SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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2023-24: 0-3 MIAC, 2-3 Overall

ST. OLAF OLES

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2023-24: 0-2 MIAC, 1-4 Overall

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SMU-STO * A YEAR AGO:

W, 62-60 * L, 75-69 * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

Nov. 29, 2023 * Winona, MN

Saint Benedict * L, 74-55

ST. OLAF * LAST ACTION:

Nov. 29, 2023 * Northfield, MN

Macalester * L, 71-57

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

Dec. 4, 2023 * Winona, MN

Concordia * 3:30 p.m.

ST. OLAF * UP NEXT: 

Dec. 6, 2023 * Northfield, MN

Hamline * 7 p.m.

SAINT MARY’S SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into their conference road matchup against St. Olaf sitting at 2-3 overall, including 0-3 in conference play.

• LAST TIME OUT: Lindsey Lettner (Trempealeau, Wis.) and Autumn Passehl (La Crosse, Wis.) each scored in double figures, but it was not enough to carry the Cardinals to their first conference win of the season, as Saint Benedict dealt SMU a 74-55 setback Wednesday at the SMU Gym.

• HOME SWEET HOME: Wednesday’s game against Saint Benedict was the third home game of the season for the Cardinals, who opened with back-to-back home games, before playing two straight on the road. … SMU — which dispatched of both Martin Luther (61-56) and Northland (78-30) in its two home contests this season — is now 8-7 in its last 15 home games, while sitting at 3-11 in its last 14 road contests.

• STREAK-SNAPPER: The Cardinals’ loss to St. Catherine on Nov. 17 snapped their season-opening two-game winning streak. The back-to-back wins marked the first time SMU had opened the season with two straight wins since opening the 2015-16 season with wins over Crown (88-34) and Saint Benedict (75-67).

• CARRYING THE OFFENSIVE LOAD: Izzy Goettelman (Winona, Minn.) heads into the Cardinals’ conference matchup against St. Olaf Saturday averaging a team-best 10.0 ppg, and has netted 10 or more points in two of SMU’s five games this season — scoring 20 points in SMU’s season-opening win over Martin Luther and adding 11 points against St. Catherine on Nov. 17. … Grace Schaffer (Farmington, Minn.) is second on the team in scoring with a 7.0 ppg scoring average, followed by Riley Schiernbeck (Ida Grove, Iowa) at 6.4 ppg, Autumn Passehl (La Crosse, Wis.) at 5.8, and Lindsey Lettner (Trempealeau, Wis.) at 5.2 ppg. … Nine of Goettelman’s team-leading 20 points against Martin Luther on Nov. 11 came from the free throw line, where she was 9 of 11.

• GREATER THAN 20: With 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 11 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 three players recorded career scoring highs of 10 or more points this season. Lettner and Autumn Passehl each tallied career-highs with 12 points against Saint Benedict on Wednesday, while Schiernbeck’s 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 33 (6.6 rpg), five more than Cruze (28, 5.6 rpg), followed by Schiernbeck (27, 5.4 rpg), Kali Olson (New York Mills, Minn. / 22, 5.5 rpg), and Maddie Wall (Cameron, Wis. / 20, 4.0 rpg). … Goettelman recorded a career-high 13 rebounds against Martin Luther on Nov. 11. … 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 on Nov. 11 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 25 3-pointers through five games, with Maggie Newhouse (Owatonna, Minn.) leading the way with six, one more than Passehl and Zoe Fink (Stevens Point, Wis.). Lettner has delivered four treys and Goettelman has knocked down three. … SMU poured in a single-game season-high eight 3-pointers against Saint Benedict on Wednesday. … 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 and Passehl lead the Cardinals with nine assists each, two in front of Schaffer, and three up on both Lettner and Wall … As a team, Saint Mary’s has dished out 54 helpers, with 10 different players recording at least one assist.

• STEALING THE SHOW: Letter has posted a team-high eight steals through five games, with Goettelman and Passehl sitting second with seven apiece.

• 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 31.3 percent from the field (101-for-323), with 25 3-pointers, and have drained 59 of 89 free throws (66.3 %). … SMU is averaging 57.2 ppg, while its first five opponents are scoring at 62.8 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. The 83 points against CSS marked their highest offensive output since beating Carleton 85-58 on Jan. 8, 2022.

ST. OLAF SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Oles enter their conference matchup against Saint Mary’s sitting at 1-4 overall, and are still looking for their first conference win, having dropped decisions to both Gustavus and Macalester in their two MIAC contests.

• LAST TIME OUT: St. Olaf found itself staring at an eight-point, 22-14 deficit after the game’s opening 10 minutes, and never recovered in dropping a 71-57 conference decision to Macalester Wednesday in Northfield, Minn.

• HOME SWEET HOME: Saturday’s game against Saint Mary’s is the second of three straight home games for the Oles, played three of their first four games of the season on the road — the lone exception, St. Olaf’s 64-45 win over Crown on Nov. 15. … St. Olaf heads into the weekend sitting at 1-1 on its home floor, while owning an 0-3 mark away from Skoglund Center.

• NOT-SO-CLOSE CALLS: The Oles first five games have all been decided by more than eight points — a 19-point win (64-45) over Crown, and losses by 11 points to Northwestern (52-41), nine points to UMN Morris (60-51), 40 points to Gustavus (87-47), and 14 points to Macalester (71-57)..

• CARRYING THE OFFENSIVE LOAD: Sarah Tangen heads into Saturday’s matchup against Saint Mary’s leading the team in scoring, averaging 9.2 ppg. Chloee Smith is close behind at 8.2 ppg, followed by Paige Yagodinski at 7.6 ppg and Sophia Kormann at 7.4 ppg. … Cayden Bolten scored a season-high 12 points against Macalester on Wednesday, while Smith posted her first collegiate double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds. 

• CLEANING THE GLASS: St. Olaf boasts four players with 20 or more rebounds through five games, led by Smith with 39 (7.8 rpg). Yagodinski and Kormann are sitting second with 22 boards (4.4 rpg) and Ziling Zahen is fourth with 21 (4.2 rpg). … Smith’s 13 rebounds against Macalester Wednesday were both a season- and career-high. 

• FROM BEYOND THE ARC: St. Olaf has knocked down 17 3-pointers in five games, led by Yagodinski with six. Bolten owns three treys, with Smith, Zhen, and Tangen all draining two, and Joy Brandenstein and Kaylee Cole delivering the other two.

• LENDING A HAND: Brandenstein has dished out a team-best 10 assists in five games, one more than Tangen, with Yagodinski and Bolten sitting tied for third with six helpers each.

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: St. Olaf heads into its showdown against Saint Mary’s in the midst of its second two-game losing streak of the season. STO dropped its first two games of the season, before picking up its lone win — a 64-45 win over Crown — and dropping back-to-back games to Gustavus and Macalester. … The Oles are shooting 37.1 percent from the field (99-for-267, with 17 3-pointers, and are 45 of 71 (63.4 %) from the free throw line. … St. Olaf is averaging 52.0 ppg, while its opponents are scoring at a 63.0 ppg clip. … The Oles have struggled in the first and third quarters, being outscored 103-51 in the game’s opening 10 minutes and 80-53 in the third. … St. Olaf netted a season-high 64 points in a 64-45 win over Crown on Nov. 15, while surrendering a season-high 87 points in an 87-47 loss to Gustavus six days later.