SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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2023-24: 0-6 MIAC, 2-6 Overall

BETHEL ROYALS

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2023-24: 2-3 MIAC, 2-4 Overall

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SMU-BU * A YEAR AGO:

L, 60-59 * W, 70-68 (ot) * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

Dec. 6, 2023 * Winona, MN

St. Scholastica * L, 63-58

BETHEL * LAST ACTION:

Dec. 6, 2023 * St. Paul, MN

St. Catherine * L, 58-53

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

Dec. 13, 2023 * Winona, MN

UW-La Crosse * 5 p.m.

BETHEL * UP NEXT: 

Dec. 15, 2023 * River Falls, WI

UW-River Falls * 5:30 p.m.

SAINT MARY’S SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into their conference home matchup against St. Scholastica sitting at 2-6 overall, including 0-6 in conference play.

• LAST TIME OUT: Saint Mary’s outscored visiting St. Scholastica 39-28 in the second half, but it was not enough to overtime a 16-point halftime deficit, as the Saints dealt the Cardinals a 63-58 MIAC setback Wednesday at the SMU Gym.

• HOME SWEET HOME: Wednesday’s game against St. Scholastica was the second of back-to-back home contests for the Cardinals, who are in the midst of playing three of their final four games before the Christmas break on their home court. After Saturday’s game at Bethel, the Cardinals host UW-La Crosse in a nonconference game on Wednesday. … Saint Mary’s is 2-3 on its home court this season, while sitting at 0-3 away from the Saint Mary’s Gym.

• CARRYING THE OFFENSIVE LOAD: Izzy Goettelman (Winona, Minn.) heads into the Cardinals’ conference matchup against Bethel averaging a team-best 11.4 ppg, and has netted 10 or more points in five of SMU’s eight games this season. … Grace Schaffer (Farmington, Minn.), who has led the team in scoring in each of their last three games, is second on the team in scoring with a 10.5 ppg scoring average, followed by Autumn Passehl (La Crosse, Wis.) at 6.4 ppg and Riley Schiernbeck (Ida Grove, Iowa) at 5.6 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 four 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, Lindsey Lettner (Trempealeau, Wis.) and Passehl each tallied career-highs with 12 points against Saint Benedict on Nov. 29, 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 47 (5.9 rpg), five more than Cruze (42, 5.3 rpg). Schiernbeck is third with 39 boards (4.9 rpg), followed by Schaffer with 37 (4.6 rpg) and Kali Olson (New York Mills, Minn. / 28. 4.0 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 44 3-pointers through eight games, with Passehl leading the way with 10, four more than Goettelman, Schaffer, and Zoe Fink (Stevens Point, Wis.). Maddie Wall (Cameron, Wis.) and Maggie Newhouse (Owatonna, Minn.) have each delivered five treys. … 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: Fink, Schaffer, and Lettner have all reached double figures in assists this season. Fink leads the way with 13 helpers, while Schaffer and Lettner have each dished out 11. Passehl is fourth on the team with nine assists. … As a team, Saint Mary’s has dished out 74 helpers, with 10 different players recording at least one assist.

• 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 31.7 percent from the field (163-for-514), with 44 3-pointers, and have drained 90 of 144 free throws (62.5 %). … SMU is averaging 57.5 ppg, while its first eight opponents are scoring at 64.4 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.

BETHEL SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: Bethel heads into Saturday’s home conference matchup against Saint Mary’s sitting at 2-4 overall, including 2-3 through its first five MIAC contests.

• LAST TIME OUT: The Royals whittled a 22-point second-half deficit down to two points with 3:39 to play, only to manage just one field goal the rest of the way in falling to St. Catherine 58-53 Wednesday at SCU’s Butler Center Gym in St. Paul, Minn.

• ROAD WARRIORS: The Royals are in the midst of playing nine of 10 games on the road, the lone exception, Saturday’s showdown against Saint Mary’s. BU played at Macalester (W, 61-44) and at St. Catherine (L, 58-53) earlier this week, and, after their game vs. SMU, the Royals are at UW-River Falls, at Daytona Beach, Fla. (against Thomas College and Saint Vincent), at Gustavus (nonconference), at St. Scholastica, at Gustavus, and at Saint Benedict, before finally returning home against St. Olaf on Jan. 13. 

• STREAK-SNAPPER: Last Monday’s 61-44 win over Macalester snapped BU’s two-game losing streak.

• CARRYING THE OFFENSIVE LOAD: Bethel heads into its showdown with Saint Mary’s boasting two players who are averaging in double figures in scoring. Anna Garfield leads the way for BU, owning a 14.0 ppg scoring average, with Elly Schmitz close behind at 13.2 ppg. … Garfield has scored in double figures in five of the team’s six games, including a season-high 17-point effort against St. Catherine on Wednesday. … Schmitz also owns five games of 10 or more points, and has netted a season-best 17 points twice — against Hamline on Nov. 29 and vs. Macalester on Dec. 4. … Garfield or Schmitz has led the team in scoring in each of BU’s first six games.

• CLEANING THE GLASS: The Royals have eight players with 10 or more rebounds, including three — Alli Born (34, 5.7 rpg), Schmitz (33, 5.5 rpg), and Garfield (29, 4.8 rpg) — with 20+ boards through six games. Colette Duininck, Rosalle Penke, and Emily Erickson are all one board short of reaching the 20-rebound mark. … BU has had a player pull down a season-high nine rebounds in each of its last three games — Born achieved the feat against both Concordia (Dec. 2) and Macalester (Dec. 4), with Garfield delivering nine boards against St. Catherine on Wednesday.

• FROM BEYOND THE ARC: Bethel has knocked down 24 3-pointers through six games, and are shooting 23.1 percent from behind the arc (24-for-104). … Born leads the team with eight 3-pointers, followed by Schmitz with six, and Duininck with five. 

• LENDING A HAND: Duininck and Garfield have accounted for 31 of the Royals’ 63 assists this season. Duininck leads the way with 17 helpers, followed closely by Garfield with 14.

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS:The Royals are shooting 40.6 percent from the field (134-for-330), with 24 3-pointers, while hitting on 67 of 92 free throws (72.8 %). … Bethel is averaging 59.8 ppg, just percentage points behind its opponents, who are scoring at a 60.0 ppg clip. … BU has been outscored in both the first (99-76) and second (104-86) quarters, but have held scoring advantages in the third (97-73) and fourth (100-84) quarters. … Bethel has not reached the 70-point mark in scoring this season, hitting a season-high 65 points in a 76-65 loss to Hamline on Nov. 29. On the flip side, the Royals have allowed a season-high 76 points twice — against Hamline on Nov. 29 and vs. UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 18.