SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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2022-23: 5-11 MIAC, 6-13 Overall

ST. OLAF OLES

Home | Roster | Stats | Schedule

2022-23: 6-10 MIAC, 9-10 Overall

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SMU-STO * LAST MEETING:

Nov. 30, 2022 * Winona, MN

W, 62-60 * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

Jan. 30, 2023 * Winona, MN

Hamline * W, 70-57

ST. OLAF * LAST ACTION:

Jan. 30, 2023 * Northfield, MN

Carleton * W, 74-66

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

Feb. 4, 2023 * Winona, MN

St. Scholastica * 3 p.m.

ST. OLAF * UP NEXT: 

Feb. 4, 2023 * Northfield, Minn.

Augsburg * 3 p.m.

SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals enter their second conference meeting against St. Olaf on Wednesday sitting at 5-13 overall and 4-11 in conference play.

• LAST TIME OUT: Brooklyn Paulson (Holmen, Wis.) scored a season-high 26 points and Katelyn Cruze (Litchfield, Minn.) hauled in a career-best 14 rebounds, as the Cardinals cruised to a 70-57 win over Hamline Monday at the SMU Gym.

• BACK ON THE ROAD: Wednesday’s game at St. Olaf marks the second time in a five-day span the Cardinals will play in Northfield, Minn. SMU faced off against Carleton at the Knights’ West Gym last Saturday. … SMU plays three of its next four games on the road, the lone exception — Saturday’s home showdown with St. Scholastica. … SMU is 4-5 in its nine home games this season, while sporting a 2-8 record away from the Saint Mary’s Gym. 

• CLOSE CALLS: Eleven of the Cardinals’ last 13 contests have been decided by 10 points or less — including five of their last six. Those 11 nail-biting contests include wins over Massachusetts Institute of Technology (60-53) and Macalester (73-65), and losses to UW-Stevens Point (81-79 OT), Penn State Behrend (71-65), Hamline (69-60), Saint Benedict (65-58), Bethel (60-59), Augsburg (50-44), Concordia (69-61), St. Catherine (75-67), and Carleton (66-57).

• CARRYING THE LOAD: Paulson heads into Wednesday’s matchup against St. Olaf leading the team in scoring with a 16.2 ppg average, while Goettelman is also averaging in double figures at 11.6 ppg. … Paulson has netted 10 or more points in 17 of SMU’s 19 games this season. … Either Goettelman or Paulson has led or shared the team lead in scoring in 15 of their 18 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 in a game eight times this season. Paulson owns five games or 20 or more points — including Monday’s season-high 26-point effort against Hamline — while Goettelman has scored 20 or more points twice and Streveler has eclipsed the 20-point mark once. … Paulson has scored 20+ points 22 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 fifth all-time with 1,461 career points. Next up on the list — Jamie Rattunde ’05 (1,483) and Brandi Blattner ’19 (1,495).

• 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. St. Olaf with 239 career 3-pointers. The senior also holds the career mark for 3-pointers attempted at 690.

• NO REST: Paulson has started every game during her five-year collegiate career — a span of 101 consecutive starts. Her 101 career starts rank third all-time. Jessica Thone ’13 holds the school record with 104 straight starts and also holds the school record for games played at 109. … Paulson played every minute of Monday’s game against Hamline, marking the third time this season she has played all 40 minutes of a game. She is averaging 35.6 minutes-per-game.

• PERFECTION: Paulson drained 22 consecutive free throws over a four-game span, before having the streak broken with a miss on her final FT attempt against Concordia on Jan. 21. The senior’s streak included a perfect 10-for-10 showing against St. Scholastica on Jan. 14. … Paulson’s 10 made free throws in 10 attempts were a career high and marked the first time an SMU player has gone 10-for-10 or better since Hallie Schmeling was 10-for-10 against St. Catherine on Feb. 13, 2019.

• SPREADING THE WEALTH: Saint Mary’s put four players in double figures for the second time this season in Wednesday’s loss to St. Catherine. Paulson and Goettelman each scored 13, followed by Grace Schaffer (Farmington, Minn.) with 11 and Coleman with 10. … Saint Mary’s also put four players in double figures against Carleton in the teams’ first meeting on Dec. 3 — and got at least three points from 10 of the 11 players who took the court.

• CAREER HIGHS: Schaffer became the sixth Cardinal to recorded a career-high game of 10 or more points with her 11-point effort against St. Catherine on Jan. 25. Goettelman (23 points), Streveler (22), Coleman (17), Cruze (14), and Graysin Hartjes (Kaukauna, Wis. / 10) have also posted career-best games of 10+ points this season.

• CLEANING THE GLASS: Paulson leads the Cardinals with 145 rebounds (7.6 rpg), followed by Cruze (119, 6.3 rpg), Goettelman (88, 4.6 rpg), and Streveler (69, 3.6 rpg). … Paulson hauled in a career-high 15 rebounds against Macalester on Jan. 17. It was the highest single-game performance since Rachel Kedl collected 16 boards against Hamline in the team’s first meeting on Jan. 11, 2020. … Cruze pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds against Hamline on Monday. … SMU has had a player record 10 rebounds in a game seven times — Cruze leads the way with four, while Paulson has achieved the feat three times.

• DOUBLING UP: Paulson has recorded three double-doubles this season. She picked up her first double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 rebounds against St. Scholastica on Jan. 14, added her second with 23 points and a career-best 15 boards against Macalester on Jan. 17, and delivered a 14-point, 12-rebound effort against Concordia on Jan. 21. Paulson now owns eight double-doubles in her collegiate career. … 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.

• FROM BEYOND THE ARC: The Cardinals poured in a season-high 12 3-pointers in their 81-67 win over Carleton in their first meeting 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. … As a team, SMU has drained 125 3-pointers, led by Paulson (39), Goettelman (28), and Streveler (26).

• LENDING A HAND: Streveler boasts a team-high 59 assists, 15 up on Paulson, while Goettelman has chipped in 27 helpers. The trio have combined for 130 of SMU’s 213 assists through 19 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 37.5 percent from the field (409-for-1092), with 125 3-pointers, and are 239-for-338 (70.7 %) from the free throw line. … SMU is averaging 62.2 ppg, while the Cardinals’ opponents are scoring at a 66.3 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.

ST. OLAF OLES SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: St. Olaf returns home to Skoglund Center Gym for Wednesday’s showdown with Saint Mary’s sitting at 9-10 overall, including sporting a 6-10 mark in conference play.

• LAST TIME OUT: The Oles erupted for 26 fourth-quarter points in pulling away in recording a 74-66 conference win over Carleton Monday at the Knights’ West Gym in Northfield, Minn.

• HOME SWEET HOME: Wednesday’s game against Saint Mary’s is the first of four straight home games — and the second of five consecutive games played in Northfield, Minn. Along with Saint Mary’s, St. Olaf — who made the drive across town to face Carleton on Monday — will also host Augsburg, Macalester and Bethel, before hitting the road for games at St. Scholastica and St. Catherine to close out the regular season. … St. Olaf is 4-4 on its home court this season, while going 5-6 away from Skoglund Center Gym. 

• STREAKING: Monday’s win Carleton snapped the Oles’ two-game losing streak. Seven of St. Olaf’s 10 losses this season have come during two losing streaks — a five-game slide in late November-early December, and last week’s back-to-back losses to Concordia and Saint Benedict. On the flip side, St. Olaf put together a season-high three-game winning streak with victories over Alma, North Park, and UM-Morris to open the season.

• LEADING THE CHARGE: Rachel Kelly enters Wednesday’s showdown against Saint Mary’s leading the team in scoring, averaging 15.7 ppg. Paige Yagodinski and Grace Hegland are percentage points away from double-figure scoring averages, sitting at 9.9 ppg and 9.6 ppg, respectively. … Kelly has scored 20 or more points five times and owns a season-high 27-point effort against Concordia on Nov,. 22. … Hegland is the only other player to reach 20 points, hitting the mark against Alma on Nov. 11.

• CLEANING THE GLASS: Along with her team-leading 15.7 ppg scoring average, Kelly also leads the Oles in rebounding with 158 (8.2 rpg). Kelly is one of the St. Olaf players who have eclipsed the 100-rebound mark this season, being joined by Hegland (142, 7.5 rpg) and Yagodinski (127, 6.7 rpg). … Kelly has hauled in 10 or more rebounds six times this year — including 14-rebound performances against Saint Benedict on Nov. 19 and Hamline on Jan. 21, and a season-high 15-rebound effort against St. Scholastica on Jan. 16 — with Hegland amassing 10+ boards five times,, one more than Yagodinski.

• DOUBLING UP: Kelly leads the team with four double-doubles, while Hegland and Yagodinski have each posted two. 

• FROM DOWNTOWN: St. Olaf has netted 103 3-pointers through 19 games, led by Yagodinski with 37. Sophie Olmen (17), Hegland (13), Cassie Fix (12), and Kelly (10) have also reached double digits in 3-pointers this season.

• LENDING A HAND: Fix and Kelly share the team lead in assists with 42 each, two more than Yagodinski, while Hegland is third with 37 and Olmen has chipped in 24.

• BY THE NUMBERS: As a team, St. Olaf is shooting 42.1 percent from the field (427-for-1014), with 103 3-pointers, and has knocked down 159 of 248 free throws (64.1 %). … The Oles are averaging 58.7 ppg, while their opponents are scoring at a 69.7 ppg clip. … St. Olaf has scored a season-high 74 points twice this season — beating Augsburg 74-45 on Jan. 14 and topping Carleton 74-66 on Monday. On the flip side, St. Olaf has surrendered 70 or more points four times, including allowing 91 against Gustavus on Jan. 18 and a season-high 95 by Concordia on Nov. 22.