SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

Home | Roster | Stats | Schedule

2022-23: 8-13 MIAC, 9-15 Overall

GUSTAVUS GUSTIES

Home | Roster | Stats | Schedule

2022-23: 19-2 MIAC, 22-2 Overall

LIVE ON THE WEB:

Live Stats * Streaming Video * MIAC Standings

Senior Salute: Web * PDF

Social: Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * YouTube

SMU-GAC * LAST MEETING:

Nov. 19, 2022 * St. Peter, MN

L, 85-45 * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

Feb. 15, 2023 * Winona, MN

Bethel * W, 70-68 (ot)

GUSTAVUS * LAST ACTION:

Feb. 14, 2023 * St. Paul, MN

Hamline * W, 64-41

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

End of Regular Season

GUSTAVUS * UP NEXT: 

MIAC Playoffs * Feb. 23, 2023

St. Peter, MN * vs. TBA

SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals enter their regular-season finale against Gustavus on Saturday sitting at 9-15 overall and 8-13 in conference play.

• LAST TIME OUT: Brooklyn Paulson (Holmen, Wis.) scored a game-high 21 points — including a game-tying 3-pointer with 11.8 seconds remaining in regulation — and the Cardinals outscored Bethel 7-5 in the extra session en route to a 70-68 overtime win Wednesday at the Saint Mary’s Gym.

• HOME SWEET HOME: Saturday’s game against Gustavus is the second of back-to-back home games to close out the regular season for the Cardinals. … SMU is 6-5 in its 11 home games this season, while sporting a 3-10 record away from the Saint Mary’s Gym. 

• STREAK-SNAPPER: The Cardinals’ 52-41 loss to Saint Benedict last Saturday snapped their two-game winning streak. SMU heads into Saturday’s matchup against Gustavus having won four of its last six.

• CLOSE CALLS: Fourteen of the Cardinals’ last 18 contests have been decided by 10 points or less — including eight of their last 11. Those 14 nail-biting contests include wins over Massachusetts Institute of Technology (60-53), Macalester (73-65), Augsburg (71-63), and Bethel (70-68 OT); 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), Carleton (66-57), and St. Olaf (75-69).

• CARRYING THE LOAD: Paulson heads into Saturday’s matchup against Gustavus leading the team in scoring with a 16.3 ppg average, while Izzy Goettelman (Winona, Minn.) is also averaging in double figures at 10.4 ppg. … Paulson has netted 10 or more points in 21 of SMU’s 24 games this season. … Paulson has led or shared the team lead in scoring in 16 of SMU’s 24 games — including seven of its last eight.

• GREATER THAN 20: Saint Mary’s has had a player score 20 or more points in a game nine times this season. Paulson owns six games or 20 or more points — including a season-high 26-point effort against Hamline on Jan. 30 — while Goettelman and Ashley Streveler (Colby, Wis.) have each scored 20 or more points twice. … Paulson has scored 20+ points 23 times in her collegiate career, while Goettelman has achieved the feat three times and Streveler once.

• GREATER THAN 20 x 2: Paulson and Streveler each reached the 20-point mark in SMU’s 83-69 win over St. Scholastica on Feb. 4, with Paulson scoring 26 points and Streveler adding 21. It was the first time this season SMU has had two players net 20+ points in the same game, and the first time since Jan. 10 of 2020 that the Cardinals had two 20+ point scorers.

• CLIMBING THE LADDER: Paulson, who recorded her 1,000th career point in SMU’s first meeting against Gustavus on Feb. 2, 2022, is sitting third all-time with 1,546 career points. Next up on the list — Tricia Rasmussen ’93 (1,880).

• 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 owns 252 career 3-pointers. The senior also holds the career mark for 3-pointers attempted at 715.

• NO REST: Paulson has started every game during her five-year collegiate career — a program-record 106 consecutive starts. Jessica Thone ’13, who previously held the consecutive starts record at 104, holds the school record for games played at 109. … Paulson played every minute of SMU’s Jan. 30 game against Hamline, marking the third time this season she has played all 40 minutes of a game. She is averaging 35.4 minutes-per-game.

• PERFECTION: Paulson drained 22 consecutive free throws over a four-game span from Jan. 14-21, 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 third time this season in its 71-63 win over Augsburg on Feb. 8. The Cardinals also had four players score 10 or more points against St. Catherine on Jan. 25 and vs. Carleton on Dec. 3. … SMU received at least three points from 10 of the 11 players who took the court against Carleton on Dec. 3. … The Cardinals got scoring from 12 different players in their 83-69 win over St. Scholastica on Feb. 4.

• CAREER SCORING HIGHS: The Cardinals have had six players record career-highs of 10 or more points this season: Goettelman (23 points), Streveler (22), Alyssa Coleman (Matteson, Ill. / 17), Graysin Hartjes (Kaukauna, Wis. / 15), Katelyn Cruze (Litchfield, Minn. / 14), and Grace Schaffer (Farmington, Minn. / 11).

• CLEANING THE GLASS: Paulson leads the Cardinals with 196 rebounds (8.2 rpg), followed by Cruze (148, 6.2 rpg), Goettelman (102, 4.3 rpg), Streveler (90, 3.8 rpg), and Schaffer (84, 3.5 rpg). … Paulson hauled in a career-high 17 rebounds against St. Scholastica on Jan. 4. It was the highest single-game performance since Brandi Blattner's 20-rebound showing on Feb. 10, 2018. … Cruze pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds against Hamline on Jan. 20. … SMU has had a player record 10 rebounds in a game 10 times — five times by both Paulson and Cruze.

• DOUBLING UP: Paulson has recorded four double-doubles this season and now owns nine double-doubles in her collegiate career. Cruze has accounted for SMU’s other three double-doubles this season — including an 11-point, 11-rebound showing against Bethel on Wednesday. … Cruze has scored 11 points in all four of her double-doubles.

• FROM BEYOND THE ARC: The Cardinals poured in a season-high 13 3-pointers against St. Olaf on Feb. 1, shooting 59.1 percent (13-for-22) from behind the arc. It marked the second time this season SMU has hit double figures in 3-pointers — having netted 12 against Carleton on Dec. 3. … SMU’s 13 3-pointers were just two shy of the single-game program record of 15, set against Concordia on Feb. 12, 2022. … As a team, SMU has drained 166 3-pointers, led by Paulson (52), Streveler (41), and Goettelman (31). … Streveler matched her season-high with five 3-pointers against St. Olaf on Feb. 1. The senior also delivered five treys against Hamline on Jan. 4.

• LENDING A HAND: Streveler boasts a team-high 73 assists, 17 up on Paulson, while Goettelman has chipped in 41 helpers. The trio have combined for 170 of SMU’s 276 assists through 24 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’ 70-68 win over Bethel on Wednesday was its second overtime game of the season. SMU dropped an 81-79 OT decision to UW-Stevens Point on Dec. 14. 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 38.0 percent from the field (519-for-1365), with 166 3-pointers, and are 312-for-436 (71.6 %) from the free throw line. … SMU is averaging 63.2 ppg, while the Cardinals’ opponents are scoring at a 66.1 ppg clip. … The Cardinals have eclipsed the 80-point twice this season — netting 81 in an 81-67 win over Carleton on Dec. 3, while tallying a season-best 83 points in beating St. Scholastica 83-69 on Feb. 4. The 83 points against CSS marked their highest offensive output since beating Carleton 85-58 on Jan. 8, 2022.

GUSTAVUS GUSTIES SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Gusties head into Saturday’s regular-season finale owning a 22-2 overall record, including a 19-2 mark in conference play, earning the Gusties the MIAC regular-season title.

• LAST TIME OUT: Anna Sanders scored a team-high 14 points and Kylie Baranick added 12, as the Gusties rolled to their 14th straight win — and the MIAC regular-season title — with a 64-41 win over Hamline Wednesday at Hutton Arena in St. Paul, Minn.

• FINALLY THEIRS ALONE: With their victory over Hamline Wednesday, the Gusties became just the third team in program history to win the MIAC regular season championship, and the first in program history to win the crown outright. The Gusties’ last title came in 2009-10, and was shared with Saint Benedict, while the 2002-03 regular season ended in a three-way tie at the top between Gustavus, Carleton, and Saint Benedict. The win over Hamline also guarantees the Gusties home court advantage and the No. 1 seed heading into MIAC Playoffs next week.

• ON A ROLL: With their 64-41 win over Hamline on Wednesday, the Gusties pushed their winning streak to 14 straight. GAC has not lost since dropping a 70-66 decision to Bethel on Jan. 4. Gustavus opened the season with four consecutive wins, before suffering its first loss of the season against Concordia on Nov. 26 (64-63).

• CLOSE (AND NOT-SO-CLOSE) CALLS: Gustavus’ two losses this season have been by a combined five points – falling to Concordia by one (64-63) and Bethel by four (70-66. … On the flip side, 22 of GAC’s 23 wins have been by at least 10 points, the lone exception, a 76-73 win over Simpson on Nov. 16. … Gustavus owns 15 victories of 20+ points and six by 30 or more points.

• LEADING THE CHARGE: Gustavus boasts a balanced offensive attack, with eight players averaging five or more points per game, including two — Anna Sanders (13.0 ppg) and Kylie Baranick (10.1 ppg) — who are scoring more than 10 points-per-game. … Baranick has accounted for two of the Gusties’ three 20+ point performances, netting 21 against both Hamline (Jan. 16) and Saint Benedict (Feb. 1). Sanders recorded a season-high 22-point night against Luther on Dec. 30.

• CLEANING THE GLASS: Grace Benz leads a trio of Gusties who have hauled in more than 100 rebounds this season, sitting at 167 boards (7.0 rpg) through 24 games. Rachel Kawiecki (142, 5.9 rpg) and Sanders (121, 5.0 rpg) have also eclipsed the 100-rebound plateau. … Benz has delivered 10+ rebounds three times — including a season-high 14-rebound effort against Hamline on Wednesday. Kawiecki and Sanders each own two games with 10 or more rebounds. … As a team, GAC has amassed 892 rebounds (37.2 rpg), while its opponents have collected just 618 boards (25.8 rpg).

• DOUBLING UP: Gustavus has had a player posted a double-double twice this season — Sanders scored 10 points and added 12 rebounds against Saint Benedict on Nov. 22, while Kawiecki collected a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double against St. Scholastica on Jan. 30.

• RAINING IN 3s: Gustavus has poured in 159 3-pointers through 24 games and boasts five players who have knocked down at least 10 treys. Sanders leads the GAC long-range bombers with 56 3-pointers, followed by Baranick with 31. Lexi Schermann (23), Emma Kniefel (18), and Riley Queensland (14) have also delivered 10+ 3s this season.

• LENDING A HAND: Baranick has dished out a team-high 84 assists, followed closely by Sanders with 71. Kniefel (40), Kawiecki (40), Morgan Kelly (32), and Schermann (30) also own 30 or more helpers.

• BLOCK PARTY: Gustavus has amassed 79 blocks through 24 games, with Kelly (24), Kawiecki (18), and Benz (17) accounting for 59 of those 79 blocks. … Morgan has posted games of three and four blocks this season.

• BY THE NUMBERS: Gustavus is shooting 45.5 percent from the field (670-for-1473), with 159 3-pointers, and have hit 290 of 435 free throws (66.7 %). … GAC is averaging 74.5 ppg, while limiting its opponents to just 50.1 ppg. … The Gusties have recorded 84 or more points in a game six times — including a season-high 91-point effort in drubbing St. Olaf 91-44 on Jan. 18. On the flip side, GAC has been held under 65 points on five occasions, including 55 in beating Augsburg 55-43 on Jan. 28.