago with losses to Loras, Ripon, Simpson, and Gustavus.

• CARRYING THE OFFENSIVE LOAD: The Eagles head into their nonconference matchup against Saint Mary’s boasting a pair of players averaging in double figures in scoring. Kailee Meeker leads the way for UW-L, sitting at 15.4 ppg, with Lauryn Milne close behind at 11.9 ppg. Grace Knupp is third on the team with a 9.0 ppg scoring average. … Meeker or Milne has led the team in scoring in seven of UW-L’s eight games. Knuth is the only other player to lead the team in scoring, netting a team-best 17 points against Martin Luther on Nov. 20.

• CLEANING THE GLASS: UW-La Crosse has eight players with 20 or more rebounds through eight games, including three with 30+ boards. Milne is the Eagles’ top rebounder with 62 (7.8 rpg), followed by Lindsey Knuth with 47 (5.9 rpg), Sydney Torgerson with 29 (3.6 rpg), and Meeker with 28 (3.5 rpg). … Milne has posted UW-L’s top two rebounding performances, hauling in 12 rebounds against Concordia-Chicago last Saturday and added a season-best 15 boards against Simpson on Nov. 25.

• FROM BEYOND THE ARC: UW-La Crosse’s 60 3-pointers this season have come from 10 different players, led by Meeker with 18 and Katie Waukau with 13. … Meeker is shooting 40.0 percent from behind the arc, going 18-for-45

• LENDING A HAND: Paige Schumann has delivered a team-leading 26 assists in eight games, and is one of four Eagles with at least 10 helpers, being joined by Knupp (19), Waukau (13), and Meeker (11). … Schumann posted a season-high six assists against Ripon on Nov. 18, while, as a team, UW-L posted a single-game season-high 23 assists against Concordia-Chicago last Saturday. 

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS:UW-La Crosse is shooting 37.6 percent from the field (205-for-545), with 60 3-pointers, and is 86-for-128 (67.2 %) from the free throw line. … The Eagles are averaging 69.5 ppg, while their opponents are scoring at a 65.4 ppg clip. … UW-L has outscored its opponents 162-114 in the first quarter and 133-120 in the second, but have been outscored 156-140 in the third and 133-121 in the fourth. … UW-La Crosse has scored 70 or more points three times this season — all wins. UW-L netted 78 points in a 78-42 win over Martin Luther on Nov. 20, scored 82 points in a season-opening 82-71 victory over St. Catherine, and poured in a season-high 95 points in last Saturday’s 95-66 win over Concordia-Chicago.